Do you ever find that when you give yourself more time to complete a task, you:

(a)    Procrastinate and then work to the last minute to get it done, despite your intentions to the contrary; and/or

(b)   Spend more time than necessary on the task, knowing you technically have the time to devote to it?

If this sounds familiar, your habits may be falling victim to an age-old productivity maxim, called Parkinson’s Law:

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

This statement was first articulated in 1955 by the British author, C.N. Parkinson, after observing colleagues in the British Civil Service (think, “The Office”…).

In a nutshell, if you give yourself 3 days to complete a 2 hour task, the task will increase in complexity and become more daunting so as to fill the 3 days. You may not fill the extra time with more work or even spend more than 2 hours on the task in the end, but instead it weighs on you during that period, causing stress and tension until it is done.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

When you think of your mounting to-do list, research to complete, documents to draft, or the appointments/shopping/photo arranging (that one usually hits home…) to conquer, here’s my challenge:

Make a list of the top 5 tasks keeping you up at night, and create your own “artificially imposed deadline”.  Assign a reasonable amount of time to each task, and then cut the time by one third.  Schedule the time in your calendar for each task, eliminate distractions, and START.

To take your “artificially imposed deadline” seriously, use your strengths* to your advantage:

• If you are competitive, set a timer and beat the clock;
• If you are an achiever, stay focused on the feeling of crossing the items off your to-do list;
• If you are analytical, use your laser sharp skills to their max in a concentrated period of time; and
• If you are motivated by rewards, determine a sweet reward in advance and keep your eyes on the prize (remember, if completing a nagging task gives you a great lift, even if it’s scheduling a few appointments or making one tough phone call, it’s worth the reward).

Try this for one week, and see what happens.

*You have your own set of unique strengths – to determine them, contact me for information on a “strengths based” coaching package to jump start 2012.

If you are overwhelmed with your responsibilities, and have trouble focusing on your priorities, I can help you tackle the important tasks while managing the small stuff.  Contact me at valerie@cherneskicoaching.com.

If you enjoyed my thoughts in this email, please pass it along to other lawyers and corporate professionals who could use help navigating their careers.

I coach lawyers and leaders through transition and turbulence to:

• Show up 100% at the office and at home;
• Reduce daily exhaustion and stress;
• Build in structure and accountability for career plans and business development; and
• Make confident decisions and navigate relationships to achieve their professional and personal goals.

Energy is our most precious resource.  The number of hours in our day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy is not.

Here’s the bottom line:

(1)              Each day, you start with a full cup of water. When you expend energy (working at your desk, managing a tough client, losing your patience getting everyone out the door in the morning!), you drink from your cup.  To stay energized throughout the day, you must continually fill up the cup.

(2)              Think of it like interval training – expend and recover, expend and recover.   If there is no recovery, we go into overdrive and burn out.  The result? A chocolate bar, an extra glass of wine, getting angry with your kids or spouse, and doing whatever it takes to “just get by” at the end of the day.

It doesn’t have to be this way…..

Here’s one thing you can do right now:

Map out tomorrow in 60 minute time intervals (start small with 3 intervals).  After each interval, take 5-10 minutes to recover (glass of water, healthy snack, walk around the office, sit ups and stretching – no electronics allowed!).  Even if you don’t want to break, do it anyway.

I challenge you to take one week, consciously fill up your cup at least six times per day, and learn what recovery methods work for you.   Authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, in The Power of Full Engagement, remind us that it’s not the intensity of your energy expenditure that causes burnout, it’s the duration of expenditure without adequate recovery.

While you are at it, remember to do the most important thing first each day – this is a great way to energize yourself!  A weight will be lifted off your shoulders by 10:00am.  For a reminder of this daily planning tip, click here.

If you are exhausted before you get to work and struggle to make it through your long days, I can help you identify your stressors, create a plan for maximal energy, and implement a new routine.  Contact me at valerie@cherneskicoaching.com.

If you enjoyed my thoughts in this email, please pass it along to other lawyers and corporate professionals who could use help navigating their careers.

I coach lawyers and leaders through transition and turbulence to:

• Show up 100% at the office and at home;
• Reduce daily exhaustion and stress;
• Build in structure and accountability for career plans and business development; and
• Make confident decisions and navigate relationships to achieve their professional and personal goals.

According to Plan, “[a]n International Day of the Girl will focus the world’s attention on the importance of girls’ rights.  It will create a foundation for advocacy to ensure that girls get the investment and recognition they deserve as citizens and as powerful agents of change within their own families, communities and nations.”

To sign the petition to support the proclamation of an International Day of the Girl, visit http://plan-international.org/girls.

The topics raised during the lunch had me thinking about my female clients and their professional experiences.   Most organizations have started addressing female advancement issues head on, through the implementation of policies and practices regarding hiring, training and retaining women at all levels.

However, if you are a corporate professional, I would ask you to answer this question each day:

“What are you doing to advance yourself within your organization?”

