For my first year of practicing law, I was not living the dream. I am a “Covid Baby” when it comes to lawyering; by that I mean I began practicing law just before COVID-19 hit and changed the legal landscape as we know it. I had to learn time management in a tiny makeshift office in my backyard with no daily guidance from a mentor nor the benefit of watching superiors handle caseloads in real time in the shared space of a traditional office. It was not easy, and there were many times in 2020 when I worked until the wee hours of the morning, and I still had a hard time getting everything done.

Admittedly, I am still learning. However, the time management techniques which follow helped me successfully achieve my billable hours while efficiently managing my cases. Hopefully, they can help you too.

Check Your Calendar Often

I check my calendar before 7 a.m. every weekday to make sure that I have all the information I need for any morning hearings and to get an idea of how I am going to organize my tasks for the day and remainder of the week. I also check my calendar every night to make sure I completed necessary tasks that day and so that I am aware of what is happening the next morning.

Being able to visualize what needs to be done for the day and for the week gives me an opportunity to assign an estimated time block to certain tasks. For example, if I have a report or discovery responses due, I know I will likely need several hours to finish that work on time, and I can plan accordingly. This includes asking for help or for an extension ahead of time, which sometimes happens. I also include personal appointments on my calendar (omitting non-critical details) to remind myself, the partners I work with, and my staff when I am on vacation or unavailable.

Have Great Communication with Your Staff

Make sure you treat your staff well and communicate regularly with your legal assistant and paralegal. Treat everyone like the amazing, important team member they are. (Shoutout to my team, MJ and Christina, without whom I could not function!) Communicate your needs early and give a deadline for when you need tasks completed. Be clear about expectations for work product submitted for your review. When you have a task that needs to be completed by your staff, communicate your needs early and give a deadline for when you need the task completed.

Never wait until the last minute which makes your emergency someone else’s problem. It is inconsiderate and cuts into everyone else’s time, including those who have planned their tasks for the day. That is not to say that emergencies will not happen, but try not to be the cause of an emergency for anyone else. Make sure your staff is not afraid to ask questions or get clarification. In the long run, it saves so much time for everyone and has definitely helped me become a better communicator.

Set Reminders and Visual Cues to Help Keep Tasks at the Front of Your Mind

I keep lists and color code my calendar and emails to help me with this.

On days that I have certain items due, I make a list and mark things off as they are completed. The most important tasks and time sensitive tasks should be done first. I circle them and give them a number to make sure they get completed that day in the order I am most comfortable with.

For emails, I keep the color coding simple. Red things are a priority, orange and yellow follow. If something is not a priority but I can bill for it, I mark it green. This allows me to go back to the most important emails and deal with them first. Also, I do not move emails from my inbox until they have been dealt with appropriately and have been billed. “Out of sight, out of mind” is a real thing!

On my calendar, I color code personal appointments and non-billable office events in their own colors. If I have a busy day, this helps me decide if I have time to attend a CLE or if I will have to try to catch the video version later. Keeping track of personal appointments and making time to prioritize my personal life when I need to helps reduce my stress and creates harmony at home with my husband and kids, which saves me time in the long run because they are less demanding during my working hours.

Takeaways

Time management is not one-size-fits-all. Trying new ways to save and optimize your time like the suggestions I have offered above or something different that works for you may surprise you and help save you those blissful hours of sleep I can never get back from 2020. Good luck, fellow associates!

Keep Reading

Tyson & Mendes Saves Clients $743,680,010 in 2025 Is New York Getting a Bad Faith Bill? The Apex Approach to Arguing Pain and Suffering: How to Stop Nuclear Verdicts® What I’m Thankful For as a Lawyer A Class in Class Actions: A Primer Inspired by Angelini v. TTI Outdoor Power Equipment, Inc. Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? Behind the Briefs: Confronting Mental Health and Exposing the Invisible Monster Florida’s Tort Reform Era: The Impact of Nuclear Verdicts® 2025: An Industry-Changing Year

Sources