Lawsagna

Get excited!

You’ve probably heard the saying: if you don’t like the results, do something different.  Well… sometimes, things that you least expect to help you produce surprisingly positive outcomes.  I’ve recently read two posts that seem to support this phenomenon. 

Lifehack featured the post How to Get Started on Anything from Smart Graduate School Applications.   It discusses how sipping coffee motivates the author to begin a task that is not very appealing otherwise.  The positive emotion generated by the coffee spills over to the project at hand.  So, next time you need to start on something boring, trick your brain first by doing something that gets you excited. Your attitude towards the task may improve as a result.   

The second post deals with the effect of emotional words on memory.  According to ScienceBlogs,  If You Want Someone to Remember What You Said, Cuss.  Experiments show that we remember swear and taboo words better than neutral words.  More importantly, the emotional words enhance memory of the context in which they are used, so it appears that we remember the boring stuff better if it is sprinkled with words that trigger shock or surprise.  If there is any study group out there that decides to try this one out, let me know if it works. 

Do you have similar tricks that enhance your learning?  I’d love to hear them.

Find out your networking quotient

If you have ten minutes to spare and want to find out how savvy you are about networking, take a free 30-question quiz called Networking Quotient.  This assessment tool was developed by Thom Singer, who is the author of Some Assembly Required:  How to Make, Grow and Keep Your Business Relationships.  He also writes a business development and networking blog.

While it’s neat to see how you score compared to others in your demographic group, I think, you can learn more from the questions themselves because they indicate what you should be thinking about and doing.  Once you complete the quiz, you are given an option of retaking it.  You can click on that link to go back to the questions and use them to evaluate your own networking plan, if you have one.  If you don’t, it may be useful to ponder those questions a little longer and create one.   

Related posts:
How to find a mentor
5 questions to ask when you evaluate job options

How to find a mentor

Do you have a mentor?  If not, maybe, it is time to add the task of finding one to your list of New Year’s resolutions.  Your relationship with a mentor can be instrumental to building a successful and satisfying career.  A young attorney faces many choices.  Asking the right questions is a prerequisite for making good decisions.  How do I choose a practice area or a niche?  How can I get more work to fulfill my requirement for billable hours?  How can I prioritize my personal and professional obligations?  What is the best way to stay current in my field and gain expertise?  These are examples of questions you can ask your mentor.  “OK, I get it, it is a good idea to have a mentor, but how do I find one?”  Here are a few things you can do:

• Start with assessing your needs.   Which areas of your life could use a mentor?  What do you want to gain from the relationship with a mentor?  How would you know if the mentor is a good fit for you?  Do you have a preference for the means of communication with your mentor?  These days, you don’t have to meet the person face-to-face.  Email or phone conversations can work well, although some would argue that nothing beats a good old lunch.  If you had a mentor in the past, evaluate that relationship form the standpoint of what worked for you and what didn’t.   
• Think of what you can bring to the table.  Mentorship is a two-way relationship.  Your unique background and experiences, your knowledge of technology, your fresh perspective can be of value to others.
• Make a list of the characteristics of your ideal mentor.  Be open-minded about it.  You and your mentor don’t have to work in the same place.  Your mentor does not have to be much older that you are. There is a benefit to having a mentor who has recent memories of the issues you are facing. 
• Now it is time to see who fits your ideal mentor profile.  Do you know anybody you would want to be your mentor?  Put them on your list of candidates.  Look closely at the people around you.  Who do you go to for advice?  Whose opinion do you value? Perhaps, you already have a budding mentor relationship.  Share your plans and the profile with your relatives, friends, acquaintances.  They may know of someone and may be willing to broker your initial contact.  Don’t underestimate your “weak ties.”  According to Keith Ferrazzi, your acquaintances may be even more valuable than your close friends.  The reason is that you and your close friends often hang out with the same people, whereas your more distant acquaintances may broaden the search pool.  And don’t forget, you can have several mentors, there is no one-mentor-per-mentee limit.
• Decide how you want to approach your potential mentors.  You can summarize your strategy in a simple table where all the important information is written out, so that all you need to do is to execute on your plan. Download how_to_find_a_mentor_table.doc [Word, 25KB]. Contacting people is the scary part for many, so creating a plan helps to avoid unnecessary deliberation and hesitation.  Most people are flattered when they are asked to become a mentor even if they are too busy to take on this responsibility.  Remember that rejections are part of the process.  Also, if someone cannot be a mentor for you for some reason, ask if he or she can recommend somebody else.
• You may also want to research organizations that offer mentorship programs for lawyers.  For example, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division of the American Bar Association offers Law Student Mentoring Certificate.  The State Bar of Georgia launched the Mentoring Program in early 2006.  The Ohio Bar piloted the Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program.  The Missouri Bar also has a mentoring program.  These are just the ones I know of, there may be more.
• For additional resources on mentoring, check out Law Practice Today.  Here is a link to an article that discusses more internet resources on mentoring.  Finally, you may find useful this How to Find a Mentor Worksheet.

