Let’s be honest — when was the last time you worked a normal 40-hour week? If you’re like most law firm owners we talk to, you probably can’t even remember.
Some of us wear those 80-hour weeks like badges of honor. “I was at the office until 11 PM again last night.” “I worked all weekend on that brief.” Sound familiar?
But here’s what nobody talks about: all those hours aren’t actually making you more money. In fact, they might be costing you.
The Math Doesn’t Add Up
Let’s do some quick math together. If you’re billing $300/hour but only 30 of your 80 weekly hours are actually billable, you’re making $9,000 per week. That’s $112.50 per hour for your actual time.
Now imagine you streamlined those 50 non-billable hours down to 20. Suddenly you’re working 50-hour weeks and making the same money. That’s $180 per hour for your actual time.
Which sounds better to you?
Where Are Those Hours Really Going?
Most lawyers have no idea where their time actually goes. We think we’re working on cases, but we’re really:
- Hunting for documents
- Re-entering the same client information multiple times
- Playing phone tag to schedule appointments
- Manually creating invoices
- Fixing mistakes that could have been prevented
Your Homework (It’ll Take 15 Minutes)
This week, I want you to track every single thing you do for just three days. Not forever — just three days. Write down:
- What you did
- How long it took
- Whether it made you money (billable) or not
You’ll be shocked at what you find.
The Real Game Changer
Once you see where your time is actually going, you can start getting it back. Tools like Clio’s time tracking can show you exactly where every minute goes — no guessing, no forgetting to start the timer.
But the bigger win? All those administrative tasks that eat up your day can be automated or systematized. Client intake, document generation, billing, scheduling — it can all run without you.
Ready to Get Your Life Back?
Those 80-hour weeks aren’t making you a better lawyer. They’re just making you a tired one.
What if you could make the same money (or more) in 50 hours? What would you do with those extra 30 hours each week?
Looking for ways to get those hours back? Check out Streamlined Legal Plus for step-by-step systems that actually work. And if you’re ready to see where your time really goes, use promo code CCC-STREAMLINED to sign up for Clio and get 3 months of Streamlined Legal Plus FREE! (That’s a $1,500 value!)
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