Professional Development: The Foundation for Success -- Your Brain Strategy

What is the single most important tool in your tool belt? More than any other resources available, one above all others will determine your ultimate success in life, both professional and personal. Your brain. More specifically ' your prefrontal cortex.

The prefrontal cortex is the area of your brain located right behind your forehead. It is often referred to as the “executive center.” This is where you do your deep, analytical, rational thinking. In other words, this is the part of your brain that generates billable hours. Your ability to leverage your pre-frontal cortex for maximum productivity is your competitive edge. Here are some tips to use your brain more productively.

1. Traffic Equals Accidents

Your brain has developed over 10,000 years to work in specific ways that have made survival and evolution possible. Its fundamental job is to manage the flow of information and energy in your body. By the same token, it has not been designed to handle certain tasks we regularly call upon it to perform. You wouldn't use your lawn mower to commute to work or use your cell phone to write legal briefs, but you often call upon your brain to process and manage information in real time that is beyond the scope of its capacity.

The result of this cognitive mismanagement is predictable and sad: mission failure. One of the most common mistakes is multi-tasking. The research around this behavior is overwhelmingly clear and without scientific doubt. If you are multi-tasking as a way to get through your workload, you are making twice as many mistakes and taking twice as long to complete the task. What would your clients say about paying for your services rendered in this manner?

2. The Cure for Multi-tasking

The cure is a two-word prescription: focus and concentration. The most productive, effective professionals in the world all share this habit. They are able to eliminate distraction and process one issues/matter/task at a time. When it is complete, they move on to the next issue/matter/task. Approaching your work in this methodical method (and yes, there are ways to diminish the non-stop attention grabbers in your office) will dramatically improve the quality and quantity of your work product each day. An additional benefit of working in this way is a significant reduction in stress. Neuroscience shows us that a large source of the “overwhelm” and stress you feel is from the “rapid cerebral refocusing” that we force our brains to endure each day. To whatever degree we can maintain a more mindful state of focus and concentration as we move through our workload, we will reduce the collateral damage that has absolutely no benefit to our work or lives.

3. Managing e-Mail

Probably the single biggest complaint about trying to manage the legal work flow in firms is the challenge of managing e-mail. The number of messages each person receives in an average day is astronomical and will only increase in the years to come. Most attorneys enjoy their actual legal work when they can get to it, but find that answering e-mails keeps them from the work that is both enjoyable and profitable.

Some organizations are experimenting with the elimination of e-mails, but the day when those protocols are accepted is long off. In the meantime, here are some quick techniques not to have your e-mail destroy your focus and concentration.

Chances are that you currently have your in-box open right now. This is a terrible mistake. It results in you getting bogged down in e-mail hell and serves as a constant distraction in your day.

Instead of your inbox, keep your calendar in front of you all day. This allows you to focus on the work that must get done ' and in the right order. On your calendar you should have several periods in the day when you go to your in-box to clean it out, but this should not be your work-process driver.

Turn off the audio and visual notifications that interrupt your work flow. You must make your technology work for you and not the other way around. If you are concerned about replying in a timely manner to specific internal or external clients, then use your “rules and alerts” option to set up special notifications for when these parties contact you. This will allow you to stay in a state of focused concentration for longer periods of time.

4. Stop Procrastinating

For a number of reasons, getting attorneys to put their billable hours into “the system” is a serious problem for many firms. The procrastination and avoidance of this business-essential task has serious implications for the financial stability of your organization. The reason for this procrastination may be obvious ' it's an unpleasant, uninteresting task that you don't enjoy doing. What is less obvious, though, is that besides putting your firm in financial jeopardy, this procrastination also takes a toll on the brain.

Forcing the brain to carry around unresolved, unpleasant tasks all day results in cognitive tension that leads to impaired performance. Fortunately the solution is not terribly difficult.

What to Do

Step One: Remember that habits require time to take root, and any new process that is implemented must be given gentle persistence before becoming second nature.

Step Two: Speak with your team and decide on some routine/rule for getting the hours into the system. Different attorneys prefer to work with different systems, but a system must be established. Generally speaking, it breaks down to one of two choices. Either the attorney puts the time on her calendar and enters it routinely at the end of the day ' each day, or there is an agreement that the attorney will be disciplined about getting the details of his day into the calendar so that support staff can enter the hours. The reason that this problem exists in the vast majority of firms, no matter of size, is that this detailed conversation and agreement does not take place. Practice great leadership and have the difficult conversations.

Conclusion

The above two points of guidance will have a significant impact on the productivity of your brain and profitability of your firm. Put them in place and enjoy the results.

Paul Silverman is the President of Integra Workshops, a business that offers a variety of efficiency workshops. He may be reached at 914-923-5049 and [email protected].'