Good luck and let me know if these tips work for you.

* This post is part of the Networking Carnival hosted by Legal Andrew, where you can find many more great tips on networking.

Lawyers appreciate mentorship

An appreciation storm is taking over the legal blogosphere thanks to the efforts of Stephanie West Allen of Idealawg and Julie Fleming Brown of Life at the Bar. I got swept away by the idea.  Here’s my contribution.

Lawyers appreciate mentorship, especially young lawyers.  Practice of law is challenging.  The mental, physical and emotional demands of the legal career can be high.  Much has been written recently about the fact that law schools don’t prepare students enough for the reality of legal practice.  That’s why lawyers appreciate the guidance, care and wisdom of their mentors.  Counsels need good counsel.  They appreciate the time that mentors take from their busy schedules to teach, lead, encourage, inspire, and pass on the highest standards of work and ethics to the younger generation of attorneys.  This season, we take time to give thanks to people who touch our lives in a meaningful way.  So much of the law practice is about finding meaning in words, actions, events, relationships.  Our mentors help us to find meaning in our work and lives, so let’s not forget to show our gratitude to our mentors, and let’s take this spirit of appreciation into the upcoming year.

Cheer numbers

As we gather and celebrate the holiday season with family and friends, the U.S. Census Bureau keeps counting... Here's a link to some holiday-related facts and figures. 

Take your learning hat wherever you go: "Cappuccino U" by Jerome Martin

The last exam is over.  You head out of the classroom door with a  sight of deep relief.  Done!  No more learning for at least a few weeks.  Well…not so fast…  Welcome to Cappuccino U!  “What?” I hear. “Is that some caffeine-induced state of delirium? Or are you implying it’s time for me to apply to Starbucks? I haven’t seen my grades yet.”  No, no, no.  Cappucino U is a metaphor for some Third Place – not your home and not the office or school – where informal learning occurs.   Jerome Martin has written an e-book entitled "Cappucino U" that is available in the PDF format through Spotted Cow Press.  It will only take you about fifteen minutes to read, and once you do, you’ll get a glimpse into your future as a knowledge worker.   

A coffee shop is an example of such Third Place.  I remember, I loved studying in a coffee shop.  The library was too quiet for me.  The local coffee shop offered just the right blend of aroma, light, noise, good discussions, focused reading, and occasional interruptions in the shape of a friend or a classmate.  (They didn’t have a wireless internet in the coffee shop back in those days.)  I still love reading and working in coffee shops.

Cappuccino U presents a new approach to learning where you decide what to learn, how to learn and where to learn it.  It is about learning communities and networks enabled by smart technology.  It’s about staying current in your field and taking responsibility for your knowledge.  It’s a neat concept to explore while you are on your break. 

What’s your favorite place for informal learning?

Related post:
Studying is your business

Lessons from the crib

Ben Yoskovitz of Instigator Blog is running the group writing project “What did you learn this year?”  I thought his question was very appropriate for my learning blog, so here are my reflections on year 2006.    

