Feature Article: Use Processes and Systems to Help Achieve Work/Life Balance
by Barbara Nelson
One of my favorite resources, the Visual Thesaurus, gives these definitions, among others, for two of my favorite words:
Process: a particular course of action intended to achieve a result
System: a plan for actively doing something
If you pay attention, you have "intended," "result," "plan" and "actively doing something." The focus of The Timesheet is work/life balance. You're now armed with powerful concepts to serve you in your quest for balance.
The heart of work/life balance is your own interpretation of what combination of income and time spent working and not working represents a balanced life. That's the big-picture "result" you want to achieve, your "intention." The best you can aim for is that you will be happy with your income and hours spent working on average over whatever period of time that works for you. Of course, there's also a quality aspect to balance, the satisfaction and enjoyment you derive, but let's leave that to another column.
This month, choose a process, focus and improve it. Since it's February, let's choose the process called "Getting Paid for Work Done"—because you have a chance to make sure you do that every single month in 2012. This process starts with the engagement letter and intake discussion, and it ends with collected funds in your business account. The standard for the process has three components:
Accuracy: billings are accurate and consistent with the engagement terms, nothing is missed, you are billing fairly for the value of your work
Timeliness: billings are sent promptly per the engagement terms, collections follow-up is timely, also per engagement terms and intake discussion
Quality: clients pay your bills without question when they are due; this is about the quality and clarity of the invoice and activity descriptions, professional presentation is a given
Block time out this month to look at your process, step by step, and document it as you look for areas to improve. Create and file templates, checklists and samples. Develop a financial calendar, with specific deadlines for recording activities, drafting and producing invoices, and follow-up steps. Make sure you have management tools, like aged accounts receivable reports and realization reports. Track your process performance over time: are invoices accurate and timely? Are you getting questions about invoices? What percentage of invoices are paid on time?
Getting paid for the work you do is the first set of processes to start with, after that, move on, systematically. Choose "big bang" processes, ones that repeat, ones that can be standardized, ones you want to outsource or delegate. Perhaps you choose one process to focus on each month. Chunk it down so that you aren't overwhelmed or bored to death. Document to the level that makes sense. The payoff for applying process thinking and systemization to your practice will be significant, but there's no arguing the fact that the work of doing it might not be your cup of tea!
Work/life balance tip for February? Processes and systems. Get more done, more effectively, often higher-quality, in less time. Then you'll be less stressed when you're thinking about taking a long weekend for President's Day! Enjoy the month, folks. Get that January invoicing and collections DONE!
Barbara Nelson is a business coach who helps lawyers take action to get what they want at the same time they learn to enjoy the journey. She blogs at http://www.SuccessfullySolo.com/blog. You can reach her at barbara@successfullysolo.com.
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Cartoon: Courtoons
by David Mills
Courtoons are the creation of David Mills, an Ohio appellate lawyer who works with litigants and law firms involved in civil and criminal cases in federal courts across the country. Visit David's law firm website at www.MillsFederalAppeals.com
Video of the Month: Alice in Wonderland - Trial Scene (1951)
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Suzan Charlton is a professional cartoonist who is rumored to practice insurance coverage law as a hobby for a major Washington D.C. law firm. Her cartoons cover a wide range of law-related topics, from law school grades to law firm romance.
Song of the Month: Defending PI
by The Bar & Grill Singers
A long, long time ago, when I made a living
Working for insurance companies
Well, I knew how to bill a file
And I took every case to trial
And I collected all those hourly fees
With tort reform it changed forever
For plaintiffs and defense together
Dockets all were clearing...
The lawsuits disappearing
I still remember how I tried
To understand the reasons why
Adjusters laughed out with delight
The day the lawsuits died
[CHORUS]
So bye, bye to defending P.I.
Drove the plaintiffs out of business
But defense work went dry
And good ol’ firms were left
a’wonderin’ why, sayin’
"This is not what we had in mind"
In the good years we could bill our time
And not think about the bottom line
But that’s not how it is today
Now insurers limit discovery
And demand a cap on legal fees that
they’re quick to cut and slow to pay
And as I watched them celebrate
I realized it was too late
Bad faith and worker’s comp
Were slowly dying off
And as the tort reformers legislate
The lawsuits they eliminate
I saw my law practice dissipate
The day the lawsuits died
And I was sayin’
[CHORUS]
I quit my job to mediate
But I couldn’t charge a decent rate
Insurers all refused to pay
I went up to the courthouse door
Where I tried those cases years before
But the judge there said they’d
settled every case
The plaintiffs took what they could get
Insurers knew that there was no risk
They saved the cost of trial
By using in-house counsel
And the two that I defended most
"Good Neighbors" and those "Good Hands Folks"
They raised their glasses in a toast
The day the lawsuits died
And they were sayin’
Bye, bye to defending P.I.
Drove the lawyers out of business
and the claims have run dry
Insurance dollars stay with our bottom line
They said, "This is just what we had in mind"
They said, "This is just what we had in mind"
Just one of the hilarious songs on
Cartoon: Law and Disorder
by Paul Brennan
Cartoon: Jonny Hawkins Collection
by Jonny Hawkins
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Take a close look!The dials of our watches and clocks are marked in tenths of an hour—the same way many lawyers, paralegals and law clerks bill for their time.
