While there are plenty of articles out there geared toward helping you focus better, many attorneys are already familiar with methods to help you hone in and grind away at office work. Those methods are valuable in the abstract, but you can’t apply them properly if you’re not focusing on the correct things.
So what deserves your focus as a lawyer? What should you truly hone in on, and what tasks should you feel free to let go of? More importantly, how do you retrain your brain and rework routines to support this kind of work? Below, we’ll get into the types of tasks that truly deserve your undivided attention, the ones that really don’t, and how to approach these two types of tasks as a busy attorney.
Let’s break down the kind of work that really deserves 100% of your best, optimal attention. Ask yourself this question: What did you go to law school for? To represent clients’ needs and interests. Defending clients against criminal charges, protecting them financially in a divorce, or guiding them as they found or grow a small business. Each area of law is different, but you’re still helping your clients navigate the legal system, working toward the best outcomes possible, and speaking for them proactively in front of the prosecution, a judge, or a jury.
That is what you went to law school for. Without you, clients are left at the mercy of the other party’s legal team, a justice system that may be eager to throw the book at them, or even biased police officers who’ve already decided your client is guilty. Your objective is to fight for them, dive into the law, and strategize to help protect their rights, futures, and presumed innocence.
You also have to sit down with clients at length, listen to their side of events, and pay attention to key details. What is said. What is omitted. How your client sounds, how they shift their weight. Whether there’s information they might be holding back out of fear or embarrassment. Your job is to build trust, foster a willingness to be honest, get the whole story, and then work to protect your client on every level.
This breaks down to :
These require your absolute focus as you begin to connect dots, decide how to approach your client’s case, and best protect them at the negotiating table or in court. When your desk is cleared of less critical tasks, you can really focus, not on paperwork, but on the human, skilled, perceptive work of understanding who your client is, what they need legally, and how to best help them.
Now that we’ve identified what really needs your undivided, professional attention, let’s break down what doesn’t. In essence, the paperwork that helps you get to the point of best representing your clients can, in fact, be delegated to a trusted, skilled, and attentive partner.
This is why we offer attorneys ILAs. They’re trained, accredited, and understand how important these tasks are. They know that they’re helping you build the framework of excellent representation, estate protection, legal guidance, and business plans. That’s what they excel at, and that’s where their legal skills really shine and complement your own. Alright, so what are these other tasks that you don’t need to focus on as closely with the right support?
All of this helps build, support, and strengthen your central work of understanding what your client needs and how to best represent them. These aren’t minor points, but they’re projects that you can delegate to someone skilled, trained, and who will take the work seriously.
You don’t need to spend half your day (or more) pouring over these tasks alone until your eyes water. Because when you do, your core skills of negotiation, representation, and strategizing risk fatigue. There’s simply too much going on and too many pieces of information to stare at.
Delegating that work lets you give advocacy and planning your full attention, five days a week, all day. You become more efficient, waste less mental energy, and find that your unique skill set begins to serve you even better. The paperwork you need is handed back to you in real time, allowing you to dedicate more attention to the work that really helps your clients.
So what can you do, practically, to help you zero in on those interviews, evidence reviews, and planning for court?
For one, develop a strategy for working for specific blocks of time. For some attorneys, this means working for hours at a time. That’s just how their mind works, and anything less than that simply doesn’t feel right and won’t produce the same results. Other lawyers do better working for 25-minute chunks of time and then taking five-minute breaks in between. This is known as the “Porodomo Technique”, and can be helpful if your mind simply needs more rest in the middle of an intense period of work.
Next, fuel your body for optimal focus. Yes, caffeine has a place. I’ve used it to power through 14-hour days and not collapse. But it can’t be all of your game plan. Consider foods like salmon, whole grains, nuts and nut butters, eggs, and leafy vegetables. Bring healthy snacks to work, or find a nearby restaurant that serves less processed foods. Drink water alongside coffee, and incorporate energy-boosting drinks like blueberry yogurt smoothies (they’re delicious, healthy, and filling).
Finally, eliminate distractions to the greatest extent possible. As your ILA handles support work, be sure to keep yourself off of social media while honing in on your own tasks. Some attorneys find music incredibly annoying, while others use Gregorian Chant or green noise to help them focus. Do what works for you. Earplugs can help you drown out background clamor, while earbuds can help you plug into sounds that help you pay attention. (Just make sure you can still hear the office’s fire alarm).
Next, get plenty of sleep. Yes, that’s cliche, and yes, it’s incredibly important. Use your ILA to help you get home on time nightly. You’ll have less on your mind each evening, allowing you to relax more deeply, fall asleep faster, and wake up genuinely refreshed instead of exhausted. Less busywork, less stress, better sleep. It’s a win-win that helps you truly focus on client interviews, in-depth evidence review, and planning for trial.
Focusing is one of those skills critical to attorneys, and mastering it doesn’t have to feel like untangling a mass of Christmas lights. Instead, it can feel simple and intuitive. Just identify your core tasks, delegate the rest, and ensure you have habits and a schedule to support your best focus.
And that’s what Docket-Works exists to help you master. Would you like to truly do some of your best work, save time, and conserve your mental energy for court? Reach out to us, and we’ll help you understand the benefits, process, and simplicity of onboarding an ILA.
Grace Singh is a writer and editor for DocketWorks. She enjoys bridging services and client needs in ways that are meaningful, memorable, and human-focused, even as technology continues to change. When she’s not at her home office, she enjoys nature walks, reading, and brewing coffee.