It’s impossible to avoid the notion of goals entirely at this time.  I’m big on goals, but I know they can have as negative an impact as they do positive- depending on how you think about them. Still, it’s my first post of 2010, so you’re getting something about goals. Inevitable.

There are three kinds of goals- being, doing, having. Most people focus on the second two, with action plans and milestones.  But, in fact- the “being” goals might be most important when it comes to achieving the “doing” and “having” goals. A goal of being confident supports the goal of doing marketing activities that will bring in high-value clients, which, in turn, supports the goal of having enough income to pay off debt.

The beauty of the “being” goals is that the only prerequisite is choice. If you choose to be more confident, you can start right now. If you choose to be someone who takes very good care of herself, you start right now.  You’ll argue that it’s not that simple, but how about giving it a try? Let it be that simple. Take confidence, you could spend a lot of time in therapy understanding why you lack confidence, but in fact, you could also just start where you are and choose to be confident. To act confident. There are resources that can help. Books about self-talk, for example, and you might use tactics like a “brag” book or fan club, but it starts with that clear intention of being confident. 

Finally, we get to the title of this post. Who do you want to be?  Take a sheet of paper and write “I am a man/woman who” at the top. Then make a list of everything that comes to mind. Then, yes, you know what’s coming. Action. Once you have a list you like, think about how you can start being that person right now. You don’t have to write anything down on a calendar, you don’t have to make an announcement. We aren’t talking “resolutions”. Just start being exactly who you want to be, in every small and large way possible. 

As you walk out of whoever it was that you were being before you decided who you want to be, you might make some misteps; you might think the shoes don’t fit. Or- you might find that you’re much more comfortable than you expected. Either way, you get to choose who you want to be every moment of every day. What an excellent way to start a new year- being just who you want to be!

Happiest of new years to you, dear reader.

Shelfware. MP3 audio. E-files. CLE course material. An offer of free coaching or consult. Chances are you have a relevant resource at your fingertips, but you’ve forgotten about it. December is a good month to revisit what you learned, to be sure that you’re using what you know! I make my living because knowing what to do isn’t the whole story about success- success also requires action, applying what you know on a consistent basis. If everyone did what they learned in seminars or read in books or heard from experts- I wouldn’t be adding any value!

That said- my message today is that you might be overlooking something valuable that you already own. Block out some time on an afternoon when you need a break. Survey the material that attracted you at some point in the  year. Pick up the book. Reread the article. Skim the newsletters. Review the AV. Maybe there’s something you skipped because it wasn’t relevant at the time. Maybe you thought you’d get back to something when the timing was right. End of year is a right time.

Review the resources you’ve already invested in, use them- or if you have something better or they aren’t valuable anymore, lose them.

Thinking about a tweet recommending a business coach as: “not the same old, same old business coach - she’s a professional ass-kicker”.  I’m inspired to say a word about ass-kicking. It’s not for everyone. Some great coaching clients have kicked their own selves black and blue to no avail by the time we have our first conversation.  Don’t think you have to be kicked into doing what it takes to have a life you love.  There’s another consideration, as well. Asses often get kicked right down the wrong path, or catapulted right over some very nice possibilities.

If you’re stuck, take a look at where you are in three areas:

1. Vision - are you clear about what you want?  It’s pretty hard to end up in the right place if you don’t have a clue to where you’re going. It can also be hard to get up in the morning! Choose a timeframe and create goals you’d be excited to achieve. Big grin goals.
2. Focus - are you all over the place? If you’re stuck, go for traction. Narrow your focus. Make a plan. What area needs the most work- productivity, marketing, financial management? Are there people in your life who are draining your energy? Do you need to practice saying “no”?  Maybe there are things you need to say “yes” to! What’s keeping you in the rut? Sometimes you just need to try a few different things to get a little momentum going.
3. Results - what’s happening that you don’t like?  Can you see why? Step back, take a look at what you’re doing, and see if the results make sense. If they do- don’t kick yourself, just start where you are and make changes.  

One last thing, if you’re thinking you need your ass kicked, take some quiet time to check your internal fear factor levels. Maybe instead of that kick, you need to give yourself permission to shoot the moon, even if you land on your face.  Even if you land on your beautiful face in front of a cheering crowd! Permission to explore. Permission to set the goal of doubling your revenue in 6 months and go for it, without penalty for missing it- as long as you try your best.  Fear was in the air this year, maybe what you need is to kick your fear, not your ass!

