Productivity tips for lawyers to manage their time better

What sets a successful lawyer apart from an average lawyer or a top legal firm to a mediocre one is the level of productivity each one showcases. With the rapidly growing competition in the legal ecosystem, productivity has evolved as a make-or-break factor today. We are all running against time and hence, being highly efficient and productive is the only way to stay ahead in the rat race. However, hoarded with the workload, lawyers often struggle to keep the productivity meter running high.  

The best way to achieve higher productivity is by learning how to manage time more judiciously. A better time management ensures a reduced turnaround time (TAT) and a higher efficiency by leveraging the power of technology. To help our fellow lawyers take up the daunting challenge of surpassing the bar they have set for themselves in terms of being efficient and productive, we have carefully curated a list of tips to elevate productivity and manage time more judiciously.

1. 1. Do the worst tasks first:

      Most of us procrastinate doing things that we don’t like and end up never getting it done. Experts have opined that if you do those tasks first instead of saving them for later, it will be easier to get things done faster over the day.

1. 1. Prioritize your tasks:

      Prepare a prioritized to-do list that you can refer to over the day and get things done in a more structured manner. Keeping checking out the tasks off the list as and when they are completed.

1. 1. Set your calendar:

      Maintain a well-set calendar with tasks, appointments, and deadlines marked against every day. This will help you plan your day way better and help in increasing work efficiency and productivity. Block a specific timeline and slots dedicated to each task.

1. 1. Eliminate or automate mundane tasks:

      Lawyers end up performing a lot of mundane tasks that can be easily automated. According to a McKinsey report, 23% of the tasks performed by lawyers across the globe can be easily automated using technology. This not only saves a lot of time for the lawyers but also allows them to take up additional cases and increase their productivity.

1. 1. Delegate tasks within the team:

      Delegation is a key skill that lawyers must acquire over time. This includes identifying the right person for the right tasks and taking note of the person’s bandwidth while delegating tasks to your teammates. Delegating tasks can improve work efficacy, save time, and make processes work better.

1. 1. Improve people management skills:

      Not every boss is a good manager is something we keep hearing these days. People management skill has become extremely critical today, especially while dealing with diverse people set within a team. A good boss is a leader and knows how to manage his/her team towards achieving the set goals.

1. 1. Set SMART goals:

      Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) goals for yourself and your team. 

1. 1. Track productivity metrics and compare them regularly:

      It is always helpful to measure your productivity and compare it against past performances to understand where your productivity stands. 

1. 1. Avoid distractions:

      Most of the time what keeps us from attaining high productivity levels are distractions. Avoid being in crowded or noisy places while working, checking your smartphone, and other gadgets that might be a distraction to you.

1. 1. Keep away from social media:

      Studies have revealed that excessive exposure to social media apps brings down productivity levels. While we do understand that social media might be very addictive but to achieve higher productivity levels it is important you completely ditch social media during the work hours.

1. 1. Organize your work routine:

      Keep your day well organized so that you do not miss out on any important task or get puzzled about what to do next and what not to. It is basic hygiene that every lawyer must put into practice from the very first day of their legal career.

1. 1. Hire efficiently:

      Productivity of a team, big or small, depends on the people that make it. Hence, it is important that the right people are hired for the right jobs and roles. Not just their degree and pedigree assess the prospective team members’ ability to align with the business ethics, goals, and above all working as a team player.

1. 1. Follow a meeting diet:

      Lawyers are often flooded with more meetings than they can manage. You only have so many hours in a day to work; spending a large chunk of it in meetings can be a very non-productive practice. Hence, cut down on unnecessary meeting hours, schedule meetings judiciously, prepare pointers for the meetings so that you can keep it short and crisp. 

1. 1. Set hard stops:

      Set timers for each task and meeting, set a hard stop to avoid time spillage. This makes processes and practices more systematic and disciplined, saves on time and efforts, and ensures efficient time management and a surged productivity.

1. 1. Deploy technology to boost efficiency and productivity:

      Deploying legal technology solutions has become imperative today more than ever. A standard state-of-the-art legal technology software can offer a 360-degree solution for every legal practice and process, starting from litigation management, to contract management, cloud storage, tracking and billing time, raising automated invoices, setting automated reminders, synchronizing data and timelines from emails, appointments and in-phone applications, instant report generation, and a lot more than one can even imagine.

1. 1. Go digital with data and documentation:

      Gone are the days when lawyers, paralegals, and legal associates would waste hours behind sifting through piles of texts and papers, standing in the queue to get matters printed, and so on. It is time for a digitized legal operating system. Digitization of documents, matter, and references come with a host of advantages. From the ease of access to working from anywhere anytime, generating instant reports, ease of searching reference matter, centralized document storage is both secure and more proficient.

1. Deploy better client servicing solutions:

   Client satisfaction and experience are key factors determining productivity and success in the legal business. To offer an enhanced customer experience you should deploy client servicing technology solutions.

While the list might look a tad overwhelming, getting a turnkey legal technology solution can cover most of the list, the rest has to be incorporated in practice by you. Realizing the perils of lawyers when it comes to enhanced time management and achieving high intensity of productivity, Lexzur has come up with an innovation in the legal technology milieu. The Lexzur software offers a turnkey solution for all legal practice management solutions under a single roof. 

“Lexzur is an amazing and complete solution that has enabled us to standardize legal workflows through its proficient case management solution. We can now track and manage matters more efficiently and generate reports on the fly.” – Lexzur user

“Lexzur software works across devices and has helped us in enhancing productivity and competence of our legal team.”  – Lexzur user.

Lexzur Core, a complete package for any lawyer (solo practitioner), or a law firm (small-medium-large) covering case management, contract management for flawless contracts and agreements, integrated calendar and reminders, intuitive add-ons for in-phone applications and email applications, integrated financial management solution, data centralization, multi-layer data security and GDPR compliance, task management, litigation management, instant report generation, client management, notification system, and intellectual property management, all under the same roof. It is available at attractive packages to suit the bill of a varied range of legal practitioners and firms. Check out Lexzur Core and get the best-in-breed legal technology solution to take your productivity to the next level.