WEBVTT - Second Cup: When you bill time

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is for those of you who build time

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<v Speaker 1>for a living. There is a big debate about whether

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<v Speaker 1>this is the right approach to serving clients, but if

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<v Speaker 1>you do it, certain practices can help make sure that

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<v Speaker 1>you are more efficient and focused during the time you

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<v Speaker 1>plan to work. Whenever I tell people to track their time,

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<v Speaker 1>I suggest they think of themselves as lawyers billing their

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<v Speaker 1>time to different projects. Intriguingly, many actual lawyers with billable

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<v Speaker 1>hour quotas refuse to do this exercise. They get so

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<v Speaker 1>accustomed to thinking of their work days in billable chunks

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<v Speaker 1>that the idea of doing it for all their time,

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<v Speaker 1>even for just a week, seems awful. Some do it,

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<v Speaker 1>but very grudgingly. I find this fascinating because on some level,

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<v Speaker 1>many jobs have an expectation of a certain number of

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<v Speaker 1>working hours, yet putting a billable hour quota on it

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<v Speaker 1>somehow makes life feel like a race against the clock.

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<v Speaker 1>In any case, having an expectation of billable hours can

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<v Speaker 1>make life stressful during times when it is hard to

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<v Speaker 1>build ours. I was reminded of this when I got

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<v Speaker 1>a note recently from someone whose law firm, like so

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<v Speaker 1>many companies, had gone virtual during the pandemic. Many of

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<v Speaker 1>the firm's lawyers were supervising virtual learning or had kids

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<v Speaker 1>who are around a lot more than in the past,

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<v Speaker 1>and the net result was a reasonable amount of household distraction,

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<v Speaker 1>same as everywhere right, but the firm could see it

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<v Speaker 1>in their billable hour totals. People either didn't bill as

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<v Speaker 1>much as they would have been, possibly leaving clients short staffed,

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<v Speaker 1>or they worked a lot of nights and weekends, which

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<v Speaker 1>can over time lead to burnout. So what could be done?

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<v Speaker 1>As with all people working at home and dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>caregiving issues during the pandemic, the key is figuring out

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<v Speaker 1>when you can focus and when it isn't possible to

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<v Speaker 1>do long periods of focused work. Ensuring focus means designating

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<v Speaker 1>someone else to cover the kid front. Usually that means

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<v Speaker 1>switching off with a partner who may also be working

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<v Speaker 1>from home, though of course you can switch off with

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<v Speaker 1>a neighbor or other relative who is in your bubble too.

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<v Speaker 1>High earning lawyers might also be able to hire childcare

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<v Speaker 1>to get some focused hours. In any case, map out

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<v Speaker 1>a coverage schedule, and then this is key. Map the

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<v Speaker 1>work to the time. Weeks and days need to be

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<v Speaker 1>planned very strategically. Figure out what work requires focus, figure

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<v Speaker 1>out what work requires less focus. Then as soon as

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<v Speaker 1>focused hours are available, start the billable work. This seems

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<v Speaker 1>straightforward enough, but in my work with many lawyers over

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<v Speaker 1>the years, and other folks too, I'd see that some

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<v Speaker 1>would clear the decks before starting the billable stuff, hoping

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<v Speaker 1>to get all their emails answered and administrative stuff done.

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<v Speaker 1>Then they'd dive in. But that stuff can consume more

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<v Speaker 1>time than you might imagine, and that stuff can also

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<v Speaker 1>be done while you are in charge of the kids,

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe they're playing independently for a few minutes or

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<v Speaker 1>doing a school assignment. So plan the focused time to

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<v Speaker 1>bill as much as possible. On my website a few

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<v Speaker 1>months ago, I mapped out a schedule where each of

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<v Speaker 1>two parties could get thirty hours per week of generally

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<v Speaker 1>focused work by trading off the morning shift that is

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<v Speaker 1>eight to one and the afternoon shift that is one

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<v Speaker 1>to six, with a double booking of nap or early

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<v Speaker 1>afternoon screen time hours that's one to three p m.

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<v Speaker 1>For those who are curious, if you could bill most

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<v Speaker 1>of that thirty hours. We are talking twenty seven twenty

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<v Speaker 1>eight hours right there, all during the hours of eight

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<v Speaker 1>to six and all pretty focused time then, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is also key, make a list of small billable tasks.

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<v Speaker 1>Professionals who build time often build their time in tenths

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<v Speaker 1>of an hour, that's six minutes. It might be possible

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<v Speaker 1>to get a handful of six minute tasks done during

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<v Speaker 1>the hours you are covering, or later in the day

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<v Speaker 1>at night, early morning, as long as you know what

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<v Speaker 1>these tasks are so you don't waste available time deciding.

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<v Speaker 1>And maybe you can't do a ton of these tasks,

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<v Speaker 1>but five to ten per day, sure, that's thirty to

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<v Speaker 1>sixty minutes of extra billable time, or another two and

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<v Speaker 1>a half to five hours per week. Doing that gets

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<v Speaker 1>us to about thirty two hours or so of billable time. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd say this is not bad given the remote learning

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<v Speaker 1>situation going on. If you are a professional services firm

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<v Speaker 1>hoping to keep people through this situation, accepting thirty two

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<v Speaker 1>billable hours a week is probably a wise idea. If

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<v Speaker 1>people can't build forty, and many people can't, it's much

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<v Speaker 1>better to build thirty two than to just give up

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<v Speaker 1>or to quit, because sadly, that is what a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people facing down caregiving responsibilities are doing, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a loss for everyone. Times are definitely rough now, but

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<v Speaker 1>I'd say that this is not a bad mindset to

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<v Speaker 1>keep in the future when schools and daycares are open

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<v Speaker 1>and time seems a bit more expansive. Don't answer the

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<v Speaker 1>administrative emails. First, dive right into the billable stuff when

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<v Speaker 1>time is available, and then you will maximize the billable stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Figure out small tasks, those six to twelve minute type

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<v Speaker 1>tasks that are still billable, and make a list of

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<v Speaker 1>them so you can tackle those when your energy is

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<v Speaker 1>a bit more off. By doing this, you'll make sure

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<v Speaker 1>you're getting credit for all your work and doing client

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<v Speaker 1>work that counts when you're best able to handle it.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah yea,