An organized law office rental will help your firm increase productivity and work more efficiently. Learn how these three rules will help with just that.
“Is it really possible to keep a law office neat?”
Physical organization works hand-in-hand with social organization. Being physically organized allows you to maximize the time that you have available to put your social organization in practice. The more time you can spend on marketing and networking activities, the faster your practice will grow.
Chances are if you’ve gotten this far in your career, you probably already have a preference for how you like to organize your practice. But, even the most sophisticated organizational systems can benefit from some fine-tuning.
Keep these three rules in mind as you begin to organize your office.
Rule #1: Everything in your office should have a purpose and place.
Form should follow function. As such, make sure everything in your office has a purpose and a place. For each object, consider how it will help you run your practice more effectively, both in the present and into the future.
Every time you re-organize your office, make it a little better than it was before. Look around for the stagnant piles. Ask yourself, how will this help me reach my future goals? How often do I use this tool? If you can’t answer these questions satisfactorily, it may be time to cut the dead weight. Make an archival box of potential throwaway items and files. If after a few months you haven’t accessed them, then you were right – you don’t really need them. Toss them!
Rule #2: Take time to do it right the first time and every time.
When setting up a new office space, you have the unique chance to create a custom plan and execute it to your standards. But, it’s never too late to overhaul how you organize and work within your law office.
In fact, you should always interact with your office as if it’s a constantly evolving system that is there to help you. By taking a few seconds or minutes to reevaluate how your law office is organized, you will be saving yourself future headaches, embarrassment, and the potential loss of clients.
Rule #3: Help your future-self do a better job, and you will feel good about your past self.
Too many of us fall into the procrastination trap: “Oh, I’ll just do that later.” By putting achievable tasks off today, you’re piling up work for yourself tomorrow.
What happens when tomorrow comes and you have to draft an Order to Show Cause plus meet with a client last minute? Tomorrow quickly turns into the day after tomorrow. And then the next thing you know your office looks like it belongs on an episode of Hoarders.
At the very least, there is a high likelihood of becoming disorganized and losing money. It’s okay to wait until a slow part of the day to do all of your filing. But it’s not okay to get into the habit of scheduling your procrastination. You may think that five minutes wasted here and there looking for a document has no consequence right? Well, that behavior adds up to a lost hour throughout the course of a week.
How much do you charge your client’s for a billable hour? Can you really afford to lose that time?
Don’t let necessity dictate organization, which will only make it a dreaded chore. Instead, make “being neat” a part of your routine.
These three simple tips can be quickly and easily incorporated into your firm’s current strategy. Follow them to help better organize your practice, and watch your firm work more efficiently and increase its productivity.
