Most attorneys handle their day by (a) looking at the calendar and (b) responding to phone calls, emails, and regular mail. They handle the work in front of them and never seem to find time for much of anything else.

They know they “should” spend some time on marketing, for example, but that time never seems to materialize.

The solution is to create a “daily method of operation”–a written list of daily activities that help you move forward towards your long term and short term goals.

Your “daily method of operation” is a broad plan for the day. Rather than spelling out the specific tasks you need to do each day, a DMO focuses on the big picture. It reminds you to pay attention to what’s important, rather than what’s in front of you. It allows you to run your practice instead of your practicing running you.

Every attorney’s DMO should have these four components:

1. Professional and personal development. Every day you should be reading or listening to training, learning new ideas, and finding ways to improve what you already know and do. Without continual development, you will stop growing and eventually begin to decay. This category includes continuing legal education, but also things like practicing your next presentation in front of a mirror, reading books on sales and business, and spending time with a mastermind group or a workout partner.
2. Money making activities. This is work that brings in revenue. Make sure you’re doing things that allow you to bill or settle cases, not wasting time in pointless meetings.
3. Marketing. Marketing is everything you do to attract clients and you must do it every day. It includes staying in touch with former clients and making sure your current clients are happy. In fact, from a marketing standpoint, there is nothing more important than “client relations”. Whatever you do for marketing–blogging, speaking, networking, social media, advertising–schedule time and do it every day.
4. Administrative. If you run your own practice, there will always be things you need to do or to supervise to make sure things are running smoothly. If you aren’t in charge, there are things you need to do to stay organized and out of trouble. Schedule time each day to make sure you’re on top of things, but not so much time that the other components get short-changed.

To stay on track, you should also set goals for each component. There are two types of goals–activities and results:

1. Activities: e.g., make one “how are you?” call each day to a former client, attend one networking function per week, etc.
2. Results: e.g., one new client per week via online marketing, increase revenue 25% this quarter, etc.

Create a daily method of operation for your practice and schedule time for all four components. If you spend only 15 minutes a day on marketing but do it every day because it’s part of your DMO, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.