Comments on: Good Question: What are your office hours? http://www.successfullysolo.com/blog/timemgmt/good-question-what-are-your-office-hours/ Attitude, tips, tools and resources for solo and small-firm attorneys. Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:34:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Paula G http://www.successfullysolo.com/blog/timemgmt/good-question-what-are-your-office-hours/#comment-1276 Paula G Tue, 13 May 2008 00:10:52 +0000 http://successfullysolo.com/blog/2008/05/good-question-what-are-your-office-hours/#comment-1276 It is SO true. Unless you define your office hours you could find yourself working at all hours of the day attempting to meet deadlines or worse, find yourself missing them because you didn't properly allocate your time vs expectations. Not to mention, if you don't put parameters on your time you become a slave to your business instead of having it enable your life. It is SO true. Unless you define your office hours you could find yourself working at all hours of the day attempting to meet deadlines or worse, find yourself missing them because you didn’t properly allocate your time vs expectations.

Not to mention, if you don’t put parameters on your time you become a slave to your business instead of having it enable your life.

]]> By: CJ Stevens http://www.successfullysolo.com/blog/timemgmt/good-question-what-are-your-office-hours/#comment-1275 CJ Stevens Mon, 12 May 2008 20:24:59 +0000 http://successfullysolo.com/blog/2008/05/good-question-what-are-your-office-hours/#comment-1275 Barbara, you're right about setting office hours. A deliberate and regular schedule is especially important for solo practitioners who don't have wranglers to keep us from wandering off. I am perfectly capable of not coming to work at regular times. If the morning sun is seductive, I might spend the first office hour cultivating the herb bed. Nothing like starting the day already an hour behind. Clients and potential clients have come to expect the business world to run on regular schedules. If they can't reach me when they think I should be available (at least to get the voice mail and return the call that day), they go elsewhere. In fact, some of my clients chose me because I answered the phone. "You're not only the first attorney to take my call, you're the first one who answered the phone!" And the flip side is equally important. Your clients know when they should not expect you to be available. Clients become frustrated when they call during regular business hours and their chances of talking with you are slim. I think they will be frustrated even if they routinely talk with you after normal business hours. Some of us routinely take client calls outside business hours, say, on the way to an evening social event. The conversation goes well but you don't have notes of the call and you forget to calendar a meeting for the next day. Because you accepted the call, the client has a reasonable expectation that you'll remember what you talked about, and will be frustrated to learn that you forgot a key point. Your date won't be any too pleased either. Barbara, you’re right about setting office hours. A deliberate and regular schedule is especially important for solo practitioners who don’t have wranglers to keep us from wandering off.

I am perfectly capable of not coming to work at regular times. If the morning sun is seductive, I might spend the first office hour cultivating the herb bed. Nothing like starting the day already an hour behind.

Clients and potential clients have come to expect the business world to run on regular schedules. If they can’t reach me when they think I should be available (at least to get the voice mail and return the call that day), they go elsewhere. In fact, some of my clients chose me because I answered the phone. “You’re not only the first attorney to take my call, you’re the first one who answered the phone!”

And the flip side is equally important. Your clients know when they should not expect you to be available. Clients become frustrated when they call during regular business hours and their chances of talking with you are slim. I think they will be frustrated even if they routinely talk with you after normal business hours. Some of us routinely take client calls outside business hours, say, on the way to an evening social event. The conversation goes well but you don’t have notes of the call and you forget to calendar a meeting for the next day. Because you accepted the call, the client has a reasonable expectation that you’ll remember what you talked about, and will be frustrated to learn that you forgot a key point.
Your date won’t be any too pleased either.

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