Monday Map/Friday Wrap: How to Let Your Calendar Be Your Boss with Claudia Revermann

I’m Melissa Shanahan, and this is The Law Firm Owner Podcast Episode #240.

Welcome to The Law Firm Owner Podcast, powered by Velocity Work, for owners who want to grow a firm that gives them the life they want. Get crystal clear on where you're going, take planning seriously, and honor your plan like a pro. This is the work that creates Velocity.

Melissa Shanahan: Everyone, welcome to this week's episode. I am very excited to have Claudia Revermann on the podcast; back on the podcast. You've been on the podcast before.

Claudia Revermann: I have, thanks for having me back.

Melissa: Oh, my gosh, you're so welcome. We are sharing a mic, so if you hear us go in and out a little bit, that's what that's about. But I am thrilled to have you, on the first episode… we'll put in the show notes… that we had you on was really to borrow from your accountant brain; sort of a blend of you being a lawyer and an accountant.

The advice and tips and ideas that you had, that we thought we would share, based on things that you'd seen prior, people really liked the episode. That was super fun to do with you. Now, you're back, and we're talking about something totally different, but that you have a lot of experience with. So, I'm just grateful you're here, thank you.

Claudia: Thanks.

Melissa: Do you want to tell, just as a recap, everybody who you are, where you are. and what kind of work you do?

Claudia: Sure. I have my own practice in central Minnesota. I do mostly estate planning, business, and real estate work. I've worked with you since September of 2020. I found you because it was a real pain point in my practice. It was grinding, grinding, grinding. I don't know, originally, maybe how I found you, but basically got attached to your podcast. And I thought, “Oh my gosh, I dig her a lot.” In particular about execution, productivity, and how to get out of that. But I don't know that I totally understood that until I joined Mastery Group, in terms of hearing about Monday Map/Friday Wrap and how to approach your week in a totally different way.

Melissa: So, you started in Mastery Group. You used to take part in something we offered called Sprints. And then, at some point… You've had a journey. There was a program called Circle that we offered; you did that. You became a private client. And now, you're in a program called Syndicate, which is pretty cool. Mastery Group members can choose to do that if they would like to.

So, she's been around the block with the work that we focus on over here. And I think that's really valuable, for other law firm owners to hear what you're going to have to say. Because today, everyone, we're talking about Monday Map/Friday Wrap. If you're not familiar with that, you can go to the site and learn more; there's a tool that you can opt in to learn more.

But this is really about time management, understanding how you work, and making sure that you're being really honest about your calendar. So essentially, if I was going to try to summarize this very simply, it is about calendaring what you need to get done, and then showing up and letting your calendar be your boss and drive you.

So, there's a portion of time that's focused on planning your time, and then there's execution of it; two very different things. We help guide people through how to think about that in a way that sets them up for success. And that is something that you've been practicing for three and a half years now, I guess. Yeah, it's been about that, yeah.

Now, we are in a room together today, planning for your 2024, and this came up. It comes up a lot because there's an evolution to planning your time really well and all the facets of that. As you grow your needs change, for what you need and how much space you need to focus on certain things with your time.

But also, there's times where there just needs to be adjustments because something's not working. And so, today we got into a really great conversation, pretty productive, thinking through what the next version of this looks like for you.

I wonder if you would share with everyone what your evolution has been with Monday Map. Also, if you feel like there's a better way law firm owners can receive, in a really short way, what Monday Map/Friday Wrap is, go for it. But what your evolution has been with it from the beginning, and different phases and maybe regressions, and all that? So, if you can share that, and then maybe we can dig into some questions and reflection.

Claudia: You jogged my memory about the Sprints, because I was not getting things done that I was saying I wanted to get done. And so, when I heard the opportunity to come in and have some accountability around a project, that was the first thing that excited me.

But then it turned into something completely different for me. Because I learned that I was approaching it not just as a task list that I was getting done, I had to figure out how that task list actually got into my calendar. And so, for people that might be listening, or just have lived this for a long time, it might seem silly. Because I was practicing nearly 20 years, running some rat race, and not understanding that… I won’t say that I was doing it wrong... but there's such a better way to do it.

So, initially, Melissa, you were saying this concept of, ‘okay, you have this task list, then you’ve got to put time according to what the tasks are, and then you put it on your calendar.’ And I was like, what? Really, what?

Melissa: Because you were using to-do lists.

Claudia: Everyone has to-do lists, right? You’ve got this to-do list a mile long, and if you're lucky, you have a separate one; maybe for your family or for your friends or other things, and you have one for work. But for me, it just had a mishmash and it was never getting done, you just carried it to the next day and the next day, and the next day. Everyone knows this, right?

