Originally published on February 1, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.
As a sole practitioner, heavy traveler, and parent, my feet hit the floor at 6 am. I inevitably juggle my toddler, pets, three phones, two faxes, multiple emails, "urgent" client demands, and the numerous household distractions — sorry, "responsibilities" — that come from being a full-time wife and mom. Over the years, as everyone's expectations kept increasing, my time became tapped-out.
Fortunately, amid the daily barrage of "can you/will you/did you," I struck a work-life balance and salvaged about four "extra" hours a day. By leveraging available technology, you too can create a productivity work-around (a.k.a "time hack") and streamline your professional and personal life. Just follow the three steps below.
Time Tracking (Estimated Time Saved: 0.5 Hrs Per Day)
First, to recapture time you have to know where you spend it. Try tracking your activity with Chrometa, a downloadable program that produces a graph summarizing your entire day. Chrometa saves you the hassle of having to take notes, and offers the added bonus of assigning your activities to individual clients for billing purposes.
According to Chrometa, my average work day used to be 12 hours long — 50% spent on the computer (i.e. building and marketing my three businesses, legal researching, drafting, blogging, emailing, surfing, etc.), 25% on the phone (i.e. answering calls, client reminders, teleconferences, etc.), and 25% on miscellaneous activities. At the end of the day, that realistically left only three non-work hours to divide between my family and myself — unacceptable!
Time Blocking (Estimated Time Saved: 2.0 Hrs Per Day)
Start slashing distractions! Recent studies show that it takes 15 minutes to return to "serious mental tasks" after an interruption, so ditch distractions and begin working in uninterrupted "blocks" of time.
• Take your business or other project(s), and set aside specific days to work ON them (managing, developing, growing) and specific days to work IN them (providing services and deliverables). If you're a sole practitioner or small firm partner, you know the value of this distinction so don't fail to apply it.
• Commit to check your email only at set times. I check mine briefly at 8:30 am to scan for changes/cancellations, at length around lunch (11:30 am), and once again before close of business (4:30 pm). The key is deactivating the #1 distraction — the New Mail pop-up window — and instead activating the auto-responder. Mine says: "Thank you. I received your email, and will reply before day end. I appreciate your patience while I devote my attention to one client at a time."
• Organize your email program with folders. Create one for each project or client, so that your inbox grows emptier as you answer email messages and file them. I also suggest folders for "Short-Term" (within 1-14 days) and "Long-Term" (within 15-30 days) action items. Once categorized, they're out of your inbox and easier to handle. Stop fighting with your email, and make it work for you!
• Eliminate distractions with email filters. For example, create filters to automatically place email from groups/listservers in their own folder for later reading. Filters clear out the inbox, and help to avoid tempting email distractions until you have time for them.
Delegating (Estimated Time Saved 1.5 Hrs Per Day)
Those of us who travel regularly know the importance of delegating. It used to be a costly concept involving on-site staff and added overhead. But time-hackers today can take advantage of outsourcing, shifting simple yet essential tasks off-site.
• Time-block your phone calls by delegating the answering and routing to a Virtual Receptionist. I currently use My1Voice (about $10 /month), to answer phones with an auto-attendant, and route callers between office extensions or my voicemail (which says "I have received your message, and will return all calls at 3:30 pm"). What is indispensible for me is that My1Voice sends me an instant text message with the transcript of each voicemail so I can screen for emergencies. It's been so indispensible in cutting down unnecessary "chatting" that I've implemented this system for my personal calls too.
• Next, delegate routine administrative tasks to a Virtual Assistant. I outsource my travel and appointment making, faxing/follow-up, and client reminder calls to AskSunday (monthly plans around $14/hour). It is such a relief to know that a competent professional is on the call, and because I'm not on the phone I don't get stuck fielding questions or chatting with clients. It's addicting. I've now delegated preschool planning, playdate scheduling, and online shopping to them too.
Conclusion
Although simple, these three low-cost time hacks have streamlined my life. I've reclaimed my 8-hour work day, (now consisting of 50% computer, 20% phone, and 30% miscellaneous), and best of all have seven non-work hours each day to split between my family and myself. Those four "extra" hours each day equate to 20 "extra" hours per work week, which can really change your work-life balance! What you do with your 20 extra hours is up to you, but now there's no excuse for leaving those Christmas lights up past Valentine's Day.
Written by Jennifer J. Moheyer of Confessions of a MOMtrepreneur.
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