May 1, 2023

May 1 -- time to check in with my billable hour requirement.

May is another long month, thanks to it starting on a Monday.

But, this month, I'll have two zero billing days (around Memorial Day weekend) and two half billing days (one for travel and another for a local bar association annual meeting).

That means, I will have 19 whole working days and 2 half days.

To stay on track towards my billable requirement (1900), I need to bill around 174 hours this month.

174/20 = 8.7 hours on full days and 4.4 hours on half days.

I will adjust daily and weekly as I miss, meet, or exceed the goal.

It is going to be another big month for me--several depositions, discovery responses due, etc.

And: our summer associates start at the end of the month--something I very much look forward to.

This method allows me to wrack up hours in busy months, and take the gas off when I'm head (or not as busy).

It helps me feel some autonomy in an otherwise not-autonomous job.

How do you stay on top of your hours requirement?

#lawyerwellbeing #legalissues #billablehour #productivity #biglaw