4 Certified Legal Nurse Consultants Reveal Strategies for Consulting from a Home Office

Long before the COVID pandemic Certified Legal Nurse Consultants were working remotely from home. While CLNC® consultants can’t take credit for working remotely, many have perfected the art of working from home. In this blog four Certified Legal Nurse Consultants discuss the benefits and challenges of working from home, strategies for maximizing productivity and tips for setting up the home office.

BENEFITS

1. You set your own hours. Your time is your own. You don’t have to punch a time clock. You can work the hours you want when you want. Setting the hours that work for you allows for better focus and fewer disruptions so that you’re able to provide a great work product for your attorney-clients.

You’re also able to plan your day so that you have more time for your family and can incorporate errands and personal business into your day. Robert Malaer, RN, MSN, FN-CSp., WCC, SANE-A, LCP-C, CNLCP, CALM, CLNC shares, “Working from home has provided me the opportunity to have a greater presence and involvement with my son and my wife.” Caryn Jaffe, RN, BS, CLNC shares, “As someone with personal medical challenges, the flexibility that working from home allows has led to my ability to care for myself. I have the privacy to manage private issues that I would not have in an office or hospital setting.”

2. It’s convenient. All the comforts of home are available and accessible. Caryn Jaffe describes, “My favorite aspect of having a home office is being able to listen to music of my choice while I work. I have found that music increases my productivity and more importantly, my happiness. I have developed a playlist to start my day off with the right attitude. It revs me up for an enjoyable day of medical exploration, record review, and expert professional communication.”
3. It’s more cost effective. You save on costs for transportation, clothing and lunches out.

CHALLENGES

1. Distractions and interruptions. It’s easy to become distracted at home with so many projects (business and personal) always in view. Working from home requires self-discipline and a commitment to a schedule. It also requires establishing boundaries with family members to ensure they respect your designated work times. Additionally, whether it’s TV, social media, pets, hobbies or the Internet, working from home requires establishing boundaries with yourself to ensure that you treat your CLNC business like a business – not like a hobby.
2. Managing the business. You need to stay on top of timely invoicing and the many details regarding the business side of your business such as filing and organizing. It’s easy to get behind on these important matters. Set aside office hours and occasionally an office day to stay up.
3. Social isolation. Robert Malaer describes, “Being a social person, I struggle with limited social interaction when working from home. I’ve learned to take frequent breaks and schedule time to get out of the house to spend time with people.”
4. Creating a healthy work-life balance. When you work for someone else it’s usually easier to leave the work behind, but when you work for yourself, it can be challenging to shut it off. Kim Stonecypher, MSN, BSN, CLNC states, “I always said that if I worked for myself, I would work harder than I did working for someone else. It’s true. You have to continue to be mindful of a healthy work-life balance or you will find yourself working on your cases without building in personal and family time.”

MAXIMIZING PRODUCTIVITY

1. Set goals. Make a list of what you want to accomplish within your workday. Be specific. Marcia Bell, RN, BSN, CAPA, CLNC advises, “Use a To-Do list. Update it regularly, preferably daily. I put reminders in my phone. Keep a calendar on your phone. Because I never leave my house without my phone, my calendar is always with me.”
2. Establish business hours and stick to them. Communicate your work hours with your family. Robert Malaer employs a BUSY sign on his office door to remind them of his business hours. To expedite breaks, Marcia Bell prepares lunch ahead of time and has a refrigerator in her office, where she stores drinks and snacks. Marcia also shares “I close the door when I’m working, which is very effective. One day, I didn’t even hear the doorbell ring when I was expecting records that I had to sign for. I had to set up for redelivery the next day.” Marcia often taps into the quiet time of day. She says, “Sometimes, I work in the evening. That is the time my husband is not working in his office on the other side of my office wall on the telephone and in Zoom conferences.”
3. Clear your office of distractions. Avoid working with a television on. Close social media and check email at designated times. Marcia Bell confesses, “If I read one email, I can get distracted, which then leads to handling another request or situation. Before I know it 30 minutes have passed – precious minutes I could have used working on a case and billing for my time. Kim Stonecypher shares, “I schedule errands and chores on a specific day, so that the days I’m actively working on cases remain uninterrupted from distractions.”
4. Establish a healthy work-life balance. Stop working at your designated time. Kim Stonecypher recommends taking a day or a half day between starting the larger cases. She says, “I often find myself working on back-to-back cases. Taking time off in between actually assists in promoting my productivity.”
5. Take your office wherever you go. Use OneDrive or a cloud-based platform to access your CLNC files and documents on your phone from wherever you are. Marcia Bell shares, “I have lost track of how many times I have received a telephone call and someone wants my CV or wants me to check a document. I don’t have to carry my computer with me because I always have the information on my phone.”

SETTING UP THE OFFICE

1. Dedicate a separate space to your CLNC business. Set your office for both comfort and function to equip your office for success. Marcia Bell shares, “When I started out as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, I had an old desk and a few drawers. As my CLNC business grew, I was able to purchase new office furniture that matched. I now have a dedicated office space and a closet for storage.” Kim Stonecypher adds, “Always remember form follows function. We all know the computer is critical, but so is the printer and multi-function device. I recommend investing in a combination printer/scanner. You won’t regret it.”

Robert Malaer also advises to gradually invest in two monitors, a comfortable chair with lumbar support, an ergonomic keyboard and a desk that offers both sit and stand options for continued comfort. Kim Stonecypher recommends paying attention to software and devices that others use. She says, “There’s nothing wrong with not reinventing the wheel when it comes to finding the items that most benefit you and your attorney-clients.” Consider designating another space for when you need a change in scenery. As Kim Stonecypher says, “You can spend long days reviewing documents. A change in scenery is always beneficial.”

2. Get and stay organized. Organize your cases, invoices, documents, etc. on your computer. Marcia Bell shares, “I have an Excel spreadsheet for expenses, invoices, payment logs, case lists, mileage, etc. I also use the same process for each new case. I set up a file and assign it a number. All the electronic documents go into that one file. I have folders also for hard copies of documents. The folders are all numbered with the case numbers.”
3. Create a space that is you. Caryn Jaffe shares, “I try to maintain a professional background with a hint of my personality. I change it up periodically. I currently have a wooden sign that says, ‘She believed she could…So she did.’ Above it, a smaller wooden sign says, ‘I’m a nurse. What’s your superpower?’ On either end of the signs, I have my finisher’s medals from the 10 marathons and 7 full Ironman triathlons I raced in. Beneath the signs I have a certificate awarded to me by the 2004 Internal Medicine Intern class from the Johns Hopkins Hospital. On my desk is a small wooden sign that says, ‘I have flying monkeys and I am not afraid to use them.’ Having the fruits of my quest for greatness on display serves as a reminder to continuously strive for my definition of exceptional service.”

Thanks to Marcia, Caryn, Robert and Kim for revealing their strategies for consulting from a home office.

Success Is Yours,

P.S. Comment and share your best strategies for consulting from home.