Not until we start working together... You said, “Well, it's not on calendar, when are you going to work on it?” “I don't know. It's on my task list. I'll work on it next week,” or whatever. I pushed back on you, and was not the best version of myself. As I relate, it was pure defensiveness. I was going, “Kate, I've been doing this a long time. No, maybe not the best. I'm learning who you are, Melissa. And I feel like my competence, I'm getting stuff done, is being challenged.”

And so, that's part of not an excuse, but where that was coming from, of like, “Wait a minute, what?” And then, I thought about it a lot after our session. I thought about it, and I thought, “Well, gosh, that makes sense. Because if I'm doing a project that has 10 tasks, and each task takes me 10 minutes, that's 100 minutes. But I only have an hour to do it.”

What I wasn't realizing in the big picture, it's just a puzzle. I pictured in my head this puzzle where I had pieces, where I   pieces to go on a 60-piece puzzle. So, what was happening in my daily life, it was just starting to buckle, constantly buckle, and I was confused and shoving it in. And then, potentially just getting my puzzle bigger, which meant working 60 hours a week, 70 hours a week, 80 hours a week, etc. and burning myself out.

So, that's from the get-go, where I was approaching this, or coming from.

Melissa: And stuck, that revenue.

Claudia: Oh, my gosh, absolutely. Great point. I was going, “Well, all I can do is work harder, grind harder, see more clients, and then get their stuff done when I can, when I have time.” But still not making more money. Except, if I worked more hours, I could make more money.

Now, on the other side, I'm going, “Oh my gosh, what a silly approach.” But you can only say that after you’ve gone through iterations of this. And so, when I started actually doing Monday Map, it became clear. Now, I suppose, I’ve evolved, in a way, of doing every quarter. I reset my calendar and review it.

Melissa: Okay. Also, as I recall, I don't know if you remember this or not, but with the defensiveness that you were referencing. I remember you saying, “That's not how I work.” There was some point about ‘that's not how I work,’ and “I don't want all of these things scheduled on my calendar. I don't want all of this structure. That's why I went on my own.” There was some fear that you had, that it was going to turn into... I don't know, something.

Claudia: Yes, thank you. I've worked for big companies with 800 employees, and then had been whittling in my career, whittling myself down to me and one paralegal, at the time. I was like, “No one's going to be the boss of me.” This was maybe pointed to you, because you were the one challenging me. “You're not going to be the boss to me. You don't tell me how I'm doing my calendar.” Right?

Then I was thinking about it, going, “I'm not that restrictive. I want to be able to, if I'm going to leave at two in the afternoon and go to a movie, I'll work, yeah, I'll work at 10 o'clock tonight. But I should be able to say when I get to do that.” I wasn't understanding that…

Melissa: By the way, have you ever gone to a movie at two o'clock? You're one of the hardest working people. I feel like you would have trouble doing that. Maybe not now, but back then.

Claudia: Well, okay, so my office is across, had been, across the parking lot from the movie theater. It's a pre-COVID, so yes, I did it once. And then, that three hours I got back from 10pm till 1am.

Melissa: Oh, okay, so you really did that.

Claudia: I really did that, but not at a cost, and it wasn't planned. Right? I probably was, to be honest, I was probably procrastinating. Going, “I didn't really want to work on that anyway. I'll work on it tonight, now out of desperation, because it's due tomorrow morning.” Not a great version of myself, either. So, yes.

Melissa: The reason I said that, I was laughing so hard, is because, man, for those of you who don't know Claudia, I just can't even imagine… Now I can, because I feel like you have created some luxury for yourself, with space.

And you've done that deliberately so that you do have the flexibility; you used the word “restricted” earlier. You've created a reality where you aren't restricted, and your firm is getting more done than ever. You're making more than ever.

So now, I could see where you feel more relaxed to me. And I could see where you're like, “You know what? I'm going to go to a movie,” because you trust that it's all going to be okay. Back then, I just didn't know you as well, and I can't imagine it. I felt like you were grinding.

And so, when you said, “Go to movie at two,” I’m like, “There's not a chance she used to do that.” But okay, I was wrong. Anyway. But there was a cost, because you had to work later.

Okay, so can you talk to us about after you started actually practicing it? You got over the hump. And by the way, that day that you voiced that you felt that way, I, for sure, thought you were quitting. I was like, “Oh, she's out. Well, it was good to know her. She was great.”

