“…What time is it? It can’t be! Where did the time go?”
Over the past few months, we’ve heard many of our clients share this sentiment. With so many juggling to work from home with spouses, kids, pets and other new distractions, time just seems to evaporate these days – especially for those in the legal community. We’re seeing attorneys and their teams plug in more hours under lockdown; yet, at the same time, they feel like they hardly get any work done. So what can you do to fix this?
Two words: time management. It’s a key player for anyone’s success – especially those conducting virtual depositions and other legal proceedings. What can legal teams do to improve their time management skills while working remotely in the midst of a pandemic? Our team at Elite Court Reporting is happy to share some time management tips your law practice can put to use.
1. Organize your desk.
If you want to have a productive day, that starts with having a de-cluttered work space. We recommend that at the end of each day, take a few minutes to organize your desk before closing up shop. It’s easy to get distracted when you have a variety of papers and other materials floating around your desk. When you start utilizing this routine, you’ll be able to begin each day with a clear desk and mindset.
2. Label calendar events.
While most attorneys have online calendars, very few utilize the labeling features that many of these systems provide. The majority of online calendars allow you to create and add labels to calendar events. For example, calendar events that relate to virtual depositions would have one label, whereas, internal team meetings would have a different one.
While this might seem like a tedious task, this actually is a major asset for those who feel overwhelmed by their calendar and to do list. Labeling your calendar allows you to easily digest how you’ll be spending your day, and as a result, you can manage your time around these events more efficiently.
3. Make a list of urgent projects.
More often than not, time seems to slip away because we’re busy doing tasks that aren’t as important as other tasks. To avoid this from happening, we recommend organizing your to do list based on urgency and start working on the most urgent tasks first.
4. Master the technology you use.
So much time can be wasted trying to get a grasp of the technology and software being used while working remotely. Sometimes it seems like the most time-effective solution is to wing it and learn as you go. While this can work for some, doing so actually ends up wasting more time in the long run. Instead, it’s best to invest in mastering the technology and platforms you are using. That’s why we created our free masterclass on utilizing Zoom for virtual depositions, to help attorneys fully grasp the tool and decrease the platform’s onboarding time as it relates to virtual depositions.
Don’t feel pigeonholed by the technology you use; click here to sign up for our masterclass now.
5. Delegate tasks when appropriate.
There are only so many hours in the day, and as much as we’d like to say otherwise, sometimes it is simply impossible to get everything done on your to do list. That’s when calling in the reinforcements becomes a super power. Tasks that are capable of being delegated should be. There’s no reason to add more to your plate when others can carry the load for you.
That’s why at Elite Court Reporting, we offer to share exhibits on behalf of our clients. If you’re in need of delegating this task off to us, simply let us know at least 48 hours prior to the deposition, and we’d be happy to assist.
These are just a few tips to help you improve your time management skills. If you’d like to learn more about the services we provide our clients to make sure their virtual depositions run on-time and operate smoothly, contact us today at (888) 822-3376.