GSB Vol. 18, NO. 7, Pg. 54. Law Practice Management.

• Author: by Natalie R. Kelly

Georgia Bar Journal

Volume 18.

GSB Vol. 18, NO. 7, Pg. 54.

Law Practice Management

GSB JournalVol. 18, NO. 7June 2013Law Practice Management Ten Steps to Squeezing More Time Out of Your Dayby Natalie R. KellyI'm always amazed at how much a person can do in a day. 1 am also totally aware of how much time one can waste in a day. If you are in need of help with time management, here are some tips and tricks to help you get a little more time out of your next 24 hours. The tips and tricks are followed by a list of time management resources you can obtain from the Law Practice Management Program's Resource Library - when you have time!

Plan Your Day

It goes without saying that you need to know what you have on your plate. Sometimes, however, it may seem as if you've ordered way too much, and can't figure out where to start with planning how to tackle it all. First, take a deep breath, and begin by writing down every possible thing you can think of that you need to accomplish. Barring having to run to the courthouse for a hearing or some other "must-do-right-now" activity, you should take the time to create a written list of what you need to do. Visualizing your workload can help you plan what needs to happen each day. A good trick is to use a calendaring program to record not only deadlines, but the actual times you will do certain items. The Plan Your Day exercise alone can help you get your days organized and will likely save you some time in the long run.

Set Daily Routines

By now it should be clear that there are certain things you do each day. But, they may be the very things that are robbing you of that extra time. Review your day to see if you can streamline or eliminate time-wasting activities. Create "blocks of time" to accomplish certain tasks, and include a review of your personal routines of getting up and going each day in this process. When you plan your day, include calendar times for your personal routine items, too. Routines help keep items that suck up your time from creeping into space in your day that was intended to be time for something else.

Stop Trying to Multitask

1 think society has helped us love the term "multitasking," but it's now come back to haunt us in many respects; think texting and driving! Instead of trying to work on multiple items at once, learn to create clear outlines for when you...