February Hours Check In

A new dawn, a new day, a new month.

I caught the sunrise this morning.

Filterless nature at its finest.

February in the Upper Midwest can be brutal.

It can also be beautiful.

A good reminder as I check on my annual billing goal.

Only five more months of my associate year--which is hard to believe.

December was slow, so my monthly goal picked up a bit in January.

I met that goal in January, but hitting that many hours (167.1) in February--the shortest month--will be an endurance exercise.

Because we're going to NYC for a long weekend this month, I have even fewer work days--18 in total.

167 / 18 = 9.3 hours per work day.

That's a lot, so I know I'll pick up hours on weekends here and there to stay on track.

I have several big projects ongoing + a team headed to trial at the end of the month--so the work is there, I just have to put in the time.

Some days I'll bill more than 9.3; others I'll bill less.

I'll reassess every day and every week, spreading missed hours out as needed as I go along.

My firm also just reconfigured how and when our "billable equivalent" hours take effect, meaning:

Some of my time spent mentoring, on DEI efforts, recruiting, for the executive wellness committee, and the associate committee will now count toward my base as we move throughout the year.

I'll be interested to see how much of a cushion that gives me, but I also don't like to count on that time to hit my requirement.

Either way, I should be able to stay on track, building up to 1900 by June 30, 2023 in a manageable way.

What's your system for hitting your hours or keeping track of them as you go?

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