The joy of the holiday season sometimes takes a backseat to the stresses of finishing up work by year’s end, while trying to balance out personal time for family and friends. To take care of business — and get you back to the joy — here are five tips to help you get the most [...]
The joy of the holiday season sometimes takes a backseat to the stresses of finishing up work by year’s end, while trying to balance out personal time for family and friends. To take care of business — and get you back to the joy — here are five tips to help you get the most out of the remaining work days in 2012.
- Make a master plan. List everything you must do between now and December 31 in your business and in your personal life. This will help keep things from falling through the cracks.
- Make a daily plan. Choose no more than 3-5 tasks you absolutely must accomplish each day, and then work through them. By focusing on just a few tasks, you eliminate the sense of overwhelm brought on by a seemingly endless list of chores. When you’ve finished your chosen tasks, select a couple more from the master list and keep going.
- Ask “What is the best use of my time right now?” When you have the odd few minutes to fill before lunch or day’s end, stick with your priorities. Use that precious time to advance the next task. For instance, review a file in preparation for writing a letter after lunch. Make a call requesting a fax number or email address so you can ship your document when it’s completed. You’ll have to do these tasks sometime, so use these little bits of time now to save time later.
- Block out work time on your calendar. Schedule work time on your calendar every day. The best practice is to block time a week in advance. Honor work appointments as though they were actual client appointments. In a way, they are because that’s the time you’ve committed to serving your client. This will help keep you on track and move projects to a timely completion.
- Take time to enjoy your family and friends. Work must be done, but don’t let it overshadow the enjoyable time you spend with family and friends. Plan your time carefully now and you’ll be able to enjoy the magical holiday season without the guilt and worry attached to tasks left undone.
With some planning on your part now, you can satisfy your year-end deadlines, enjoy the holidays, and start the new year feeling refreshed and reenergized.For more tips about how you can better manage your time and your law practice, check out this post: http://mattersofpractice.com/blog/eliminate-timewasters-to-increase-law-firm-profits/
BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY
AND PEACEFUL
HOLIDAY SEASON!
