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Take Control of Your Life – In One Hour No Less!. Who Am I?. Yearbook. James Madison U. Wm. & Mary. Wedding. Family. Logos. JLF Staff. Things I Like. Who Are We?.
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Who Are We? • Young lawyers – trying to build practices and not look like a buffoon, acquiring skills, establishing reputations, trying to balance work and personal obligations, often working 60+ hours a week • Older lawyers – trying to hold onto clients, business, income, connections. Trying to fit 40 years of experience and know-how into a legal climate changing at the speed of light.
Who Are We? The rest of us – watching life rush by. Often we feel as if we’re just past the “beginners” and we look up and realize we’ve been practicing for 10, 15, 20 years – wondering where all the time went, and if we’re willing and ready to spend another 20 years practicing law.
What Are Our Challenges? • Biggest challenge – how do we aspire to a life well-lived while practicing law? • Families (spouses, children, parents) • Relationships • Businesses • Clients • Ethics/Professional Development • Our own bodies (health, wellness) • Our spiritual selves
Risks? • Burn-out and breakdowns • Emotional and mental collapse • Depression and despair • Addiction and disease
How serious are the risks? • Lawyers and judges are: • Three times more likely to be alcoholic. • Three times more likely to be drug addicted. • Three times more likely to be clinically depressed. • Six times more likely to commit suicide. • Female attorneys are three times more likely to quit the law as a profession; and five times more likely to take a lower stress, less remunerative, and less satisfying position just to survive.
How do we take back control of our lives? • Rule #1 – understand that “time management” is as much of a misnomer as “jumbo shrimp”. None of us can change time – there will always be 24 hours in a day. Of course, the good news is that no one has any advantage on us in this regard. • Our real focus should be on “life management.”
What matters most to me? • The answer will vary from person to person. Some possibilities: money, prestige, power, possessions, fame/attention, family, church, service to others, etc. • None of these things are bad, in and of themselves, unless they become our master. All of them (including family, church, service) have the potential to become destructive forces in our lives. • The goal is to live a richer and more satisfying life while having a sense of well-being/peace about who we are.
I Crises Pressing Problems Deadline-driven projects II Prevention, PC activities Relationship building Recognizing new opportunities Planning, recreation The Four Time Quadrants Urgent Not Urgent I M P O R T A N T N O T I M P O R T A N T III Interruptions, some calls Some mail, some reports Some meetings Proximate, pressing matters Popular activities IV Trivia, busy work Some mail Some phone calls Time wasters Pleasant activities
Results of spending a lot of time in the various quadrants • Quadrant 1 – we feel stressed and anxious, and it can lead to burn-out and health problems. We all have to spend time in this quadrant daily but if we’re in it constantly because of poor planning, it leads to burn-out. • Quadrant 3 – we feel frustrated and stressed. This is even worse than Quadrant 1 because the activities are not important as they have no long-term impact. This leads to job dissatisfaction.
Results of spending a lot of time in the various quadrants • Quadrant 4 – we feel sluggish, depressed, slovenly. Excessive time in this quadrant leads to problems such as obesity and a feeling of worthlessness. • Quadrant 2 – we feel accomplished, competent, and motivated. Long-term, this leads to success in every aspect of our life, especially in our important relationships.
Identifying key roles • What are the key roles you have in your life? • Everyone has different roles – here are the roles I focus on: 1) Husband; 2) Father; 3) Lawyer; 4) Managing partner; 5) WC/SSD/MT teams, Injured Workers Advocates; 6) Community; 7) Personal; and 8) Sharpening the saw.
Importance of weekly planning • The best way to maximize time spent on Quadrant 2 activities is through weekly planning. Weekly planning provides much greater balance and context than daily planning, and you are still able to adapt and prioritize on a daily basis. • Make it a habit – set aside a regular time each week to spend 30 minutes planning your week.
The Weekly Compass • For each of your roles, identify what you will work to accomplish during the following week. • Be reasonable in the goals you set – try not to identify more than two or three big rocks for each role. For some roles, there may be no or only one targeted goal.
Daily Planning • Take 5 to 10 minutes each day (the evening before or first thing in the morning) to plan your day, and to prioritize your daily tasks. • Start with your appointments – you know you have to allocate time to the same. • Try to limit your targeted daily tasks to six to eight tasks – if you have more than this, you’re not give your day sufficient thought. • Once you have your tasks identified, rate them as an “A” (has to get done today), “B” (has to be done shortly), or “C” (your ‘want to’s’).
The Master Task List • We all need somewhere to capture our deadlines, obligations, tasks, and goal-related to do items. • The master list should be reviewed at least weekly to help prioritize the week ahead but it also helps to review the master list at the beginning of each day. • Example of a master task list.
Life is not about completing your “to do” list. 25 tips for maintaining peace of mind in a hectic workplace.
Let go of the idea that gentle, relaxed people can’t be super-achievers.
Remind yourself that when you die, your in-basket won’t be empty.
Do something nice for someone and don’t tell anyone about it.
Every day, tell at least one person what you like, admire, or appreciate about them.