But you came back and you really practiced it. From then on, it has been an evolution. And you have worked with it in a way that it, at points, you get really nerdy about it. Because that's what I think it takes to figure out the next version and how to make it better. So, I want to ask you about the evolution for you, since you finally did dig in.

But I also… I keep saying “it,” to make “it” better. I don't know if you want to try to explain what we mean when we say that. For me, it’s just meaning that there's a flow. There's more ease and more flow and more gets done, and you're not beating yourself up at the end of the week because you thought you were going to get a whole bunch more done. So, when I say “it,” like “it” all gets better, it feels a little vague, maybe for some listeners. I don't know if you have a comment about that.

But then I would really like to hear about your evolution with it, for people who have tried this and set it down, or have heard about it for a while and never tried it, or for those that are just in it and they're really working with it. I think it'd be inspiring to hear from someone who's committed to the practice over a period of years, and what that's looked like for you.

Claudia: Yogi Berra said, “You can't hit and think at the same time.” I heard that or read that at some point, and then, when I started doing Monday Map, I’m like, “Ah.” That's not necessarily what Yogi Berra thought, but that really resonated with me. That if everything is planned out, I don't have to think now about what I'm going to work on because it's already teed up for me.

So, that's maybe part of the “it”. Like, what is “it”? Well, it just makes your cognitive load so much less. So that, when I hit the ground running Monday morning, A- I don't have a Sunday evening of ‘Oh my God, what do I have to do tomorrow? Oh, no. What's the day going to look like? Etc.

Do I have interruptions? Do I have client perceive emergencies, those things? Absolutely. But I get to determine what I'm going to do with them. I also get determine how much space I'm going to have for those things. I don't do it perfectly, that's part of what came up in our discussions, in our deep dive today; to look at my calendar again.

But I do think that I know there is a way out to address those things. That's huge. Sometimes just knowing the approach, like, “Okay, I'm in a jam. I know how I got here and so next time, we'll just do it better. Next week, we'll do it better.” Or I’ll anticipate other things.

Another thing that came up too, was just the idea of being honest with the calendar. That has been some of my evolution, of how honest I am with myself about this. Not just honest about how much I can get done in a day, but that I'm actually counting for every little piece of what happens in a day.

So, when you're doing your brain download: I forget that I had to pick my kid up, right? I mean, this is a few years ago. Or, I forget that I should eat lunch; I don't work that into my calendar. So, those types of things. Or I forget that I have emails that are going to come in, that I need to address; because I put my calendar so tight. This helps with creating a framework to be able to address those things.

Melissa: It puts you in control.

Claudia: Yeah, I'm in control. And I can sabotage, too. For good or bad, right? But I know it's me. A big thing that I've learned, is that it's not about other people. It's not about clients interrupting, it's not about my staff interrupting me, I get to be in control of what my calendar is. And as a leader, I build rapport with my team.

To go, “Nope, this is how Claudia runs her calendar. It just is what it is. This is when she has client appointments. This is when she schedules phone calls. This is when she's working on billable time. This is when she's responding to emails. This is when I get to talk to her and do case reviews, or whatever.”

Everybody knows, and it provide certainty, for nearly everybody that's familiar with working with us, about what happens. Now, I do all transactional work, so I don't have the court aspect of that. That provides some additional layers of uncertainty in a week. But I do think that you can provide for that, or build in what we call “buffer time.” Or build in time so that those things can be accounted for.

Melissa: That's very true. We have clients that are in court quite a bit, and they do the work to figure out how much time on average every week is just shaved off the top, it's not their own time. If they're wrong, week to week, when they're sitting down to plan their next week, they can adjust it. But it's math.

If you could try your best to make it math, and really think through not only the number of hours you have available to work, that you're willing to work so you have a container for things to fit in, then you have your list of things you need to get done, and how much time are you going to give yourself for each thing.

That almost seems too simplified, but that is exactly the way that you get good at creating some honesty, is by being honest about the amount of time that the things on your plate are going to take.

And so, you're right. It doesn't matter what you have on your plate, it doesn't matter who you are, or what you're doing… And I'm speaking to law firm owners right now, because not every position in a firm does this apply. But for law firm owners, this does apply. You do have control. Most people don't take the reins where they could take the reins.

That's what I think your evolution has been, taking the reins and gaining more control and getting more honest as time goes on. I was reading a thread in a forum, and the question was… This is a pretty serious forum; it's called Hacker News. I don’t expect everybody to also read that, but it's serious. Jokes can't be in it; they take the responses very seriously in the threads.

