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We hear and read often of what lawyers should do, what clothes they should wear or what books they should read. We rarely read or hear of what lawyers should stop doing for their own sake, the sake of their colleagues, their families, and I dare say the whole of humanity. I kid… not.
But seriously, if you want to get the most out of your time and increase your productivity, while practising law, here are 5 things you have to stop doing.
- Saying Yes to Everything – No is a Complete Sentence
I understand that sometimes you get well-meaning requests from friends, family or colleagues and it might be quite hard to say no because you don’t want to hurt their feelings. But it’s very important to start turning down requests that stop you from executing your most important goals daily. Say your no respectfully but firmly. I also think that the reason we always say yes to everything is that we really do underestimate the time it actually takes to accomplish tasks. They say it’s only going to take 5 minutes, you say yes, you blink, open your eyes and realise you are working on it for the next three weeks.
- Procrastinating – Don’t Wait Until the End of the Day to Do your Most Important Work
If it is priority, then give it priority. Most people wake up in the morning, ready to smash their to-do list and have a productive day. But then they walk into the office and the phone calls and emails start pouring in, threatening to destabilize their day. The best thing to do in these moments is to flip your day and get your most important work out of the way. The practice of law is extremely stressful, if you leave your most important work till the end of the day, you can be sure that by the time you are ready to get on it, you will have no zeal or the right frame of mind to properly execute it.
- Neglecting your Health and Well Being
As you grow older in the legal profession, you realize that it is a myth when they say the only way to build a successful legal career is to give it “everything.” We see today, that giving it everything actually sets you on the path of dissatisfaction, burnout, and even worse, serious physical and mental health problems. Ensure that you pursue other interests apart from law. They would help to keep you balanced, centered, and satisfied amongst other things.
- Fearing Failure
The more you face fear, the more it becomes a habit and the better you get at overcoming it. Lawyers need to stop running away from worthy and deserving challenges. While it is easy to get comfortable in what you already know and are used to, the only way to break free is to embrace the possibility of failure. I also think that most of our failures stem from the fact that we want everything to be perfect and we want to be seen as perfect. It may also be the huge responsibility that has been placed on us by society and the perception that we know everything and therefore must do everything right. If you desire to excel at a task, skill, project, or goal you need to embrace an imperfect path and learn to stare failure in the face without backing down.
- Being a Jack of all Trades
There is no law that says you have to take every brief that comes your way. Carve a niche for yourself, drill-down and build a worthy legacy. The truth is carving a niche is not just about differentiating yourself – it can allow for a more efficient practice/career that enables you to offer more value to your clients and capture premium rates because of its targeted knowledge.
Ultimately, it’s your life and it’s your career and you must learn to prioritize yourself. If you don’t, nobody will!
Please share other things that you think lawyers should stop doing in the comments section. Would love to hear from you!
