I don’t know why, but early in my career I discovered that managing time wisely would be very important for me. Since that time, I have read every article and book I found to get ideas and to figure out what combination of expert ideas would work best for me. Now that I coach lawyers I am frequently called upon to share my ideas.

Here are my Top 15 Tips for making time for client development.

  1. Discover and create a list of your top priorities in your life and career. Stephen Covey said it well: “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
  2. Create a written plan each year with the focus on your top priorities and the return on investment for the time invested.
  3. Break down activities on the plan into 90 days or 30 days.
  4. Create a plan for each week.
  5. Do high return on low investment activities early and often.
  6. Break down high return high investment activities into smallest activities and schedule them.
  7. Do low return and low investment activities only when you have time.
  8. Say no to low return and high investment activities.
  9. Repurpose content you have created. I took billable work and created articles and guides. I took articles and guides and created presentations.
  10. Figure out what time of day is best for you to do your client development activities. (For me it was early mornings on Saturdays and Sundays).
  11. Work with your full attention in segments. Many experts recommend 20 minutes segments. That was a good time for me. Read: The Single Best Time Management Tip Ever
  12. Delegate what someone can do better or more efficiently than you.
  13. Keep a journal of your client development activities, in part to figure out what has been the best use of your time.
  14. Make a list of client development activities you can do in 15 minutes or less.
  15. Make a list of client development activities you can do in dead time (e.g. waiting for a flight at the airport).