The question was: Are you always late? And if so, why? The responses were very telling, and I could relate to them. The best one that I read was, “You have to be honest about how long something is going to take you, not how long it took you when you did it the fastest you've ever done it.” It was like, oh my god, that's me. Getting ready for the day even like, I'll shave off things here and there, sometimes; depending on the day.

You start to catch yourself lying about the amount of time you're allotting, it’s the fastest you did it that one time ever, that's what you're going to give yourself. Like, that's not reality. So, anyway, I thought that was funny. I do want you to say more about your evolution. So, please go on.

Claudia: Oh, my gosh, I am not always late, but I say the reason I run late is because there's always one more email to do, one more phone call to run one quick errand to run before I go. And I get it, I feel it is disrespectful to the person. I get all of that, it’s disrespectful of their time. And my time, too. I'm not actually using the best use of my time. But that is such a great point.

There was a time, when I was going through this evolution, that if I was reviewing an estate plan, for instance, it couldn't be my fastest time of 18 minutes, or .3 for all the lawyers. It couldn't be that, I had to double it. Because I was not being honest with myself, unintentionally or subconsciously. But I had a double it, put in a .6. It’s going to take me .6. Then, oh my gosh, what a great thing. It actually really only took me .2, fantastic.

It's not like I'm sitting around going, “What am I going to do with the rest of my time?” I filled it with something else, or I filled it with something that I underestimated. But that was a hurdle to get over, to make sure that the right time is assigned to each task.

I think just breaking things down and actually putting times by it, because my calendar sometimes, particularly when it's working on the business type of things, it's just “Do this staff review. Review this procedure.” It's not broken down.

That goes to the honesty, again. Well, what are you going to do with it? What are you going to do with that time? And then, I get to that time and I'm thinking too much about, “Okay, what was that again, that I have to do?”

Melissa: Okay, talk about your evolution.

Claudia: Evolution, so I think the evolution of my firm is huge, in that I was so in the business and not working on the business, because it was just me. I was so intent on just doing client work. And so, it was a good start to Monday Map, because it was maybe more simple. Because it was: Meet with a client. Do their estate plan. Finish their estate plan.

Not a lot in between. But now as my firm's evolved, where I have a team of people who are doing a lot of the work, whether it's drafting or reviewing, etc., I have associate now too, it's taken my time and changed it a ton. Now, I have to have my Monday Map include things like, working on Rocks and working with a team. That's something I never had to do.

So, before, whether I was working in a 40-hour week… I had 40 hours, what am I going to do with these 40 hours? A lot of the time was taken up with client time or working on billable work, or whatever.

And now it is, and again, we're going through another evolution, it’s every quarter. Every quarter, I'm looking at this. An evolution where really this needs to flip. This needs to flip where I'm less on the client time, and my associate needs to be more on the client time. And I need to really, really focus on getting these. Rocks done, or whatever the issue is, or the project is, to move the firm to the next level.

Melissa: As I'm thinking through the evolution… You said every quarter, you revisit your calendar and the template for the calendar, which is really important. It's a step of Monday Map. You want to create your ideal week, in terms of a template, where you know where to slot certain things. So, that lets you have a better flow through your week. And that's shifted a lot over time.

I don't remember all of the categories you used to have. But you certainly used to have a lot more bigger blocks for client work; whether that’s meetings or otherwise. And so, that's gone down, and it needs to take another push down.

I was thinking about, if you don't mind, if I share the types of tasks that we identified today. Because today, Claudia mentioned… We were talking about lessons learned and reviewing the quarter. And she was like, “Again, I’m just biting off more than I can chew.” And so, we started talking about what does she mean by that?

Because she seems really certain and super convincing before we leave our strategic planning meeting. And she's like, “Yep, yep, I got all this.” But it's been a struggle to actually get done all the things that you committed to getting done, when it comes to Rocks. And Rocks are the projects, or the efforts, that are required to make sure that you are putting yourself on track for your goals.

As we dug in a little bit more, you realized that… You said it just comes down to being honest. I would love for you to say more about that. Because I know we've touched on it here, but it's a lesson that you learn deeper every year. And maybe another example or two of what you mean about being honest, and when you aren't honest and what happens when you're not honest. And then, when you are honest and what happens when you are honest. I don't know if you can speak to that.

Claudia: Melissa is much too modest to say this herself. But yes, the conversation turned out, what are your lessons learned from either the last year or the last quarter, etc. And I said precisely that, that I was biting off more than I could chew. I felt like I was coming out of strategic planning with all these great ideas, and then just petering out.

