Work Zen with AJS: Systemising

Systemising

With “Holly” on a mission to take control of her work situation – aiming to instil a feeling of Zen in her workspace – she has come to us seeking answers. 

And we are happy to oblige Holly. As always.

She was talking to her colleague the other day about “systems” and “systemising” her practice. She also read a little about this in our article Systemise Your Life! But if she was being honest, systems and the process of systemising her practice has Holly quite distressed. And confused. She has no clue where to even begin.

She knows that systemising her practice will improve her day-to-day provision of legal services – after all being organised is a positive thing – but how is Holly’s burning question.

Fear not Holly, we got you!

What are Systems?

A system refers to the documentation of tasks that take place on a day-to-day basis within a business. And this may look vastly different for different businesses. But it essentially boils down to documenting intellectual property in a way that will serve a business down the line.

Most businesses are made up of a series of departments that make up the overall business system. Typically, understanding what a system is, comes down to the achievement of a goal or objective. We often create a series of goals to achieve but often forget to focus on how we go about achieving those goals.

Then what?

Once any business or legal practice has a well organised and operational practice management system in place, team members can (and will need to) apply their mind to the system itself, rather than lagging behind or relying on one person to get them up to speed (which is not ideal).

Some things are obvious. Like simple accounting software. To the more complicated tasks like tracking time and creating fees (like a built-in timer at the bottom of your screen that can be started and paused as you are working) to uploading and preparing documents to managing tasks and staying on top of everything happening in your practice by means of a notification.

You can literally have a system (and a process) for everything. And you really should.

Some practice management software will be heavily detailed, whilst others will provide only a framework. But you can work together with your software provider like AJS to tailor make a system that works best for you. And you can do this by starting out simply and building on your system as you go along (this will also help manage budgets and spend on legal tech – building on your system as you move along and as needed).

Each practice will document their practice and systemise the way they operate in a way that best suits them.  It is not a one size fits all approach. It very much comes down to tailor-making systems that suit your individual practice. So, Holly will need to ensure that the legal tech company she uses is amenable to work together with her, at her pace and according to her needs and budget.

How do systems benefit Holly?

Having a digital world working well for her will align with her overall future thinking and constant attempts to innovate in order to achieve a business that runs smoothly, securing wins for her clients and delivering the things that matter most to her practice – efficacy, accuracy, reliability and repeat business.

By focusing on systemising and optimising systems (inevitably resulting in improved efficiency), Holly will improve how she runs her practice, innovating as often as possible (and as budget allows). It is a systematic approach and when looked at from an “organised” perspective can only be seen as a positive.

And that should be the main goal for Holly’s practice. An organised one that runs like clockwork.  

But what will having an entire practice documented and reduced to a system really do for Holly?

Most importantly, it can help her unlock key areas in her business that she has not unlocked yet, helping her business accomplish remarkable things. Why? Because Holly’s legal practice will have the tools necessary to ensure that it is able to get things done quickly, efficiently, accurately and more affordably. Resulting in a reliable, trusted provider of legal services – a go-to provider if you will.

And that is the name of the game, isn’t it? Repeat clients, loyal clients and clients that will sing her praises because she is able to outperform competitors. It kind of amounts to free advertising – word of mouth always is.

So why wouldn’t Holly look at implementing proper systems in her practice? It makes perfect logical and business sense.

Work Zen is within reach

By approaching your service provider, like AJS, you can easily achieve a state of Work Zen in no time. By using your software package for what it is actually meant for (which is not just legal accounting) you can approach each day with a Zen-like peace knowing that everything is perfectly in its place. That everything is being managed and that all is fine.

Because you have the support and back-up to ensure that is the case.

There are a lot of attorneys who have the software packages in place but are just not sure how to fully use them, what everything does and how they can optimise their practice to ensure that it is performing with accuracy and reliability.

But, with the help of AJS, your practice (regardless of its size) can (and will) succeed.

We will continue going through tips, answering your FAQ’s, and providing you with information that will better equip the everyday user of legal tech, like you and like Holly, to achieve a state of Work Zen.

It’s all easy. If you know how… Just ask us.