Prioritize

Prioritizing is "top of mind" for me this week as I am preparing for my comprehensive exams in my PhD program. There are lots of good ways to prioritize or weigh the relative value of certain activities. The one that I like is the A,B,C system because it forces you to consider what really is the most important.

Now, my system might be a little different than what you would use, so please change the language to make sense for you and your situation. Here's a legend for ABC:

A = Push - If I don't do this, I'll get fired or divorced
Pull - I love this type of activity and it makes me the most money/satisfaction

B = Push - This task will prevent a important losses, reduce the risk of aggravating an important customer/partner/spouse.
Pull - This is important work that I enjoy and it can increase my profitability and career advancement and make my partner/spouse/customer happier.

C = Push - Someone wants this right now, but it's not a high priority. It came up on my email/voicemail so I might as well do it now, even though I am working on more important tasks. I don't trust anyone to who I can delegate this low value task.
Pull - I really enjoy this task even though it adds little value compared to other tasks I could be doing.

It is true that certain tasks change in value, so it is important to be aware of that fact. Some tasks become more work if they are put off and thus, what looks like a C, may actually be a B.

Try this out and let me know how it works for you. What types of descriptions work for you for A, B & C? See if you can accomplish more tasks in the A - Pull category and reflect on how that made your week go. Share the fact that you are prioritizing with anyone who might unwittingly interfere with your prioritization scheme. Consider having blocked time for certain types of meetings and quiet project time as well.

Time is something like money, if we have more of it, we'll find a use for it. Just like money, it's important to use your time well on the most valuable tasks.

Be Happy and Productive!

Shaun

Shaun G. Jamison (C) 2005 All Rights Reserved.

Being YOU and attraction

Now this will work very well in your personal life, but I'll put forth my proposition in a business sense. Being yourself will get you more clients and more of the right kind of clients for you.

This is a wake up call and a challenge to all of us who try to become what we think our customers want. When I was a litigator, I found some of my clients wanted a combative, retribution oriented person much of the time (towards others, not them :)). If you are not familiar with the practice of law, despite outward appearances, most cases are settled in a very civilized manner. Some of my clients that caught on to this didn't like it at all. For a while, I tried being more combative, and sure enough, my bills got paid more quickly. Bear in mind, I didn't get any better results and was risking the good will that allowed me to get those earlier settlements . . . Well, of course this wasn't right for me. The clients who needed combative lawyers really needed to go to someone else. We weren't right for each other and I was betraying who I was. I really regretting some of the clients I attracted to myself. Now, to clarify, I had no compunction about "going after" lawyers and parties to lawsuits that were misbehaving, I just don't like the idea of needlessly being nasty to people.

Later in my practice, I started telling people my thinking about the law and my style of practice very clearly up front. They could accept me as I was or they could find someone else. It was very freeing.

Along that evolutionary line, think about this. It isn't just about being consistent with your own values in your core business. It is about applying your values and attitudes in your professional development, networking and personal life. People will sense your consistency and want to do business with you if you are a good match for them. The relationship will be much easier because the person they met at the club, social event or in the office is really the genuine you. The reverse is true. You will repel people if you are inconsistent. You are meticulous with your clients' accounts, yet you sneak out of your continuing education classes and take credit for them. You are a great mediator at work, but at home, you are fighting with the neighbors. You are a wonderful church member, but nasty all day long at work. Would you hire you?

Now it is true that we change over time as we become more mature both personally and in our professions. We may even decide actively to change ourselves. I am not arguing against that at all if you are at peace with those changes and they are consistent with your values. The point is to know who you are or who you wish to be and be consistent with yourself and you will attract the best clients for you.

Be Well,
Shaun

Shaun Jamison (c) 2005 All Rights Reserved

Fits and Starts

Are you one of those people who dives into a project or several projects, works like crazy, gets done and then surveys the wreckage? Well, welcome to the club! I just got done with a mad rush to complete a paper for my advanced research class and prepare to present for a conference. Now the conference is over and the paper turned in and I am catching up on all of the loose ends created by a mad rush (like posting to the blog).

But is that the way we have to live? Granted, some of it is how we are wired, but if we do the "mad rush" all of the time, is it really healthy? Do we really do our best work?

Take some time to reflect on projects you work on. What are the reoccurring themes? What are the good ones and what would you like to change? Now you might be tempted to quickly dismiss changes, attributing the roadblock to improvement to the nature of your industry or your partners, but I would ask that you set aside judgment. Just put the needed changes out there. What would be ideal? What is something you could do today as a first step to improving the flow and balance of your projects? What would your life be like if you improved the balance and flow of your projects?

Be well and do good work!

Shaun

Shaun Jamison (c) 2005 All Rights Reserved