There was some emotion tied behind that, it's just pulling it out, pulling out; that’s why you're good at what you do. I mean, truly. Because you knew that wasn't just, “Okay, so, we don't want you biting off more than you can chew. So, let's just give you one Rock, you'll nail it, and you'll be done.” That's kind of where I wanted it to go.

But I knew that was not you doing your job, and not me doing my job. Certainly. Right? And so, it became more, what are the feelings behind that? Well, I was not proud of my work. I don't love coming to strategic planning and going, “Yeah, I didn’t do that. Nope, didn't finish that.” I'm a great starter, and some of it's just how I'm wired too. Great starter, but not always the great at just finishing.

I love to execute until I don't, and so what is that about? And so, you started digging deeper. “No, let's go back to basics. We're going back to math. What is making up your day? Because you're saying you're working 40 hours a week,” which really, I am. I am proud of that, getting to a point where I am still hitting revenue goals, increasing that, and working less. That's a formula that actually has proven out.

But something's missing, because I'm not being able to finish, complete, all of those things that I say I'm going to do every quarter. And so, we sat down and said, “Okay, here are all of the buckets of time that I spend each week, or even just every day.” And it turned out that the emails, the tasking to other people, delegating, is sucking so much more time out of my day.

And I'm not being honest, in terms of how much time it was actually taking me. I'm not being honest that actually, I am allowing it; not anymore, after today though. But I am allowing it to eke its way into time that I work on the business.

Because it's easier to disappoint myself. I certainly am not going to disrupt client expectations, or even my team expectations. But for me not to be honest and go, “Yeah, Claudia, you didn't work on that, you didn't honor your plan, or you didn't set up yourself for success,” that's where kind of the rubber hits the road.

Melissa: Okay, so the buckets, the types of tasks that we pulled out of you, that you actually spend time on. We made a list: Email/tasking. Currently, up until today, you don't reserve any time for that in your calendar. So, it's not baked into your template. But you're spending 1 ½ to 2 hours a day; it sort of seeps in to the day.

So, the fact that there's no slot for that, there's no room for that, it's not accounted for, then you have trouble keeping up with other things you want to do. It pushes other things out. So, I'll keep going: Team meeting time, you have a space for. Actually, what you allot for that is exactly what you give to that.

Rock time, how much time you spend on your quarterly Rocks. You had allotted over five hours a week, but you were spending like one, and that was generous. So, that wasn't happening. And then, client meetings. Currently you have allotted 15.75 hours a week, that's between initial meetings and signings. And you are filled. You have it open; it's filled. I'll go through in a minute and just talk about percentages for this.

Scheduled calls, you have four hours a week. You honor that, that works out. Marketing, you allot two hours a week, and you're spending two hours a week. Buffer time, you had allotted a little over seven hours of buffer time, but we have zero. So, you weren't doing any of it?

Claudia: Well, I would call it buffer time; buffer time, meaning nothing's planned in there. But what was happening, is all the overages from maybe a client meeting that went over, or mostly this email tasking, etc. the buffer time got sucked up first.

Melissa: Okay. So, you were using your buffer time, but for repeated, recurring, very predictable things, which is not what buffer time is for. Then, billable work. You hadn't allotted any time for billable work in your calendar. You were squeezing that in, too. Which isn't a ton, it was less than five hours a week. But that's five hours.

So, you said, “I'll just put a little block here, a little block in there, a little block here.” So, you're squeezing it in. Anyway, it was very clear, once we started to look at this, that shifts need to be made to be more accurate with how you need to spend your time. And right now you're not giving yourself the space, you're taking it from other things. So, it's robbing from other things that you say you want to do. We reworked this.

You listened to a podcast that I also love. It was a Tim Ferriss episode, with a guy named Sam Corcos. He basically talks about time management in this exact same way. He essentially does Monday Map/Friday Wrap. He doesn't call it that but it's the same principles. You do what your calendar tells you to do, and that's it.

People will say to him when he talks… And he's a CEO. So, his team and others, his colleagues, he'll say to them what his method is. You calendar time for your activities, and then you show up for your calendar. They'll give that a shot, and they'll come back a week or two later and say, “Your method doesn't work.”

And he's like, “Why doesn't it work?” “Because it doesn't all fit.” And he's like, “Exactly, that's the whole thing. You have to learn how to make a calendar, how to make a plan that's actually possible and not just wishful thinking.” So, he had so many good things to say.

One of the things he said, was that if you're very good at this practice, you need 20% buffer time. We do teach buffer time, but I've never given a percentage and I love that he gave that. He said if you're not good at it, you need at least 50% buffer time.