2006 was a year of new beginnings and new learning opportunities for my family.  On December 13, 2005, we welcomed our baby girl into the world and began to learn about the joys and challenges of parenting (our two four-legged furry kids didn’t prepare us enough).  Five months later, we relocated to a different state, my husband started a new job, I left mine and embarked on the balancing act of caring for my daughter and working to launch my own business.  I picked up blogging along the way, which turned out to be a nice outlet for the frenzy of thoughts and ideas in my head.  My blog is about learning, and who is a faster and better learner than a baby? She has taught me a few things about this subject, and I am happy to share our lessons from the crib.

• "Practice" is the name of the game.  We’ve all heard:  “Practice makes perfect.”  Babies are wise, they somehow know it from the day they are born.  My daughter started with practicing her communication skills and making her intent loud and clear, a bit too loud for my ears.  With each new skill she learned, she exhibited the same effortless persistence, indicating that failure was not an option.  Such attitude encourages learning. George Leonard in his book Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment writes about the value of practice:  “Mastery is staying on the path.”  Next time you need to learn a new discipline or a set of skills, remember this and rest assured that you already possess everything you need to succeed.
• Learning is a laughing matter.  At which juncture on our way to adulthood did learning become serious and boring?  That’s certainly not the way my baby views it.  Learning is a fun and joyful activity for her.  She learns through play.  It turns out that positive emotions improve adult learning as well.   A good learning game that makes participants engaged and relaxed can accelerate learning.  It’s good to be a kid once in a while.
• There is more ways to learn than through words.  Babies learn through observation, touch, smell, taste, interaction.  My daughter loves music and dances every time she hears her favorite songs.  She is learning coordination and rhythm.  Adults also relate to information in multiple ways according to Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University who wrote the book Intelligence Reframed:  Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century.  Every day, I am reminded that multisensory learning is the best. 
• Curiosity drives learning.  I am amazed at how curious and observant my baby is.  I can read it in her face.  “Where did the noise come from?”  “What happens if I push this cup over the edge of the table?”  “What does this stuff taste like?”  I think adults are often too busy to be curious.  When was the last time you put “oblige my sense of curiosity” in your to-do list?  Maybe, we should give in to our curiosity more often even if it means that an hour disappears in pursuit of a random thought.   William Wirt once said; “Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance.”
• “Do, or do not. There is no try,” said Jedi Master Yoda in Star Wars.  This lesson is about the mindset. Babies don’t try to do things, they do them.  Even when it appears to me that my daughter is trying to walk, in her mind, she is walking.  She is not thinking: “I am going to try to put that leg forward and see what happens.” She just does it.  What happens if we eliminate “try” from our vocabulary and just do things to our best ability?  Some good learning experience.
• Falls and bumps are just that:  falls and bumps.  They don’t mean we are failures.  They are not evidence of a faulty character.  They are part of life.  Just get up and keep going, like babies do.
• Learning needs support.  There are times when my baby wants me to hold her and comfort her.  She needs my support, and she knows I am there for her.  It gives her confidence and a sense of security.  While our adult education system encourages competition, I think, we can all benefit from cooperative and supportive environment when we learn.
• When you don’t quite understand something, smile.  My baby must think I am silly.  She rewards me with her smile more often than I deserve it.  Her smile is hard to resist.  I believe, a sincere smile is the first step to true understanding:  “I am not sure what you are saying, but I like you.”  Thanks to my baby, I smile more these days.

What have your kids taught you about learning?

Related posts:
8 ways to learn
Baby steps
Lessons learned

 

Gift guide

Have you done all of your gift shopping yet?  If not, here’s an idea.  In the spirit of this blog, I encourage you to give the gifts of learning.  After all, what is a better way to spend your money than on the improvement of Self and others.  The other day, I engaged in some daydreaming with Excitations – a website that offers gifts of experiences. You can browse those gifts by types of activities and geographical regions where they are available.

