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    January 9th, 2014

    ♫ He’s got this dream about buyin’ some land
    He’s gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
    And then he’ll settle down, in some quiet little town
    And forget about everything…♫

    Lyrics, Music and recorded by Gerry Rafferty.

    New Years

    New Year’s Resolutions?  Phfft.  Been there, Done That, Got that T-Shirt.

    We all resolve to get fit, lose weight and spend more time out of the office etc etc etc.  Speaking personally I have had my fill of resolutions that are born from the best of intentions but then die a cold hard death on the shoals of life.

    So here goes: The  Hacker’s Guide to New Year Resolutions: How to make real change in your life.

    First step:  Realize that you do things the way that you do because of how you are: the way  you find things enjoyable or appealing or not, the way that you reward yourself for doing certain things and avoid others, the way that you find that you are too tired at the end of the day to get out and head to the gym etc etc etc.  In other words, it is the structure of how you go thru life that determines, to a large part, how you do things (or not, as the case may be).  The problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that you set up goals without putting into place the mental supports that would allow you to change.  If you don’t change the structure of how you do things, don’t expect things to change.

    Second Step: Make ONE and ONLY ONE resolution and make it YOUR priority to get ‘er done before the first quarter is over.  Stick it on your monitor.  Put it on the top of your ‘To Do’ list.  Think about it.  Often.  Take small steps towards it every morning *(not every day because that is how you let it slip it down the priority chain  – because at the end of the day you will realize that yes, once again there it is sitting on the To-Do list)*.

    Third Step: Schedule time in your calendar to work on it for 15 mins every Monday to Friday (inclusive).  Rework and restructure your time, your schedule and how you approach life and work to intentionally fit in the time (and the energy) to achieve this one goal.

    Fourth Step: Most of all, hold yourself responsible for making this happen.  You have to change how you work before you can expect other things to change.  So resolve to not only change this ONE thing but also –  resolve to change yourself.  Use this resolution to be the motivation to implement change, starting with you.

    Fifth Step: Once you have achieved this ONE resolution, celebrate it!  Give yourself a reward for getting the job done. Make sure you make yourself feel good about achieving this change (*in yourself*).

    Sixth Step: Resolve to change something else. You don’t need to wait for a special day in the year to keep the changes happening.  You are becoming  – reworking – yourself into a person who can implement change.  Congratulations.  Now get started on your future!

    (originally published on www.slawtips.ca).

    This entry was posted on Thursday, January 9th, 2014 at 7:50 am and is filed under Adding Value, Business Development, Change Management, Firm Governance, Issues facing Law Firms, Law Firm Strategy, Leadership and Strategic Planning, Make it Work!, personal focus and renewal, Tips, Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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