Many lawyers use the lull after the year-end crunch to take stock of their careers and personal lives. Here are some questions to help you evaluate your life, make change as needed, and jumpstart 2007.

CAREER

1.  Are you happy in your current position?  If not, what would you like to change/improve? 

If you are dissatisfied but can’t articulate why, try ranking your job satisfaction, from greatest to least, in the following areas:  income; hours worked; quality of work; quantity of work; camaraderie among co-workers; office attributes (location, environment, technology, support staff etc…); mentorship; other job perks; opportunities for advancement; and status.

2. Once you determine which aspects of your job are least satisfactory, articulate one-three steps that you could take to improve your job in each of such area(s), such as: taking to managing partner, purchasing new technology, learning new communication strategies for support staff, exploring career alternatives etc… 

3.  Even if you are happy with your career status, what can you do to take your career to the next level?  Being as specific as possible, articulate three things that you can do in the short-term, and three in the long term, that will enhance your career, such as: 

(a)  write an article about [specific topic] to showcase my expertise in [area of the law]      

(b)  develop specific plan for growing international part of my practice, with goal of bringing in [ten] new foreign clients by next summer

(c)  learn and implement new strategies for delegating work to  secretary/paralegal/associates so that tasks get done

(d)  develop specific personal branding strategy to attract more “ideal” clients, and spend 20% of weekly work time on rainmaking

(e)  talk to a professional about alternate careers for lawyers

4.  What do you need to do to move forward?  For example, do you need to hire a lawyer coach, a consultant, new staff, or other people to assist you?

PERSONAL LIFE

1.  Rank your satisfaction in the following areas of your life from greatest to least:  health; family and home environment; social life; spirituality; finances; and intellectual/personal growth.  

2.  Identify one-three steps that you could take to improve any of the areas with which you are not satisfied.

3.  Describe an enjoyable day.  Identify one-three specific steps that you can take to make sure that more of your days (or parts thereof) are enjoyable.  What do you need to add to your life?  What do you need to say no to, or discard?  (This can include people, habits, negative thinking, as well as possessions.) 

COMMITMENT

Look at the action items articulated in response to the questions above.  Write the “next steps” on your calendar, being as specific as possible.  Commit to taking those action steps. Implement a reward system through which you reward yourself for taking action (through a healthy, enjoyable treat) and penalize yourself (in a painful but non-harmful way, such as by sending money to a political candidate you despise) for failing to move forward by the agreed upon date.

JUMPSTART 2007!!!