• What would your gift recipients like to learn about?  Maybe, they would be interested in a Wine Education Experience in San Francisco.    If you have friends in Philadelphia who are in the process of renovating their home, they may enjoy a Guided Design Center Experience.  You can also send your competitors to Swim with the Sharks.  It’s fun just to browse through all those experiences.  Maybe, you can put one or two on your own wishlist.
• How do your gift recipients prefer to learn?  Some may want to take the Best Seat in the House: Wine and Dine and see a celebrated chef prepare a five-course meal just for them. They will learn about pairing food and wine in the process, and the best part is that they get to enjoy the delicious dinner.  Do you know anybody who would want to tour Washington DC by Segway for Two?  A knowledgeable guide will help them to cruise along effortlessly. 
• Where would they want to have that extraordinary experience?  How about in the sky where they can try skydiving?  For the earth-bound, offer a Half Day Spa Rejuvenation.  Who wouldn’t want to get some rest from all these holidays?
• Perhaps, there is somebody out there who is an inspiration to your friends and whom they would like to meet as part of their gift experience.  Music lovers would like a Symphony Salon series where they can have a pre-concert chat with the musicians and creative directors of the critically acclaimed Riverside Symphony, attend a complimentary cheese-and-wine reception and enjoy the performance at Lincoln Center in New York City.  The lucky ones may get a chance to go interior home shopping in NYC with Designer Libby Langdon (you have to be some lawyer with money to give this experience).
• When?  Any time, not just the holidays. 

P.S.  Do you feel creative and want to design your own wrapping paper?  You can do it for free.

5 things you may not know about me

Legal Andrew tagged me for the meme that is going around the blogosphere. Now it’s my turn to reveal 5 things that you may not know about me.

1. I love learning foreign languages.  I speak English, Russian, Spanish, and I am successfully forgetting French and Italian.  What it means is that I need to visit France and Italy soon.
2. I met my dear husband through Latin ballroom dancing. I also met a bunch of great people in dancing classes, many are still my friends.  If you want to grow your social circle, I highly recommend Latin ballroom dancing.  Dancing was also my distraction form law school, and I credit it for preserving my sanity and a decent physical shape during those three years.
3. I taught English as a Second Language courses at the university all the way through law school. 
4. I remember one of my best friends for as long as I remember myself.  We were kids when we met.  We ended up studying linguistics at the same university and went on the same foreign exchange program just a year apart from each other.  She works in publishing. I guess, I am in self-publishing, if blogging counts.
5. For a few years, I worked right next to the Niagara Falls.  In the summer time, I would take my lunch, go to the park, find a  bench and listen to the water roaring next to me as I munched on my sandwich.   In the winter, it was cold, so I went there just a few times, but the view was incredible.  The clinging mist turned the banks of the river and falls into glaciers, and with the sun reflecting from the snow and ice, the landscape looked like another planet.  Not many tourists get to see this transformation.  I think any hurried lawyer would enjoy working next to the Niagara Falls: seeing this abundance of water go by puts everything into perspective.  Visit the Falls if you have a chance.

Now, if you have not been tagged yet and you are reading this post, I tag you.  Jump in!

Easy way to declutter your home and your head

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to maintain an organized home and office.  I believe there is a correlation between the clutter in my physical surroundings and the clutter in my head.  Another pressing reason is that my one-year-old daughter is about to start walking on her own, and she likes to throw everything she can grab onto the floor.  As a result, I am embarking on the GTD, or “Getting Things Done," which is a productivity system developed by David Allen and described in his book Getting Things Done:  the Art of Stress-Free Productivity.  Recently, I’ve come across a lot of GTD-related information on the internet, so I figured the Universe was telling me something.  For example, Legal Andrew wonders why law firms don’t teach GTD to their associates, he thinks it may have something to do with the billable hours.  This may change though as corporate clients become more sophisticated about cutting their costs. In addition, the legal outsourcing and unbundled legal services may speed up the process.

On a more personal level, I started applying the “two minute rule.”  The idea is to do any task that takes less than two minutes right then and there.  I use it with things like sorting out the junk mail, cleaning my coffee maker, filing papers, putting dirty plates into the sink or, better yet, the dishwasher, replying to emails. Speaking of emails, Eric Mack offered a unique interpretation of the two minute rule that may just help you to keep your inbox empty.   I find that if I put away those small pesky tasks, they accumulate to the point that they become distractions.  I spend more time thinking about doing them than it would actually take to finish those tasks.  Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project uses her version of the “one-minute rule” and thinks that consistent decluttering may make you happier.  I agree.

