Professional Development: The Quest for Work-Life Balance

After you understand your priorities and have a clear vision of what your unique work-life balance looks like, consider the following steps to evaluate or redesign your schedule to maximize productivity and make time for the things that are truly important to you.

1. Start with a Clean Slate

Begin with a blank calendar. Add back in all meetings and obligations that are absolutely required. Identify and create a list of all obligations that are not required or do not support your priorities, and place the list aside for now.

2. Identify the Time You Can Control

This will look different for everyone, but identify the time you have control over, both at and outside of work. Often, there's a lot more of it than it feels, once you clear out the clutter.

3. Adopt Defensive Calendaring and Take it Seriously

Schedule your priorities. Schedule time for deep, creative work. Schedule time for your important tasks of the day. If you don't, that time will appear as “available” on your calendar, and someone will claim it. This is exactly how unexpected, long work days happen.

4. Understand and Harness Your Personal Energy Levels

Unless we are lucky enough to have non-step energy 24 hours a day, most of us are either morning people or night owls. Figure out when you feel most energized, and if possible, leverage this time for deep, creative work.

5. Learn to Say No

Saying no doesn't always have to be negative. Acknowledge the person who is making the request, politely decline and, if possible, offer an alternative. There are many ways to soften the blow with a “positive no” or a “not right now.” This is where that list of non-essential obligations comes in from Step 1. Practice your positive no and keep in mind that you do not always have to give an answer right away when accepting future invitations. Pausing before answering allows time to consider if the invitation is in line with your priorities.

6. Automate and Delegate

In the previous step, you hopefully gained back some precious time. Take an hour or two to review all your repetitive tasks and processes. Delegate what you can, and automate wherever possible. Every 15 minutes counts. If you can find five 15-minute tasks to automate, you just earned back at least one hour each week. That's 52 hours per year!

7. Be Intentional About  Rejuvenation

Not allowing time to rest your body and mind is a slippery slope. This is where lifestyle balance comes in. The point of the previous steps was to maximize productivity so that you have the time for the things that are important to you, whether that's spending time with family or engaging in recreation. Take your weekends and vacations seriously. If you have a week where long hours were required, allow time to recover so that you do not return to work exhausted.

8. Communicate and Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help

If you're feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, or have already reached burnout, speak to someone. Communicate your struggle with a colleague, mentor or supervisor.

Conclusion

Now that you've designed your optimal day, remember to remain flexible. There will still be off-hour events, travel and unexpected requests that derail your day. Embrace what is in and out of your control, and pivot when necessary.

***** Jennifer Bettencourt, Marketing & Business Development Manager at Goulston & Storrs, has broad experience implementing all facets of law firm management from strategic planning to operational process improvement. Contact her at [email protected].