Time Management – a waste of time?

Smart Working

Time Management – a waste of time?

Today’s lawyers are buckling under ever more hectic work schedules, juggling the demands of work and personal and family life. But if all the articles on time management actually worked, wouldn’t we have moved on to another topic by now? Maybe it is time for a new approach.

Lawyers struggling to manage competing priorities and get things done are not actually grappling with time management but rather with focus, motivation and energy management. Once solicitors figure out how to gain and maintain their focus, and what drains and sustains them, they can change how they work, making time management far less of a problem. These are my top three tips for getting more done:

1. Manage your Focus

Research has shown that the average office worker gets interrupted every three minutes, but it takes 23 minutes to get back into a ‘flow’ state where we are fully immersed in what we are doing. How can we achieve that focused and productive mode if we don’t have a way to silence those distractions?

Perhaps you believe you have no choice, that this is the price you pay for doing high-quality, high-pressured work for demanding clients. But is that actually true? What do people really want from you? Your clients want pithy and practical advice. Your seniors want work that requires minimal input from them so they can get the advice to the client as soon as possible and focus on the work that requires their attention. That way, time is leveraged effectively, giving value for money to the client and efficiencies to the firm.

So, it’s time to manage expectations:

Explain to your team that you will be offline for the next hour getting x done.

Forward your telephone to voicemail.

Close all your apps and put your mobile phone in a drawer, or better still another room.

Set a timer so that you don’t distract yourself by checking the time.

Get some work done!

2. Manage your Motivation

Do you find yourself putting certain things off? Do you panic to get something done when the deadline looms, but then not organise your work any differently the next time? That has nothing to do with how you are managing your time.

Procrastination is our brain’s way of keeping us safe and away from something it perceives as a threat. When you dig deep, you will find that fear or some other negative emotion is keeping you stuck. Once you identify what is holding you back, you will have a way forward.

Underlying emotion / Limiting belief / Way forward

Fear / I can’t do this / What support do I need?

/ I don’t know where to start / What if I write all my ideas out and see what emerges?

/ I don’t know what’s expected of me /What clarity will be helpful and where will I get it?

Lack of connection / disinterest / I can’t see the point in this / Who can help me understand the importance of what I’m doing? How can doing this help me achieve one of my goals?

Resentment / I’ve been dumped on / How do I want to negotiate this kind of task in the future? / What boundaries do I want to put in place for myself?

Again, this is not about managing your time but rather taking action to address whatever is blocking you.

3. Manage your Energy

How aware are you of when you’re most able to focus and get into a flow state? There are physical reasons our energy fluctuates throughout the day. When we understand our own patterns, it is easier to decide what to do when.

For example, we have a natural dip after eating, particularly if we have loaded up on carbohydrates. Tackling a tricky piece of legal analysis or thinking on your feet during a negotiation probably isn’t the best idea just after lunch.

We have personal ebbs and flows too. That explains why some of you are surprised to find yourself still at the office at 8pm when everyone else has gone home.

If you get stuck on a point, reenergise by looking or going outside, running up and down a flight of stairs or stretching. You may also want to not do anything at all because this ‘unfocusing’ switches on the brain’s default mode network to unleash your creativity. You can then pick up your work where you left off with renewed vigour.

In short, pay attention to the times when you are able to focus easily on your work and how much you get done. Then plan your day where possible to do any intellectually challenging work at the times when you are at your sharpest.

Don’t try to manage your time. Instead, manage your focus, your motivation and your energy. You will find yourself getting much more done in the same amount of time.

Paula McMullan

Paula McMullan

Paula McMullan is the Career Coach for Lawyers, helping lawyers at a crossroads to secure their next promotion, land their next opportunity and make an impact in their new role. www.paulamcmullan.com