Have you had any experience with GTD?  How did it work for you?  I’d love to hear any advice you can give to the newbie GTD-adherent.    

Happy hour for lawyers: interview with Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer

Alexander Kjerulf is a happiness consultant, speaker and author.  He has just released his new book “Happy Hour Is 9 to 5”.  Alexander has kindly agreed to an interview here at Lawsagna.

Lawsagna: Congratulations on your new book “Happy Hour Is 9 to 5”.  Have you met many happy lawyers?

Alexander Kjerulf:  I've actually worked with lawyers to make them happier at work - and I have to say they often don't seem very happy. Law professionals face some tough challenges including rigid, old school management, a demanding, stressful work ethic and what I call "The Cult of Overwork" - the irrational belief that the more you work the better.

L:  Law firms in the US are notorious for the somber and often stressful work environment.  What are the downsides of the work unhappiness?

AK:  Studies show that people who are unhappy at work are:
Less productive
Less creative
More prone to workplace stress and to various diseases
Less motivated
Less happy outside of work also
But the most important reason to be happy is this: As a working professional you'll be spending more time on your job than on your family, friends and hobbies combined. Do you really want to spend that much of your life on something that doesn't make you happy?

L:  Why do you think lawyers should read your book?

AK:  Lawyers should read the book in order to become insanely happy at work. To wake up every Monday morning saying "YES! It's Monday! I get to go to work." Not only will that make them enjoy work more and life more - studies also show that happy people are more successful.

Lawyers should also read the book in order to create law firms that are fun, inspiring, meaningful and energizing. In my experience, many law firms exhibit a complete disregard for how people feel at work. They care only about productivity and billable hours. This is a huge mistake for one simple reason: Happy companies make more money! Lawyers who read the book will come away with the knowledge that happiness at work is the way to a more fulfilling work life AND to higher profits.

L:  Is it possible to stay happy while dealing with the unhappy aspects of life?

AK:  It is possible - and it's also difficult. And remember: You can't be happy every single day. No matter how much you love your job, there's still going to be bad days once in a while. That's as it should be.

L:  Is the work unhappiness a personal or an institutional problem?

AK:  Both! Companies must provide a mood where it's easy for employees to be happy at work, and today many companies fail miserably at this.

On the other hand, it's also up to each of us to take responsibility for our own work situation. If you're not happy at work, you can't just sit on your butt and wait for your manager, your co-workers or the company to fix it. You must take charge and do something.

L:  What is the best approach to instilling the value of happiness at work:  top-down or bottom-up?

AK:  Both at the same time is by far the best. When management and employees work together to create a happier work environment the sky is the limit.

If I can only pick one, it's top-down, because one unhappy top executive can ruin the good mood in an entire organization, whereas one determinedly happy person in the top ranks can positively affect the whole company.

L:  What are your secret ingredients for happy hours at work?

AK:  The secret is this: Happiness at work starts with a choice. You must choose to be happy at work and to do what it takes to get there. If you don't make that choice, nothing is likely to happen.
What can an individual worker start doing now to become happier at work?
Happiness at work is something you and I create here and now. It's about doing something every day to make yourself and others happier at work. Here are some simple ideas:
1: Perform a random act of workplace kindness. Bring a co-worker a cup of coffee without them asking. Pay someone a compliment. Pass out candy at a meeting.
2: Praise someone. Praise is a great way to make others happier at work
3: Write a log. Every day, before you leave work, make a list of 5 things that made you happy at work today.

L:  What’s your favorite happy hour drink?

AK:  I usually go with a good Danish beer from a small, local brewery.

Alexander, thank you very much for you time.

5 questions to ask when you evaluate job options

Many of us spend most of our awaking hours at work.  How do you know if you are in the right place?  Here are 5 questions to consider when you are evaluating job options:

1. If this firm were a person, would I want to hang out with him or her? 
2. If I had a billion dollars, would I consider doing this type of work?
3. Is this job going to get me closer to where I want to be in life?
4. If I take this job, which doors will potentially open for me and which will close?
5. If I were to recruit my friend for this position, what would I say to him or her?

