I’m sure at some point you’ve felt like there just wasn’t enough time in the day- it flies by when you’re busy. In an effort to maximize your time and provide exceptional service to your clients, here are a few tips for time management.

Manage your inbox. It’s easy to get caught up in your overwhelming inbox. If you’re like me, you may have a habit of keeping your Outlook (or other email service) open all day long. Sometimes it’s hard not to, right? Here’s something new to try- set a defined number of times per day that you will check your email. A good starting point would be to check your email 3-4 times throughout the day. Use those times to dedicate solely to answering emails. Set a specific time frame for how long you will read and return emails. Once complete, refocus on the other to-do tasks.

Take advantage of a calendar.   If not using a calendar, it’s easy to let a commitment or meeting of some sort slip your mind. It’s helpful to rank your tasks based on priority to ensure your deadlines are met. Once ranked, input into your calendar. Whether you are using a paper calendar or an electronic calendar like Microsoft Outlook, be sure to schedule time for completing those miscellaneous tasks that will add up over time if you keep procrastinating.

Stop printing and shipping. How much time is spent printing documents, prepping for shipping, using courier services, etc. in your office? My guess is if your office isn’t currently using a web-based software, like ShareFile For Legal, for document transfer that your firm is probably wasting valuable time. According to an article in the ABA Journal, “People often say that one terabyte equals 50,000 trees, and 10 terabytes would be the equivalent of all the printed collections of the Library of Congress.” Consider the amount of information you are printing on a daily basis. Not only could you be saving time, but your firm could be setting a green standard.

Interested in getting rid of your courier service and saving time? Try ShareFile for free for 30 days.

Image source: Time.com