Do it every day

Your to to do list will tell you what you should be doing every day. The hard part is doing it every day.

Most of the work is dull and routine a bit like exercising and dieting you know it will work but you have still got to do it.

Opening the post is a vital and routine activity in my office. It dictates the urgent things of that day. I am always there unless I have been called away that minute. I open it, I then find the files, then I read it. I don't read it as I go along because you are then reading it twice.

You take possession of it and dictate a reply that day if possible. I see people read it commnet on it, take it to their room and no doubt go through the same process again.

How is that possible if you are that busy,handle each piece of paper once preferably but not too many times. Rereading it does not progress matters and you will only get paid for reading it once.

My first partner had a lax attitude to the work. His working day was

10.00 Arrive at work

12.30 Go to lunch for a couple of hours

15.00 Maybe come back after a few drinks

Spend the afternoon not in fit state to work. He would do this a few days and then stay later until seven o'clock once a week to catch up on all the work he had not done during the week

He would loudly boast that he had to stay in the office until seven just to keep up with the work

If anyone came to the office unannoounced he would would do his best not to see them unless they were his mates and he would promptly go to lunch with them for a few hours.

Needles to say I don't think he is in business today and has had quite a few run ins with the authtorities. Usually he has been lack in sticking to the rules to hide his clients under hand tactics or acting for more than one person in breach of conflict of interest rules. He would do this to keep the fees cheap and not have any outside interference.

The moral is Do all the routine stuff every day whether your like it or not.