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My husband works in consulting so fortunately he gets it. I’d explain that you need to spend hours selling the work, preparing the work, etc. before you get started on billable hours- which is the meat of what you do but not all your work by any means.
You could explain it to a nurse, by telling them to imagine that their only "billable" time is when they are actively working on a patient, prepping for surgeries/treatments or discussing patients/treatments with other nurses/doctors. All their time spent walking from room to room or switching from one patient to the next would be "non-billable".
Another one I like is to ask that person to think about any little time they spend at work that is not directly work related (personal calls, texts, paying a bill, ordering food, or even the quick breaks to check social media, etc.). Then I explain the obvious, that for an attorney, that time can't be billed to a client... Most people realize they spend plenty of "at work" time on these "non-billables" each day.
Yeah I think just pointing this out makes a difference in how others perceive it. I put it to my fiance as "productive time." Then, it's like dang - most workers, including attorneys, aren't 100 percent productive for their entire work day every single day nonstop - no bathroom breaks or breaks to say hello to a coworker - so 160 hours is like going to work full time and just not looking up for the entire 8 hours of the day (for 40 hour employees). On top of that, sometimes theres non billable work. So, when I put it that way people seem to get it. I also see my non billable time so if I'm not talking to a coworker I'll start with "180 hours but 150 billed" or something.
I also think people who dont work in industries that bill like we do don't track their hours on a monthly basis anyway, so they quickly do the math in their head and think "oh you worked the same amount of hours I did" so just saying the total hours first helps nip that in the bud
180-200. Log your day in detail for a few days and show him the log so he sees what you do. That’ll help but people who don’t work in a law firm don’t ever really understand.
TBH, I impose my own .1 minimum. If I have to turn attention to the matter for anything more than to skim an incoming email, then i bill .1 - even if it only takes 2 mins. The cost of turning your attention to a new subject is shocking.
I’m sorry your husband wasn’t understand about the work you did to accomplish your goal. Most of the time you only ever bill 75% or less of your time in office. Often far less. Ask him if he’d prefer you spend more time at the office to impress him!
Depending on how many matters I am juggling, I can often times loose 2-3 hours a day where I am logged on / in office but not billing.
On a day I bill 8 hours, I’m working at least 10. Most months, billing 150 hours means I’m working 225.