How long should the audit run?

Two weeks is enough to see patterns without becoming a burden.

How many categories should I use?

Six to eight. More than that makes logging slow and the result hard to read.

There is no reliable universal figure; practices differ. Compare your actual week with your own intentions.

Its time log can record entries by matter and you can add non-matter categories. It is a log, not an automatic tracker.

1
Pick categories
For example: client work, business development, admin, finance and billing, learning, supervision and team, interruptions, other.
2
Log in blocks
Note the start and category each time you switch tasks. A time log in Notion or a notebook both work.
3
Total each day
Add up minutes per category at day end.
4
Repeat for two weeks
Include a normal week and a messy one if you can.

Copy this into Notion or paper. Enter your hours, then your intended hours, then the difference.

Category	Week 1 hours	Week 2 hours	Intended hours	Gap	Decision
Client work (billable)
Client work (non-billable)
Business development
Admin and files
Finance and billing
Supervision and team
Interruptions and context switching
Learning and thinking time

For each category pick one decision: stop, delegate, batch, price differently or keep. Re-run the audit after a quarter.

How long should the audit run?: Two weeks is enough to see patterns without becoming a burden.
How many categories should I use?: Six to eight. More than that makes logging slow and the result hard to read.
What is a normal split of a lawyer's week?: There is no reliable universal figure; practices differ. Compare your actual week with your own intentions.
Can MatterOS help?: Its time log can record entries by matter and you can add non-matter categories. It is a log, not an automatic tracker.

Raghav Handa trained as a lawyer, then spent years building legal technology, from enterprise legal products to custom systems for law firms.