Note: If you’re new to Succeeding Solo, do visit the blog and check out time management and other categories. My last few posts have been less than tactical, but there’s lots of practical, tactical info in the archives!

Our dog, Wanda, is the most grateful beast on the planet. It’s incredibly easy to see how much she appreciates the least bit of time I spend with her. She’s delighted with anything she gets in the way of treats and toys. Wanda’s also incredibly forgiving, though that might just be the sign of a very short memory. At any rate, it gives me great pleasure to treat her very well.  It’s not very difficult and it makes me feel good.

On the other hand- our fish are never grateful. They cannot be satisfied. As a result, I don’t put a lot of effort into them. I delegate dealing with them. I wouldn’t mind it if they disappeared altogether. I don’t need fish in my life.

Here’s Wanda, with Hanna, my daughter. 

I don’t have any pictures of the fish. 

That’s it, I think I have just enough time left to get Wanda out in the yard for a quick game of fetch…

The New Oxford Dictionary announced “unfriend” as its word of the year for 2009. You can hear the NPR story online. It’s worth listening- the very short discussion includes a list of words that didn’t make the cut, including my favorite, “trampstamp”.  (having to do with a tatoo in a particular location)

Enough about anyone else’s word of the year, what I’m interested in is YOURS. If you had to choose one word for 2009, what would it be? The New Oxford Dictionary chooses their word “to reflect the ethos of the year…”.  What word do you choose?

There are lots of definitions of ethos on the Web, the one I’ll refer to here is ”the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era”, from a Princeton University resource.  What word reflects the distinctive spirit of 2009 as you experienced it?

Sometimes a bit of reflection lights an area you hadn’t seen before. Sometimes it lights a bump in the road or a new path. Try it. If you find yourself with a bit of time for thought, invest it in thinking about your “word of the year” for 2009. 

Of course, you know what’s coming - can you see any candidates in the works for your “word of the year” for 2010?

Do you ever discount your fees if you think someone can’t afford them? You know they need a good lawyer like you, but they just can’t pay your full fee? First- thank you for your dedication. I’m blown away by your compassion. Second- I’d love to give you a way to continue to do what you think is right at the same time you do what’s right for you.

I always say that work funds your life. Your law practice provides a return to you in the form of time and money. Think about that. You invest your time and your practice returns free time and income.  The choices you make about specialty, clients served, office space, pricing, leverage, etc., drive the amount of time you work or don’t, and the amount of money you make.  

The investment management world is where the return on investment conversation started. What if you think of your work time as an investment portfolio? You invest your time, expecting a certain return. That’s your business plan. If you put pro bono or discounted fee work into perspective as a planned PART of your practice portfolio, then you can be very intentional about the amount you do and how it impacts the overall portfolio return.  Sticking with the investment analogy, you’re going to fund your discounted work with the higher returns on your full-fee work. You manage the mix, or asset allocation, to make sure that the average rate of return meets your requirements. You feel fairly compensated for the amount of time you spend working.

Putting the notion into practice, you need to know how much of your work capacity is available at any time at a discounted price. If the amount of time you choose to invest in the discounted work is booked- then you either decline or delay the prospective client who can’t pay full fee. When time available at a discount opens up, then you can take more work at the discounted rate. Otherwise, your focus remains making sure your full-fee capacity stays booked solid so that you can afford to fund that discounted work!

One of the reasons I love working with lawyers is that you are genuinely committed to service. What I want for you is to be able to be of service at the same time you make a good living. It’s all about being intentional and at choice. If you choose to discount your work for worthy causes, that’s fine. Just be sure that you manage your work capacity and the allocation of your efforts to  discounted versus full-fee work.

Once again, we’re back to the airplane/oxygen mask approach. Follow instructions. Be sure to take good care of yourself first, so that you’re around to take care of any others who may need your help.

Does your “to do” list keep you up at night? Handle it. If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth giving a deadline. Any task that will take more than about fifteen minutes should go onto your calendar, with time blocked to get it done. Use “to do” lists for small tasks that you want to remember and limit the shelf life of “to do” items to a day or two. 

Any items that roll over day after day need to be killed. Clearly, they aren’t worth your time. If your list is getting longer, spend more time doing the daily and weekly planning that will ensure you prioritize and reserve time for the work you should be doing.