Which is basically meaning, you hold space for all the things that you aren’t accounting for, that pop up. If you're really good at planning, you need to hold 20% of your calendar as space for those things as well.

You took that to heart. And so, you started calculating percentages, what percentage of time you were spending on each type of activity. So, just to give people a read, you had 0% of your time reserved for email tasking. You need, what we figured out was, 19% of your time needs to be spent on that.

Team meeting time you had slated 14%, and that gets to stay the same; 14% of your time. Rocks, you were allotting or reserving 13% of your time, but you were spending 3% of your time on Rocks. Client meetings, you were spending 39% of your time, but we reworked it and we're getting it down to 19% of your time will be spent with client meetings.

Scheduled calls is staying the same; it's 10% of your time. Marketing is actually going up from 5% of your time to 10% of your time. Buffer time, we did something unique with your buffer time, which we can say more about. Billable work, it should be about 11% of your time, and we didn't have anything allotted for it before.

This was really cool. I haven't worked with clients looking at the percentages of time. But that was really helpful I think to give you clarity. This is something you were doing before but we just got it closer to right today, I think.

And so, I am curious if you have anything you want to say to listeners, as they're listening to the stack that is yours, and the activity types that you have slated? Listeners, you may have a different need for different activity types. But I think hearing how you have this laid out, after practicing this for a really long time, could be useful to people.

So, I don't know if you have any comments about the work that you figured out today. And I’d love to actually hear you talk about buffer time more specifically.

Claudia: That really did resonate with me, the Sam Corcos, the whole buffer time. I had never thought of it. I'd thought of it, but then I thought that was just, ‘I have a meeting with a client that lasts an hour. I just leave a half hour in between, and then I meet with another client right after that.’ Like it's just time that I make adjustments from walking from one conference room to another kind of thing, right?

But that's not really what it is. Adding a percentage to it really resonated with me. However, the mistake I made… I think I should call a mistake, or just my blind spot… was that I was sucking it up, the buffer time with emails, tasking, client emergency, and other things, that really made it no buffer time. So truly, if I work all of this in, I should still, in addition, have an additional 20% of buffer time.

Melissa: I agree with that, except for emergencies. That is a good example of it's there for when things pop up, right? But when you're using buffer time for your regular tasks, that's a misuse of buffer time.

Claudia: I would agree. I think if you are missing pieces, you can't just call it “buffer time.” She laughs. Because I have to do billable client work. I do a lot flat fee, but meaning reviewing an estate plan for instance, that's what I call billable work. But I was putting that in buffer time. Now when I say it out loud and we've been analyzed it yes, it's silly. It's not right.

Melissa: It insignificant enough that you can just do that.

Claudia: Yeah. I might look at an estate plan, it might take me 10 minutes. So, I don't have to do that, I can work that into buffer time. No, no, no, I can. I mean, it still all has to fit in 40 hours, if that's truly what I wanted to work, 40 hours.

Some of the evolution too, has been that I need to be honest with, am I really working 40 hours? Yeah. Oh, gosh, wouldn't it be great to work 40 hours? Sure. But I'm not really working 40 hours. I'm getting it all done in 60 hours, because I have to have time built in there for client emergencies, or a phone call, or a deal that had to get done that I hadn't planned on for my Monday Map.

And so, I really, really was working a lot more than what my ideal calendar said.

Melissa: Wait, this year?

Claudia: Nope, in previous years, in the evolution. So this year, I honed in a lot on that. However, it came at the sacrifice of giving into the Rock time, or my time to work on the business. I wasn't doing what I had said at the end of each quarter as I was planning what I was going to do.

Melissa: Yeah, that's right. Your ‘Word of the Year’ this year was “glide.” You did a really good job of that. Because not only did your business grow at a great rate, your team has been developed, there's been more of an ease for you as an owner this year, lots of hard work, but not the grind.

This year was, maybe I would say, tell me where I'm wrong, the first year that really wasn't the grind. You worked hard to create that reality for yourself. A lot of it was paying attention to these things. So, even though it's been such a good year on so many levels, and there's still work to be done; you aren't giving the space that you want to give.

You're just starting to feel that, more than you felt earlier in the year. You want more time to spend with your team and developing your team. You want more owner time that you don't have the space created for it. So today, drilling into this stuff, helped you formulate a plan.

That now you can work with your strategist support, your operations right hand, who can help you get it all set in your calendar, and make sure that this can be abided by moving forward. Which you're about a month out from that being a reality, because you already have client appointments through the end of the month.

