August 2023 Billable Hours

New month? Time to check in on my #billablehour requirement.

I hit my hours in July. A good start to my new associate year and the second half of the calendar year.

In August, I am headed to Atlanta for two weeks and want to work as little as possible, focusing on essential tasks and matters so I can enjoy time with my family (I haven’t been home since Christmas 2022–a long stretch for me).

So, I’ve divided my hours requirement for the last five months of the calendar year into 4.5 segments.

By December 31, I need to bill 754.3 hours. But, if I want a slower August, I need to account for the time away, adding time to the last four months of the year.

754.3 / 4.5 = 84 hours for August; 168 hours for September through December.

So, in August, I’ll shoot for 84 hours and then recalibrate come September 1.

This means: August 1-18, I need to bill 6 hours a day and anything else (August 21-31) will be bonus time (and lessen the load for September through December).

I suspect I’ll bill more than 84 hours in August, but that sets me up well for the rest of the calendar year and a possible true vacation over Christmas (if you’ve been to Costa Rica or somewhere similar and have pointers, my DMs are open).

I’m ready for another summer month—this one in Milwaukee and back in Atlanta. It should be a good one.

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