Top Lawyer Coach, LLC

Have some Free Time? Get Productive!

Let's face it. Free time is sometimes hard to come by. Some people savor it, others dread it.

If you're one of the few people who cringe at the words "down time" - learn to how to turn your free time into an opportunity to be PRODUCTIVE.

Here are a few ways you can maximize your time on the slowest of days.

1. Choose a change of scenery.

Spending too much time at the office?

Get out! Take your work somewhere else.

Set up camp at a local Starbucks or at your home office. You could even catch up on research and reading at a nearby park. Getting out of the office for a change will give you an opportunity to recharge your batteries or, at the very least, give you a more relaxed place to work.

2. Get marketing.

Slow days are the best times to reschedule all of those lunches and calls you cancelled because of your busy schedule.

Hop online and do a little social networking. Update your firm's blog. If you use WordPress, you could even write a couple posts and schedule them in advance.

Ping a few of the new contacts you made at the last conference. Reach out to a client whom you haven't heard from in several months. Whatever marketing work you get done during down time - or ANY time for that matter  - is always time well spent.

3. Work ahead.

Avoid getting yourself buried in another pile of work by working ahead.

While you cannot always predict when a case will explode, lawyers still tend to wait until the last minute to write briefs. If you have deadlines in a few weeks, taking a couple hours now to work ahead and help avoid a glut of work later. But getting a head start now can make things easier later.

Remember: You don't need to be busy 24-7. A little down time is okay - especially if you're constantly burning the midnight oil. But, if you find that your slow days outnumber your busy ones - it's probably safe to say that you could use that time more wisely. Get marketing. Be Productive!

Adapted from article How Attorneys Can Maximize Slow Days by Randall Ryder at Lawyerist.com

More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:

Set Yourself Up for Law Firm Marketing Success in 2011

Legal Marketing Strategies to Help Get You Focused... and Rainmaking

Successful Rainmakers Nurture their Clients

How a Simple Checklist Can Improve Your Practice