But this year, you were willing to work more than you last year. And so, this year, Claudia came and said, “This year, I want to go. I want to really put my foot on the gas. I want to go. And I'm willing to work 50 hours, not just 40.” Last year, 40 was your limit.

And so this year, what we did with your percentages… All those percentages I just read you, the percentage of time she's spending, it was based on a 40-hour week. And so, because you're willing to work 50, you mean it, you're ready to go, she is going to use the extra 10 hours a week as buffer time.

So basically, she's got 40 hours spoken for; it's super organized, the math is right, to the best of your ability you're being very honest so there shouldn't be a bunch of cramming, you've made space in your calendar within 40 hours for all of these things, and you've got 10 extra hours a week that you are willing to spend time on something, should it arise, should it pop up, or should you just want to.

That's how we thought about your buffer time. This year was, let's just give it to you to meet 50, but only schedule you out for 40. So, I haven't worked with anybody in that way. I think that's innovative. It was a good thought; that was your idea.

Claudia: Yeah, well said. I think with the evolution of the firm in 2022, there was a lot of chaos. And previously it was grinding, a lot of client work put up for me. And so, I took 2023 to “glide.” Meaning, I'm still moving, I'm still putting effort in, it's just not as scrambling. And so, I took that as an opportunity to just slow my life down a bit, and do it very intentionally. I mean, it was intentional that I didn't come into the office until 9:30 in the morning.

Which, anyone that knows me, knows I was kind of spinning in circles at my house going, “Can I go to work?” I'm such a workhorse sometimes. I needed to just slow that down. We had some personal stuff in our lives that we just needed give more time and attention to. So, that served me so well this last year.

It also really forced me to dive deep into delegation, tasking to other people, and teeing people up. I'm so proud of things that happened within my team. My team was hungry for it. And so, I got to give them those opportunities to fly. So, that has now teed me up for 2024, to really push on the gas and let's go.

Melissa: You seem rejuvenated this year versus last year. Yeah, you're going to fly, I can feel it. The right team in place. Yeah, 2022 was intense, super intense; getting the right people on the bus, so to speak, and in the right seats, and trying to transition out of as much client work. And now, we're reducing it again. This is how you're going to get your space back, is reducing your client work. It's just so neat to see the evolution.

Okay, one more thing about buffer time. I'm hoping you'll share something you said today. It just was perfectly said. I want to see if you'll make that point here about how people tend to use it, and it's a misuse of it, and why it causes problems.

Claudia: First of all, I think the idea of buffer time, as you're suggesting, or as suggested, we plan in 50% or 20% or 30, or whatever that percentage is, it's scary from a productivity standpoint, or from a production standpoint, maybe that's different. Meaning, you want me to set aside 50% or 20% of my weekly calendar for nothing, just to sit there and wait. That's not actually what happens, it's always used up.

It's always used up, or when it's used up there things that you probably weren't being honest about, things that you just didn't plan for, things that probably should have gone on your calendar. Buffer time really is there for those things that could not have been planned, could not have been anticipated down to the half hour increments, etc.

Or use it for something fun. Use it to give yourself some fresh air, to go for a walk, or go to that movie, or do whatever. But I guarantee, it's going to be used up, you're going to find something else to do with your time.

Melissa: Yeah, it just really struck me the way that you said that today, the thing about buffer time. Because people really struggle with that concept. As you just stated, you will always use it up. But you don't want to use it up because you weren't honest with yourself on the front end of planning.

You want to use it up because it was there and available to you as a buffer between your life, the things you had planned outside of work hours, and the work. And so, I don't know if it's coming across in the podcast the same way it hit me today, the way that you said that, but I do think buffer time should be taken seriously, and really only used for the things you can't plan for.

What will happen is, when you put the buffer time in, you may intend to only have the buffer time used for things you couldn't plan for. But you'll realize through the week, you didn't plan well enough. And so, it's a buffer for your learning curve as well. So, I just like the way you think about it. I like that you're really focused on the percentages. And that you are very dialed with this, you're giving yourself 20%, and you're finding you need it.

Okay, one more thing before we go. If you can think of a time that… This hasn't been a perfectly up-and-to-the-right curve with Monday Map/Friday Wrap for you… if you can give an example or two of when it was just utter failure with it. And how long? When you have periods of regression with this work, how long do you go before you kind of get yourself back in gear and focused on the next iteration of what this looks like for you?

Claudia: I find that mid-quarter, I tend to need a reset. It's not that I have to revamp everything, but I do need to have reset because I'm not recognizing in real time when the calendar I set for that quarter is working, or where there's kinks in it.