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What is the single most important tool in your tool belt? More than any other resources available, one above all others will determine your ultimate success in life, both professional and personal. Your brain. More specifically ' your prefrontal cortex.

The prefrontal cortex is the area of your brain located right behind your forehead. It is often referred to as the “executive center.” This is where you do your deep, analytical, rational thinking. In other words, this is the part of your brain that generates billable hours. Your ability to leverage your pre-frontal cortex for maximum productivity is your competitive edge. Here are some tips to use your brain more productively.

1. Traffic Equals Accidents

Your brain has developed over 10,000 years to work in specific ways that have made survival and evolution possible. Its fundamental job is to manage the flow of information and energy in your body. By the same token, it has not been designed to handle certain tasks we regularly call upon it to perform. You wouldn't use your lawn mower to commute to work or use your cell phone to write legal briefs, but you often call upon your brain to process and manage information in real time that is beyond the scope of its capacity.

The result of this cognitive mismanagement is predictable and sad: mission failure. One of the most common mistakes is multi-tasking. The research around this behavior is overwhelmingly clear and without scientific doubt. If you are multi-tasking as a way to get through your workload, you are making twice as many mistakes and taking twice as long to complete the task. What would your clients say about paying for your services rendered in this manner?

2. The Cure for Multi-tasking

The cure is a two-word prescription: focus and concentration. The most productive, effective professionals in the world all share this habit. They are able to eliminate distraction and process one issues/matter/task at a time. When it is complete, they move on to the next issue/matter/task. Approaching your work in this methodical method (and yes, there are ways to diminish the non-stop attention grabbers in your office) will dramatically improve the quality and quantity of your work product each day. An additional benefit of working in this way is a significant reduction in stress. Neuroscience shows us that a large source of the “overwhelm” and stress you feel is from the “rapid cerebral refocusing” that we force our brains to endure each day. To whatever degree we can maintain a more mindful state of focus and concentration as we move through our workload, we will reduce the collateral damage that has absolutely no benefit to our work or lives.

3. Managing e-Mail

Probably the single biggest complaint about trying to manage the legal work flow in firms is the challenge of managing e-mail. The number of messages each person receives in an average day is astronomical and will only increase in the years to come. Most attorneys enjoy their actual legal work when they can get to it, but find that answering e-mails keeps them from the work that is both enjoyable and profitable.

Some organizations are experimenting with the elimination of e-mails, but the day when those protocols are accepted is long off. In the meantime, here are some quick techniques not to have your e-mail destroy your focus and concentration.

Chances are that you currently have your in-box open right now. This is a terrible mistake. It results in you getting bogged down in e-mail hell and serves as a constant distraction in your day.

Instead of your inbox, keep your calendar in front of you all day. This allows you to focus on the work that must get done ' and in the right order. On your calendar you should have several periods in the day when you go to your in-box to clean it out, but this should not be your work-process driver.

Turn off the audio and visual notifications that interrupt your work flow. You must make your technology work for you and not the other way around. If you are concerned about replying in a timely manner to specific internal or external clients, then use your “rules and alerts” option to set up special notifications for when these parties contact you. This will allow you to stay in a state of focused concentration for longer periods of time.

4. Stop Procrastinating

For a number of reasons, getting attorneys to put their billable hours into “the system” is a serious problem for many firms. The procrastination and avoidance of this business-essential task has serious implications for the financial stability of your organization. The reason for this procrastination may be obvious ' it's an unpleasant, uninteresting task that you don't enjoy doing. What is less obvious, though, is that besides putting your firm in financial jeopardy, this procrastination also takes a toll on the brain.

Forcing the brain to carry around unresolved, unpleasant tasks all day results in cognitive tension that leads to impaired performance. Fortunately the solution is not terribly difficult.

What to Do

Step One: Remember that habits require time to take root, and any new process that is implemented must be given gentle persistence before becoming second nature.

Step Two: Speak with your team and decide on some routine/rule for getting the hours into the system. Different attorneys prefer to work with different systems, but a system must be established. Generally speaking, it breaks down to one of two choices. Either the attorney puts the time on her calendar and enters it routinely at the end of the day ' each day, or there is an agreement that the attorney will be disciplined about getting the details of his day into the calendar so that support staff can enter the hours. The reason that this problem exists in the vast majority of firms, no matter of size, is that this detailed conversation and agreement does not take place. Practice great leadership and have the difficult conversations.

Conclusion

The above two points of guidance will have a significant impact on the productivity of your brain and profitability of your firm. Put them in place and enjoy the results.

Paul Silverman is the President of Integra Workshops, a business that offers a variety of efficiency workshops. He may be reached at 914-923-5049 and [email protected].'

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