Even within the most progressive organizations, at the end of the day, you must have your own back.  If you are not taking active steps to foster your own career progress (or sometimes just survival), you cannot expect others to do it for you.

The good news is that if you have fallen into the trap of just making it through the days, without watching out for yourself at the same time, it doesn’t have to be that way.

To get you started, let’s look at this as a two-step process:

1.    Do you know what you stand for and what you are willing to stand?

To answer this question, take some time to outline your values, your personal and professional priorities, your short-term and long-term goals, and your unique parameters.

2.    Who else has your back?

To answer this question, think about the support that is available both within your workplace and outside of it.  This means your superiors, partners, professional development team, spouse, friends, and family.  Once you put yourself out there, you will be amazed at how many people want to have your back.

Most law firms and companies have support networks in place, whether it’s through training, coaching, and/or mentorship.  If you haven’t been identified as a candidate for a program, please raise your own hand today.  Contact me for a coaching proposal you can use to request your own support.

For support and built-in accountability during this two-step process, and to ensure that you really do have your own back, please contact me at valerie@cherneskicoaching.com.

If you enjoyed my thoughts in this email, please pass it along to other lawyers and corporate professionals who could use help navigating their careers.

I coach lawyers and leaders to fine tune success and:

• Show up 100% at the office and at home;
• Reduce daily exhaustion and stress;
• Build in structure and accountability for career plans and business development; and
• Navigate professional relationships to achieve their goals.

Any chance you have felt overwhelmed at some point in the past 6 months? Do you feel as if there are not enough hours in the day? Perhaps you have no energy left to sort through the piles of work, and you are completely drained before your “second shift” begins at home each evening?

What causes your “state of overwhelm”?

Billing and financial targets;
Business development activities (or lack thereof);
Obligations outside work hours to clients, colleagues, and professional organizations;
Lack of quality time with your children and spouse;
Pressure at home to be more “present”;
Minimal time for exercise and healthy eating; or ALL OF THE ABOVE?

It may sound counter-intuitive, but a constant ticker through your brain with the message, “I don’t have enough time” or “there is too much on my plate” actually keeps you trapped in a comfort zone that allows you to maintain the status quo.  Subconsciously, this “state of overwhelm” causes you to remain lost in your anxiety about the past and the future without being connected to what’s important right now.

Here is a new perspective for you:  feeling overwhelmed is not a fact. It is your interpretation of your current situation.  The effect? Paralysis.  Within this “state of overwhelm”, action will not happen.

The good news is that interpretations can be challenged, deconstructed, and replaced (for lawyers, this is a familiar concept!).   When presented with a difficult set of facts, what do you do? You analyze them from a different angle, in a way that is believable, reasonable, and favorable.

I challenge you to apply this approach (which is what you are already doing professionally) to your own set of difficult facts.

For one week, just notice your thoughts and feelings of being overwhelmed.  Then, stop what you are doing, and ask yourself:

“How can I re-interpret my facts in a way that works to my advantage?”
“What would be possible for me right now if I refused to allow these negative thoughts into my mind?”

See what happens.

If you want help in sifting through your “state of overwhelm”,  de-cluttering your mind, and getting yourself back on track, please contact me at valerie@cherneskicoaching.com.

Do you go to bed at night, annoyed with yourself because you didn’t get to that “one”, nagging item on your to-do list, despite completing all of the other tasks?

Do you put off that research paper, the non-billable work that must get done, the call to a client for a difficult discussion, or the mountain of reading that has piled up on your desk?

If this is the case, I have a new perspective for you. Imagine if you had to “eat a frog” every day, no matter what. You can either:

(a) choose to eat the frog first thing in the morning, feel accomplished by 10:00am, and move forward with the rest of your day, or

(b) procrastinate, ruminate, stress about its taste, and finally eat it, begrudgingly, at the end of the day.

Neither option is appealing, when it comes to live frogs, but I’ll bet that most of you would rather choose option (a) as a way to attack your days.

So, then, why don’t you?

Research indicates that the stress that comes from avoiding tasks that you really don’t want to do is more harmful to your health, in the long run, than the stress of a court deadline, the late night work prior to a deal closing, or the adrenaline-induced stress of your daily life as a lawyer (AND spouse, parent, athlete, active community member, etc).

AND, these stressors drain your energy, affect your mood, and leave you feeling unaccomplished. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

I challenge you to take 90 seconds (literally) to watch this video clip at www.eatthatfrogmovie.com.*

Try “eating your frog” for one week straight, and see how you feel (minus the indigestion!).

If you enjoyed the movie and my thoughts on this blog, please pass it along to other lawyers who could use some help with their frogs.

I coach lawyers to fine tune their success and:

show up 100% at the office and at home;
reduce their daily exhaustion and stress;
build in structure and accountability for their business development; and
navigate their professional relationships to achieve their goals.

For more practical tips on “eating frogs”, improving your efficiency, and replacing exhaustion with energy, please contact me at valerie@cherneskicoaching.com.