Any questions you would like to add to the list?  Please leave a comment.

What experts suggest you should read

Some of you may be already heading to your winter break.  Perhaps, you are wondering what to read.  If that’s the case, check out Suggestica that offers recommendations of books, audio and video from the leading experts in various fields. You can browse the lists of experts and their suggestions by subject matter categories.

I found out about this service through Keith Ferrazzi’s blog. I’ve recently read his book Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success One Relationship at a Time and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It’s a great read, full of tips, personal stories and anecdotes from the lives of the famous “connectors.”  It’s not just another book about networking.  It’s about an approach to building your personal and business relationships for life.  It’s about spreading an authentic and consistent message about your brand, who you are and what you stand for.  If you are interested in the ways to manage the “know-who” of your personal knowledge management system, you will probably find this book useful. This is my non-expert recommendation.   

Healthy bites

Did you know that your brain uses 20 to 25 percent of the total energy  you consume?  The better nourishment you provide for you brain, the better it works for you. But do you want to waste your mental power on planning healthy meals in the midst of studying for exams? Probably not, that’s why I’ve decided to share with you one of my favorite quick brain-friendly snacks – my hot pita sandwich. 

Preheat the over to 350F.  Place a whole-wheat pita on a baking sheet, you don’t need to cut or open the pita.  Put a few slices of the red bell pepper on top, spice it up with salt and pepper.  Next, add some deli turkey and top it off with a slice of mozzarella cheese.  Put the sandwich in the oven until the cheese melts and turns golden brown in spots.  Enjoy!  If you don’t eat meat, a nice substitute combination would be a plum tomato, fresh basil leaves, and mozzarella cheese.  And have a cup of green tea instead of a sugar- or aspartame-laden soda.  It contains caffeine, so it will give you an energy boost.  In addition, the polyphenols and tannins found in green tea have been shown to improve the brain function. 

I also have a dessert for your memory.  Do you remember which interests can be potentially affected by the Rule Against Perpetuities?

The following interests may violate the Rule Against Perpetuities:

1) vested remainders subject to open;

2) contingent remainders;

3) executory interests.

You can remember them by the mnemonic: 

RAP STOPS CORE EXECS.

RAP = Rule Against Perpetuities

STOP = Vested Remained Subject To OPen

CORE = COntingent REmainder

EXECs = EXECutory interests.

How to take exams with the champion’s mindset

No more time for whining and complaining.  The exams are here.  What do you  need to do your best?  You need the winning mindset.  And who knows more about winning than athletes?  Much like law students, athletes endure grueling schedules, successes and setbacks, the pressure to perform and manage expectations of their coaches, families, sponsors.  How do they mentally prepare for the competitions?  According to Dr. Aimee Kimball, director of mental training at UPMS Sports Medicine: “Mental training gives athletes the knowledge and ability to control their thinking and emotions, and in turn, their performance.”  Law students can also benefit from mental training techniques.

• Visualization is one of the main techniques used by the athletes to create a successful course of events in their minds.  According to the MIT research, it does not make much difference to the brain whether you see the real thing or imagine it:  the brain responds in a similar pattern.  Imagine how you want the day of the test to unfold.  Picture yourself entering the classroom, you are composed and confident. You read the questions and know how to approach them.  You are able to recall the information with ease.  You manage time well.  Imagine the sense of relief and satisfaction when the test is over.   Use as many senses as you can to make the image real in your mind.
• Remembering your previous best performance can help you to replicate the experience.  Remember the details of that peak performance.  How did you feel? How did you handle challenges?  The task is to recreate the mindset that led you to succeed.  Once you have it, come up with a trigger word to anchor your experience.  Use this trigger word to snap you back into the winning mentality when you need it.  Repeat it to overcome the negative self-talk.
• Creating a ritual can help you to focus and stay in control.  Exams are nerve-racking because we don’t know what to expect.  Simple routines, including some breathing exercises, meditation, listening to a favorite song, can calm your mind.
• Develop the right attitude.  Aligning your expectations with reality is an important step to avoid excessive stress and frustration.   You can’t expect perfection every time.  How you respond to what happens matters more than the happening itself.  Set personal and meaningful goals to measure your own progress and commit to them.  Control what you can and don’t stress about the uncontrollable.
• Increase your energy level.  You can’t have the focus and mental alertness that you need for the peak performance if you lack energy.   If you want to do well, you need to watch your diet, find time to exercise and get enough sleep.  Easier said than done, but those who manage to do it consistently will be higher on that curve.
• Increase your efforts.  Step it up a notch to build up some intensity before the test week.  Do practice questions with time constraints.  Set a schedule for review.  Get into the rhythm. It’s like flexing your brain before the important event.
• Make it through the test “one play at a time.”  Don’t let one difficult question throw you off for the rest of the test.  Stay focused on the task at hand.  Set a pace, and when the time allocated to the question is up, move on. 

