Do you often feel like you’re constantly helping others achieve their goals but rarely have time to intentionally work toward your own?
If so, you’re in good company. As a lawyer, your job is to serve your clients and, by extension, respond immediately to your colleagues. You’re driven by the billable hour (even if it takes the form of fixed fees or contingency matters) because efficiently doing the work is how your law firm succeeds.
In my experience working exclusively with lawyers and law firms on business development, leadership growth, and career advancement, what I have noticed is that effective time management for lawyers is often derailed by our tendency to let what seems urgent override what’s truly important.
There’s a Difference Between What’s Urgent and What’s Important
The words “urgent” and “important” are NOT synonymous, although the lines between them often become blurred.
I describe urgency as the relentless “ringing, pinging, and dinging.” The phone is ringing, your email is pinging, your alerts are dinging, and someone is standing in your doorway trying to get your attention (right away!).
For the purpose of achieving your goals, importance is what’s meaningful to YOU personally. Perhaps it’s taking your first deposition, single-handedly running a corporate deal, making partner or equity partner, landing a board position, growing your book of business, or becoming a practice group leader. The specifics will be different for each lawyer, but the bottom line is that it’s something you care about.
Unfortunately, what seems urgent too often crowds out what’s important.
One of my clients, a junior partner at a mid-sized firm, recently told me she was constantly reacting to everyone else’s emergencies. She wanted to build her own book of business as part of her desire to make equity partner, but months would go by without her taking meaningful steps. When we looked at how she spent her time, we realized she was stuck in a loop of only billing hours and responding to other people’s urgency—leaving no time for what was important to her.
That’s where the Eisenhower Matrix came in.
Use the Eisenhower Matrix
One simple framework that can help you reclaim your time management and focus on what matters is the Eisenhower Matrix, a chart that was formalized, named, and popularized by Steven Covey in his 1989 book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The concept behind the Eisenhower Matrix is attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was known to use a similar method to prioritize the many demands on his time during his military and presidential career.
When I first discovered it, I was immediately struck by the simplicity and accuracy with which this visual aid describes a challenge so frequently experienced by busy, hard-working lawyers. Since then, I’ve adapted this model to address the realities of practicing law and have used the infographic below to guide lawyers to take control of their own time and goals.
Let’s break down what each quadrant means for your career.
Quadrant A: Important and Urgent. When you are operating in Quadrant A, you’re in crisis mode. Not only is what you are doing time-sensitive – it must get done immediately – but it’s exceedingly important to you. Quadrant A activities can be stressful and draining because everything feels like a fire drill, and you are under extreme pressure.
Quadrant D: Neither Important nor Urgent. If you’re spending significant time in Quadrant D, you are investing time in things that are neither urgent nor particularly important to your growth or success. Quadrant D activities are the perfect matters for delegating to others or eliminating entirely. Sometimes, of course, Quadrant D is the land of procrastination. We all procrastinate from time to time, so it’s not the end of the world, but it isn’t somewhere you want to spend a lot of valuable time. It would likely be a lot more useful and enjoyable to simply go off the grid to relax and recharge!
Quadrant C: Urgent, but Not Important. Quadrant C is where most lawyers spend much of their time. What you’re working on is urgent; you’re expected to run around with your hair on fire to get it done. And it’s important to someone with whom you are working, whether it’s a senior lawyer or your client. But it’s not vitally important to YOUR growth or career goals.
You’ve probably guessed by now that the magic happens in Quadrant B: Important, But Not Urgent. It’s the place where you can concentrate on achieving your own goals or, if you’re in a leadership role, advancing initiatives that are critical to your firm or practice group. Whether it’s focusing on business development or intentionally working on strategic career advancement and growth, THIS is the place where your needs and goals take priority over the daily ringing, pinging, and dinging, and the drip-drip-drip of never-ending deadlines. Here’s how it plays out…
Using business development as the example, if you don’t bring in a new client today, you aren’t going to be fired or asked to leave the firm tomorrow. Likewise, if you don’t bring in a new client today, the firm isn’t going to crumble tomorrow.
What about career advancement? If you don’t figure out what it takes to make income partner, equity partner, or increase your compensation today, you won’t fall off the career acceleration track tomorrow or completely forego the opportunity to advance.
In both examples above, however, the problem is this: you can say that EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for the rest of your career. Which means that what’s important to you constantly takes a backseat to everyday urgency and craziness.
It’s understandable to get caught in that trap! But it’s not desirable. And it’s going to stand in the way of your success.
So, what’s the solution?
Make Time for What’s Important to You
Don’t risk looking back with regret, realizing you didn’t invest in your own success. Instead, carve out time for Quadrant B activities, such as career planning, business development strategy, and action-taking. Make a commitment to yourself to schedule “power blocks” every week (at least 30 minutes, preferably more) during which you focus entirely on YOUR goals. Every 3 months, schedule a longer power block to assess your progress and set quarterly objectives.
One of the lawyers I coach committed to just 45 minutes a week of focused time on her long-term goals. Within four months, she had launched a niche client initiative that eventually led to a major speaking opportunity—and a new client. That wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t protected her time for Quadrant B work.
**Important note. It’s easy to put something on the calendar and much more difficult to value your own time and keep the appointment! Don’t ignore your power block because there isn’t a client or colleague expecting your attendance. Respect that time. Protect that time. Invest in yourself by leveraging that time.
The urgent may be loud, but the important is what drives real progress. When you dedicate time to what truly matters to you, you’ll take control over your own future rather than letting circumstance dictate it. Instead of simply managing your workload and spinning in place, make the choice to intentionally build momentum and become the architect of your own success.