More on Administrative Professionals Day; Work/life balance in 3 movements
In my recent post reminding everyone that Administrative Professionals Day is coming up on April 25, I neglected to include a link to The Billable Hour, which is the ideal source for cards and gifts for paralegals. A few examples of cards:
Put a nice gift card inside one of these and you’re assured an appreciative laugh from any paralegal. And you might also consider the delightful Buddha Board: you paint a design on the board using water, and the image fades away as the water evaporates. Very Zen, and definitely on my “gotta get this” list!
Whatever you do, remember to appreciate secretaries, paralegals, receptionists, runners, etc etc etc on April 25 (or at least during the week, which is styled Administrative Professionals Week) because they deserve it.
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I ran across an interesting article on Forbes.com, titled Work-Life Balance: A Different Cut, by Stephen Covey. I was drawn in by Covey’s brief, yet incredibly powerful, summary of the steps necessary to “balance” work and life (as each individual determines appropriate for himself) and the obstacles that most of us face in trying to take those steps:
Much of my teaching and writing in this area has focused on the power each one of us possesses to: 1) take responsibility for, and become the creative force of, our lives; 2) decide what’s most important in our whole lives–developing a vision and deep commitment to the “first things” of life and; 3) to then put those first things first and organize our lives around our priorities. For something that seems so self-evident to most people, it’s remarkable how many of us struggle to translate our intellectual awareness into day-to-day practice and decision-making.
Many people simply conclude that they are not disciplined enough. My response to that idea is that it’s usually not a discipline problem at all. The problem is more often that the person has not yet sufficiently paid the price to get very clear about what matters most to them. Once you have a burning “yes” inside you about what’s truly important, it’s very easy to say “no” to the unimportant.
Well, that covers it!
Covey does go on to discuss organizational inability to set priorities (the business application of step #2) and cites some rather dismal statistics about workers’ disengagement and lack of clear understanding about organizational priorities. He then suggests 4 disciplines that, properly developed, overcome these obstacles that also prevent workers from finding work/life balance. The disciplines (which could, to my mind, be applied equally to personal pursuits) are:
Discipline 1: Focus on the Wildly Important.
Discipline 2: Act on the Lead Measures.
Discipline 3: Keep a Compelling Scoreboard.
Discipline 4: Create a Cadence of Accountability.
You’ll have to read the article to find out more about these disciplines. It’s a quick read, full of great reminders.
NOTE: The Life at the Bar blog has MOVED! To find the latest posts about time management and productivity, business development, communications skills, leadership development, and much more relevant to lawyers and the practice of law, please visit www.lifeatthebar.com/blog.
April 21, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I like Stephen Covey’s work/life balance princicples from a personal application perspective. However, from a practical business perspective, I think they fall short. It’s all about our demands and our level of control over those demands. Organizations can’t change the demands – deadlines, projects, reports as well as soccer practice, tennis lessons, vacations. However, they can give employees more control to manage around these demands. Best Buy and CultureRx are already doing this by implementing a Results-Only Work Environmen: ROWE. In a ROWE, it’s up to the employees on how to get the work done. All that matters is that it gets done!