At this time of year, even the most accomplished among us have to take the time to look at the year ahead and ask: well, now what? Okay, so we’re all a few too many broken new years’ resolutions deep to ever really trust the “new year, new me” idea, but if working in law has taught us one thing it’s that setting realistic goals is the key to success.
So feel free to scrap your standard resolutions (you were never going to get that gym membership anyway) and have a peek at the suggestions Insights has put together to make sure 2016 starts off right.
Make yourself indispensable
Given the state of the economy and its effects on the legal industry, now is not the time to be seen as expendable. And as a lawyer, becoming indispensable is tied to the non-lawyers. That’s right, non-lawyers. Remember them? Having a close professional relationship with clients is going to be something that not only improves the quality of the service you provide but may well earn you a pat on the back from your favourite firm partner (okay, so you’d settle for any one of them, but we know you have one). A bible of business cards will serve you well down the track when you need some specialised knowledge or are scoping the market for new clients.
Work hard and smart
We’ve all heard the new age work mantra “work smart, not hard”, but the key to efficiency in the workplace and to unlocking new pockets of free time may be to work hard and smart. Clients expect to receive a quick response to e-mails (some lawyers even have a 5-minute response rule!) so set aside time to make sure you are able to manage client expectations this year. But that doesn’t mean being on the job 24/7. Resist the temptation to flick over to Facebook or Buzzfeed mid-workday, as staying focused and being prompt in the hours that you are working means peace of mind when you’re off duty.
When you switch off, switch off
The other side of the coin to working smart is making the time to not work at all. While you may not be at work all the time, an obsessive need to have your smart phone within reach at all times means you may as well be. There’s nothing worse than being that person at dinner that ruins the mood lighting with a harsh screen glow. So switch off. Even if it goes against every ounce of your overachieving and hardworking being, we can all find the time and the way to do it. So if you really must have your phone at the table, resist the impulse to check your emails by Instagram-ing instead.
So whichever or whatever you choose, just decide when you establish to your work routine this year that you’ve at the very least resolved to be better. Last year was a great year, but let’s face it: cruising is just so 2015.