Don’t try to manage your business on a “to do” basis! The more connected your work is to your calendar and schedule, the more realistic you’ll be about how much time you have and how you want to spend it.

Have you ever postponed a deliverable or delayed a court date because you weren’t ready? Even though you had plenty of lead time? I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard lawyers talk about blowing through internal deadlines because they weren’t “real”. I’d like to ask for a shift on that perspective- any deadline you set in order to ensure that you complete a task is real. There’s no such thing as a fake deadline.

If you have a deliverable with a beginning and an end, it’s a candidate for “projectizing”. What I mean by that is to break the final product into smaller chunks and establish milestones for completing these mini-deliverables. In addition to milestones, you need to block time on your calendar to get the work done.

The only way to be sure you’ll deliver on time is to estimate what work needs to be completed, and when. Establish internal deadlines and manage to them if you want to meet your external deadlines. Take them seriously, the consequences of missing them are all too real!

The “I have to get that done before our call” magic is one of the most important byproducts of a coaching relationship.  It works like this:

1. You figure out what you want. (not always as easy as it seems!)
2. We strategize and agree to certain actions and behaviors that will get you what you want.
3. Working with the reality of your calendar, we create an action plan by adding the time dimension, dates, to the steps. This also introduces prioritization to your process.
4. On each coaching call, we check in. You’re accountable for the actions you did or didn’t complete.
5. We reconnect back to the “I want” goal. Success is celebrated!  Or, if you didn’t do what you’d intended to do, we might change the goal or the action or maybe just move the date forward.

It’s a recursive process that “calls” itself.  You cycle through. The process is rarely linear, it’s iterative and messy, and it cleans up over time as you get into the habit of aligning your action consistently to “what you want”.

You can hold youself accountable by writing your goals and action plans down. It’s proven that committing goals to writing increases the probablity of reaching them. You can create an “accountability pal” relationship with a peer or friend. Maybe you want to call into a “blog for 31 days” style public accountability group.  And, of course, you can work with a coach or join a mastermind group.

Whatever route you choose- when you do your weekly planning, take a little extra time to think about how you can put accountability to work for you.  You’ll be impressed with what adding a little magic does for you!

I’m big on process-izing. I suppose the correct term is systematizing. Whatever term you use, it’s the notion that if there’s something you do or produce regularly, it pays to create a repeatable process. 

This post isn’t about how to create a process, but the basic idea is:

1. Define the “process” specifically: where it starts and ends
2. Document needed steps, timing of steps, dependencies, resources or approvals, etc.
3. Create templates & checklists to accompany steps, if appropriate
4. File the process, train people in it, or otherwise insert the process into your office environment so that it’s useful!
5. Periodically check in to see the process remains efficient and relevant.

Got it?  All right. So, I’ve been hanging out with school supplies recently and I’ve got calendars on my mind.

Here’s the idea- buy a new day planner, and use it to collect ideas and information about office processes. Get one with month-at-a-glance pages as well as detail pages.  Block time and use it to sit down with the visual of a month and think about standard processes that occur over a month.  Remember, this isn’t about the actual month/day- you could actually use that blank day planner you’d had high hopes for in 2007!

Say you keep January as the month-at-a-glance SUMMARY process calendar, either noting processes week by week or simply listing all the processes you plan to create.  Then use the other monthly sections to detail processes.  Use any month for any category of processes and flip back and forth as you add/change/delete. At some point, the planner becomes an ad hoc or starter process manual, and- hey, some of us just need a starting point, right?

If you haven’t formalized financial processes for your practice- start there. Check out this Financial Calendar post for more ideas.  New client processes are another natural.  A new client process might start with the signed agreement and include templates and ticklers for internal admin activities like “create file structure” as well as client relationship activities like send “thank you for your business” note. Take your next new client and use a blank month section of your process day planner to record the steps that occur as you move through the relationship.

The idea is to use the day planner structure to focus your attention on process.  Of the things you know you should be doing and aren’t, creating office processes is one that has a big bang for the buck.  Process allows you to streamline your efforts while making it much more difficult to make mistakes or let things slide. Creating processes is also the first step to delegating or outsourcing activities that don’t rock your boat.

The busier you are, the more important it is to manage the systems in your office, and the less time you have to do it. Try using a new day planner to make it easier.

As always, the rocket science is in the doing.  However- this idea is closer to  concept than implementation. I’ll be trying it out myself to see how to make it more useful.  In the meantime, if you find something that works for you- please share!