I have been a paralegal now for almost two years. In these two years, I have learned quite a bit.
1. This is your business. Don't let your customers control your time or your calendar. Set your hours and stick to them. If your client-attorney has an after hours "emergency," charge a premium for this. Set these guidelines up front, in your contract so that your client knows ahead of time that your time is valuable and you won't be available at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night, when he/she HAS to get something filed.
2. Take time for yourself. Having a home office, it is so easy to get pulled into working in the evenings or on the weekends. You go into your office to check your email and then 2 hours later you find yourself knee-deep in a project. Sometimes I find that I have to close my office door to avoid the temptation of going in there and seeing what needs to be done. I also no longer check my work email on the weekends. If there is an emergency, believe me, your client-attorney will call or text you. It would be a good idea to let your client-attorney know up front that you will not be checking email on the weekends or in the evening.
3. Set your fees appropriately. If you only charge $20 or $25 an hour, you are not putting in enough to cover your overhead. You need to consider including enough to cover taxes, health insurance, savings, office supply and equipment, vacation time, etc.
4. Invest in a bookkeeping program like Quickbooks. This will save you a lot of time at the end of the year.
5. Take a VACATION. When you plan your vacation, let your client-attorneys know with plenty of notice, and let them know you will not be available during this time. Last year I went on vacation and still managed to work 40 hours during those 9 days. So much for a vacation.
6. If you are sick, REST. If you are too sick to go to a "traditional firm," you are probably too sick to work at home as well. This year, I had a bad case of bronchitis. I stayed in bed but worked. This ended up being the worst case of bronchitis I have ever had and I ended up in the hospital. The next week I stayed in bed and rested. Believe it or not, my business did not crash and burn. It didn't even really suffer at all.
7. Working from home can be isolating. Take time to network, go to CLE's, or go to lunch with a friend. Technology has made it super easy to catch up with friends and colleagues using Skype or Spreecast. Go to a Starbucks once a week just for a change of scenery and work there for a few hours.
8. Have a back-up plan. While working this past year, the weather was really bad and my power went out. Luckily I keep my laptop charged and I have a wifi hotspot. I was able to work for a few hours even though the power was out. If you don't have a hot spot, go to Starbucks or a fast food restaurant that has wifi. Also, make sure that you have a plan in place in case your computer crashes or your printer decides to quit working. It is really helpful if you have a desktop and a laptop, and if you have a laser printer and an ink jet printer. Keep a list of your IT person or company handy, so that you can call when you have an issue.
9. Help your family and friends understand that during your working hours, you are working. A lot of people think that you are at home so you can just drop everything and help them with something. But they need to understand that you are serious about your business and that your time is valuable.
10. Keep a rolling list of office supplies needed. Try ordering your office supplies/toner supplies only once a month and have them delivered to you. This will save you time, as you won't be wasting time going to the office supply store and money, as you won't be tempted to buy items not on your list.
I hope this list helps you. I have changed some of my policies and procedures so that my business benefits not only my clients but me as well!
