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{ sPotligHt on… }

improVing your

personAl Bottom line

By Lynne Yryku

In-house counsel are expected to be on point at all times. But some possible to delay checking it every morn-
days are flled with so many different demands and tasks that it can ing, limit it to a certain amount of time,
turn your alerts off and put your smart-
be diffcult to set—let alone accomplish—our priorities. the offce, phone in your bag when trying to focus.
with all of its emails, meetings, paperwork and more, can distract us Also, if you tend to be copied on a lot of
emails that do not generally require action
and increase our stress levels. that is the bad news. the good news from you, create a flter that automatically
is that we are in control of how we react each situation—and what we fles these messages to a folder you can re-
view at the end of the day.
can do to turn them into opportunities to succeed!
harness the power of goal setting
Now that you have organized your day,
ime is one of the most precious com- you should focus on when you have lim- what about your life? Goals are critical to
modities we have. As the saying goes, ited time and energy. The most valuable your overall success. They are what give
ttime is money. Effciency and pro- tasks—the ones that can make a real dif- you direction and take you forward. It is
ductivity are key to success. Learning ference to your company, your career and important to develop your career—and
how to manage time-consuming tasks yourself—are usually the hardest or most life—plan early, and set milestones to
to improve focus and productivity was a complex ones. Your list may not shrink achieve it. Review it often to ensure it con-
universal need among lawyers according dramatically in the interim by completing tinues to ft you and the lifestyle you want.
to the qualitative research done for CBA them, but they will bring the great results Because your goals are personal, based
Re-Think. in your overall performance. on your interests, values and skills, defn-
So what can you do to increase this skill Now you are ready to block out your ing them minimizes the distractions. For
set and improve your personal bottom line? time. Schedule your day to work on your any particular task, ask yourself, “Does
tasks, starting with the highest priority. this help me fulfll my goals?” If not,
Begin with a plan and prioritize In most cases, we overestimate the time it eliminate or outsource it by training oth-
Whether you do it the night before or frst takes to get something done. Control your ers in your department or other business
thing in the morning, make a list of goals schedule by allotting a certain amount of units.* With a clear, overarching purpose
and tasks you want to accomplish that time to a task and tap into your competi- in mind, you will be able to prioritize and
day. Include everything, even your plans tive side—race against the clock to fnish focus, even on the most menial things, as
to eat a healthy lunch and workout. The it. As much as possible, put your priorities they are helping you get there.
clearer your plan or list, the easier it is to frst. Focus only on the thing you need to In addition, goals help you set your
overcome distractions and procrastina- get done and ignore other demands, like professional development plan. To add the
tion, and focus on what you have to do. email and voicemail. greatest value as in-house counsel, it’s im-
Once you have everything written Indeed, email can be a big distraction portant to constantly acquire new skills,
down, apply the Pareto Principle. Also and can completely derail your best laid whether that means learning more about
known as the 80/20 rule, it says that 20% plans. A recent study from the University an area of the law, how to run the busi-
of the items on your list are worth more of Chicago found that merely having your ness, a new technology or how to manage
than the other 80% put together. While it smartphone nearby reduces your ability to relationships. These things take time and
does not mean you can ignore the 80%, it handle functions like remembering and mental energy, but lack of knowledge or
is a quick, effective way to prioritize what processing information. While it is not experience will stop you in your tracks.

*If this is not possible, fnd ways to make it more manageable and enjoyable. Also, remember that you are never going to get it all done, and that is okay.

36 CCCA MAgAzINE | FALL 2017 AutOMNE