How Lawyers Can Stay Focused & Productive During High Caseloads

Every solicitor and fee earner will, during their career, experience periods of heavy or extreme caseloads. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the business. Sometimes the workloads will feel as though they are pressing in on you from all sides. Deadlines stack up, emails seem to multiply, (faster than you can open them), your concentration wavers and you feel as though you have not made a dent on your caseload or workload.

When that type of pressure builds, it can be tempting to push harder, sleep less and double down on your workload. However, the reality is that working in that way rarely works.

It is at times like this that what matters is how you think about your caseload, how you structure your time and how you talk to your inner self in the process.

So, what can you do to stay motivated when you are drowning in work? Well, here are some approaches to help you stay focused and motivated in the short term until things caseloads normalise:

1. Check Your Assumptions About Timescales

It is easy to assume that others expect things immediately.

In law, there are times when deadlines matter such as papers which must be filed at court by a certain time or a client that needs advice immediately. There are genuine cases where speed is of the utmost importance. However, there are times, when it is not and urgency is simply manufactured.

If you want to know more on the manufactured urgency and what you can do about it, why not read our recent article on the subject: How Legal Practices Can Manage the Urgency Game.

However, there will be times when expectations are in your mind too. So, before you commit to delivering to a timescale, ask the person requesting it, when they truly need it and go from there.

2. Examine Your Own Definition Of Success

In law, details matter. A single word in the wrong place can change the meaning of a clause. Using the wrong case reference can blow an argument. So it is no wonder that so many legal professionals identify with being perfectionists. Perfectionism often wears the badge of honour in the legal world. However, like all good things, perfection should be moderated. Seeking perfection in everything you do, can slow you down and keep you in a cycle of reworking tasks that were already good enough.

Psychologists refer to this as the “maximiser” mindset. Studies have shown that maximisers spend significantly more time on decisions and report lower satisfaction with their work compared to “satisfiers” who aim for ‘good enough’ outcomes.

Want to know more on the subject, why not read our article: The Hidden Cost of Perfectionism

3. Track Your Time To get A Baseline

When you feel overloaded, your brain can amplify the sense that you are working extremely long hours, even if that is not the case. The human mind is prone to recall bias. We remember the late nights. We forget about the early finishes.

Using a time tracking tool for a week can give you a clear picture of how your hours are actually being spent. Once you have the data, you can spot patterns:

Are certain tasks taking longer than expected?
Are you spending more time in meetings than on core work?

This information allows you to look at what you do and how you do it. If typing is slowing you down then look at solutions like dictation which are more productive. We have a few articles on productivity which you might find interesting:

Timeboxing for Lawyers: How to Get More Done Without Working Longer Hours

From Busy to Productive: Personal Productivity Hacks for Legal Professionals

4. Practise Acceptance Skills And Healthy Self-Talk

When you have more work than hours in the day, there will be moments when you cannot do it all. Practising acceptance skills means recognising what is within your control and what is not.

Your self-talk matters here. The inner saboteur can make you believe you are failing even when you are achieving a great deal. Negative self-talk has been linked to increased stress and burnout in multiple workplace studies.

When you hear yourself saying “I am never going to get this done” or “I am hopeless at this,” stop and reframe it into something constructive such as “I will tackle this step by step” or “This is challenging but I have handled similar situations before.”

Want to know more on the subject why not read our article: How Legal Professionals Can Train Their Inner Saboteur.

5. Use Transcription To Improve Productivity

Incorporating legal transcription into daily operations can significantly improve the way legal professionals work.

Did you know that dictating attendance notes, file notes, bespoke letters, emails and legal documents is a lot faster than typing them yourself. Most people speak at around 140-160 words per minute when dictating at a slow pace. The average typing speed is just 38-40 words per minute. That means dictation is up to four times faster than typing. So why not claw back that valuable time that can be used to get more done and reduce the pressure of your caseload/workload.

So, let’s look at that in financial terms:

If a fee earner spends just two hours a day typing, they lose 1.5 hours of chargeable time.

If your charge-out rate is £300 per hour, that is £450 lost every single day.

Over a year? That makes the cost of your keyboard £96,000 (and that is after deducting the costs of outsourcing your transcription costs to Outsec)!

So if your law firm wants more billable hours, with less stress, less late nights and less working out of hours for their fee earners – think Outsec! We specialise in legal transcription and understand the importance of accuracy, confidentiality and speed. Our secure, pay-as-you-go service is ideal for law firms and sole practitioners who want to outsource typing without the overheads of in-house support staff.

Making the change from a keyboard to a Dictaphone (or recording app) is not just about money: it is about time, efficiency and a better work-life balance for you and your staff. Something which they will appreciate and will instil a better working culture and ensure they get through more of thier caseload quicker.

6. Batch Similar Tasks Together

Switching between different types of work takes more mental energy than most people realise. Psychologists call this “context switching” and it can reduce productivity by up to 40 per cent.

If you have a stack of emails to answer, do them in one block rather than dipping in and out throughout the day. The same applies to phone calls. This structure allows you to get into a focused rhythm and complete case work more efficiently.

7. Include Short Recovery Breaks During The Day

When you feel overloaded, skipping breaks might seem sensible, but it usually leads to slower progress. Research from the University of Illinois found that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve focus over long periods.

Try the 50:10 approach: 50 minutes of focused work followed by a 10 minute break to stand up, stretch or step outside. Even short moments away from your desk can refresh your mind and help you return with renewed energy.

8. Challenge The Belief That You Must Always Be “On”

Have you ever been unable to stop thinking about an unfinished task? If so this phenomenon is known as the Zeigarnik effect and it plays a significant role in how we process work and manage priorities. Want to know more about it, why not read our article: Why Solicitors Struggle to Let Go of Unfinished Tasks.

Final Thoughts

Overload is not only about the amount of work you have. It is about your relationship with that work, the assumptions you make about deadlines and success, and the systems you have in place to handle it.

When you check assumptions, define realistic success, gather data on how you spend your time, speak to yourself constructively and make smarter use of productivity tools like dictation and transcription, you give yourself a better chance of staying motivated and performing well.

These strategies are most useful during temporary periods of high caseload. If that high caseloads continues for a substantial period, or if you feel you have taken on too much, are experiencing excessive stress, or notice symptoms of burnout such as persistent fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, disturbed sleep or a drop in motivation, it is important to act early. Remember your health is more important than work. So, before matters become more serious, speak to your line manager about your workload and explain the specific issues you are facing. Doing so not only protects your wellbeing but also enables them to make informed decisions about resourcing and priorities.

We hope you have found this article insightful. If so, please do share it on social media or with friends and colleagues. For more tips covering all areas of legal practice management, why not follow our OutSec Legal page on LinkedIn.

About OutSec

OutSec is the UK’s leading online transcription company whose business has grown substantially since 2002. We are one of the most successful transcription companies in the United Kingdom.

OutSec provides secure outsourced transcription services to the medical, legal, property and surveying, universities, media and interviews, advisory boards, conferences & seminars, inventories, financial, corporate, HR, recruitment and Executive Search sectors.

With OutSec there is no minimum spend. Accounts are free to open. There are no monthly fees or hidden charges. You are charged on a per-minute basis (rounded up to the nearest minute).

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1. Check Your Assumptions About Timescales

2. Examine Your Own Definition Of Success

3. Track Your Time To get A Baseline

4. Practise Acceptance Skills And Healthy Self-Talk

5. Use Transcription To Improve Productivity

6. Batch Similar Tasks Together

7. Include Short Recovery Breaks During The Day

8. Challenge The Belief That You Must Always Be “On”

Final Thoughts

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