Lawyers Should Stop Doing These 10 Things

Lawyers Should Stop Doing

Lawyers should stop doing a lot of things if you asked other lawyers – or the population at large. But what things should lawyers stop doing to achieve real, meaningful lawyer productivity? As we enter the New Normal, it’s time to look back and assess what has worked, what does not and what to carry forward into the new work world. Read on for tips on what you should stop doing as a lawyer and how you can increase your efficiency and productivity. It may be that some new habits are in order, especially given the changed nature of work and the fact that many may continue to work solely or primarily from a home environment. Remember, sometimes doing nothing can improve productivity and don’t fall back into the habit of doing your coworkers’ work.

“Most of us started out the year … the month … the week, with great intentions to focus on our goals and stick to the habits we know boost lawyer productivity. And then we got smacked in the face by the unceasing demands and stressors that pummel modern-day professionals. Good intentions succumbed to urgency. The problem with goal setting, resolutions, intentions — whatever you want to call the trigger for behavioral change — is that we typically focus on adding some new layer of complexity into our days. We zero in on efficiency gains, which involve getting more things done in less time, rather than effectiveness gains, which involve getting the right things done. The downside of focusing on efficiency rather than effectiveness is that, even if you squeeze more time out of your day, you’re merely cracking the window open for more nonessential work to flow your way. For example, the better you get at processing email, the more email you’ll end up processing because every sent email almost always generates a reply that needs to be processed. And so on.”

Read: 10 Things Lawyers Should Stop Doing at Attorney at Work