The other is, I do, as I said, a lot of transactional work. So, business and real estate sale. I don't do a great job in the follow up or follow through of a closing. So, I get all jazzed up, we got the purchase agreement done, I know what the closing date is, and I should be going on the calendar and scheduling, blocking time to work on that closing, and teeing somebody up to get all the closing documents, for example, ready.

And so, where it's really happened… Particularly in December; Decembers are so busy for us… where I haven't blocked that time. A long time ago, when my kids were young, Septembers were always rough; back to school, both my boys played football; it was a crazy time.

I remember the coach I had at that time, I was overwhelmed, she said, “Okay, next August 1st, sit down and think about this and be prepared for this to happen. So, that you're not sitting there every September going what happened? How did we get here? How am I overwhelmed?”

So, that's very similar to my Decembers. I know Decembers are rough. I can't meet with clients as often. I need to book more time to get these closings, get that rat race, get the communications with clients in and out. It's a faster pace than any other time of year. So, that's probably where my biggest pain points are with the map.

And so, how long does it take to get back on? Well, sometimes not as quick as I'd like. At least I know now, that that's where I've gone off the rails. I didn't plan because I didn't take that time. I didn't put it on my map. Because I'm just working the files working, working, working the files. I didn't put my hour on the map, just to sit down and Monday Map.

Melissa: How often do you get there?

Claudia: How often do I get to a point where I'm going to be working the files? Not as often anymore, where I don't stop and Monday Map. Sometimes part of that is just doing the Friday Power Hour, and knowing that that's on my calendar. So, a lot of the times it's on my calendar. Whether I honor it or not, that's the second part, right?

I can look back and go, “Yeah, you didn't honor that. So, there's a reason you fell off the rails, because he didn't honor it.” I would say I recover pretty quickly, because I know exactly what happened.

Melissa: You recover pretty quickly because you've been practicing this for a while. If there's one message here, that people just stick with the practice. There is no such thing as perfection.

I mean, I'm sitting here talking to someone who has practiced this for a very long time, and has done a very good job of it, over the course of time, and everything has moved in the right direction because you stuck with the practice of it.

Not just for your time and your freedom and a sense of relief, but also your firm has been allowed to grow because you have allotted your time in a way that's responsible, and lines you up with the things you say you want.

So, that takes practice. From week to week, one week may be great, the next week maybe just fell off the rails, and then the next week is a little better, and then the next week's great, and then the week after that falls off the rails. That's kind of the cycle until you really get practiced.

You stuck with it, and here you are on the other side. Is there more improvement to do? Sure. But you have made so much progress. Your life feels different, because you've taken the rains in a way that you deserve to. I just hope everyone out there can wrap their heads around committing to the practice, and not committing to this perfect outcome.

I think you're a really good example of that. I hope people can glean that from today's conversation, for sure. To close up, why do you think people should, in your own words, why should people take the time to do this for themselves?

Claudia: I think it goes back to the reason that I bucked it so bad. It’s actually is super freeing. So, planning is freeing. You're not at the whim of the worlds; the whim of your clients, the whim of your team. So many times I hear people going, fellow attorneys, they're going, “I don't know, my assistant just put something on my calendar, so I guess I'm doing that.”

If you really take control of it, it frees you up to do so many other things. And you're right, practice is where it's at, to continue to improve, make little tweaks here and there. It's never going to be perfect, but that's okay because not every week is perfect. Not every week's going to work exactly how you had anticipated.

But gosh, just little by little, you just see little improvements. It gives you a lot more freedom to do a lot of other things.

Melissa: What's one thing you're really excited about for 2024?

Claudia: I think my word of the year is going to be something like “ignite” or something about going. I'm so excited to see… I'm in a better or a different situation, where I'm being more of a leader than a manager. I'm learning what that even means. That's super exciting for me.

Because I see so much promise in the team that I have, and an eagerness to take this to the next level, so I cannot wait to see what happens this year.

Melissa: Thank you for coming on the podcast. Thank you so, so much.

Hey, you may not know this, but there's a free guide for a process I teach called Monday Map/Friday Wrap. If you go to VelocityWork.com, it's all yours. It's about how to plan your time and honor your plans. So, that week over week, more work that moves the needle is getting done in less time. Go to VelocityWork.com to get your free copy.

Thank you for listening to The Law Firm Owner Podcast. If you're ready to get clearer on your vision, data, and mindset, then head over to VelocityWork.com where you can plug in to Quarterly Strategic Planning, with accountability and coaching in between. This is the work that creates Velocity.