Do you have any mental training tips to share?  Please leave a comment. 

Law school rhymes

Apparently, I’ve read too many nursery rhymes to my almost one-year-old daughter.  Those poems and songs keep circulating in my head.  Yesterday, we read a cute book by Elizabeth Verdick entitled Tailes Are Not for Pulling.  We’ve got two dogs in the house, so we decided to instill good pet habits early. The rhymes were stuck in my head for a while, and I had to do something about it.  Pardon my venture into law school rhyming, here’s is my law exam advice:

Law tests are not for stressing;

Multiple choice is not for guessing;

Essays are not for confusing;

Errors are not for excusing;

Issues are not for ignoring;

Test time is not for snoring;

Rules are not for misstating;

Facts are not for creating;

Professors are not for complaining;

Frustration is not for explaining;

Answers are not for comparing;

Grades are not for despairing.

Good luck on your tests!

New Year? Resolutions?

Do you have any professional habits that you are not quite pleased with?  Now is the time to take a closer look at your values, goals, projects and decide which ones you want to keep and which to toss in the upcoming year.  I know, it’s easier to make New Year’s resolutions than to follow through with them.  However, as the saying goes, if you don’t like the results, you better start doing something different. Do you share any of the dubious traits below that afflict the legal profession?  If so, how are they working for you?

• Over-commitment.   In the world where billable hours rule, what lawyer is not guilty of an extra-heavy work load? When does much work become too much?  Only you can tell, and it’s worth, at least, thinking about.
• Prolonged stress.   Stress is OK once in a while, but the long-term stress can damage your immune system, cause anxiety and depression and lead to a burn-out. Stress also affects you intellectual competence and learning.  To assess your stress level and find out about stress management techniques, check out the stress management resources from Mind Tools.
• Are you a control freak?  Do you have a need to be right all the time?  Do you feel you know what’s best for your family and friends?  Do you have to do all the important work yourself or check and re-check everybody else’s work?  If so, you may appear quite annoying to others, and it may affect your relationships. In addition, you probably have a hard time relaxing.  Try to be kind instead of being right.
• Combativeness.  Arguing and assigning blame is what lawyers do for a living.  Sometimes, it is difficult to suppress the urge to argue in other aspects of our lives.  A good start is to build awareness of our tendencies and notice the triggers.
• Negativity.  Lawyers are on the lookout for everything that can go wrong, that’s what makes them good lawyers.  What’s bad is when they are so focused on the negative beyond their jobs that they can’t see the bright side of life.  It turns out that happy people may even be more productive, according to Get Happy!! and Work Better from Productivity Goal.  A gratitude journal may help you to cultivate a more positive outlook (see my post on Gratitude).
• Communicating in Legalese.  Please be advised that the aforementioned habit can be hazardous to other people’s brains.  Hyperlinked please find a very helpful post entitled Unlearning bad habits from the (new) legal writer.  Plain English is en vogue.  

What habits do you want to unlearn? Comments are always welcome!

8 pitfalls of listening

Students learn many useful skills in law school, including reasoning, legal interpretation, legal writing, public speaking.   One skill that does not seem to get enough attention is listening.  Attorneys need good listening skills to be able to understand the needs of their clients, build trust, negotiate effectively, develop business relationships.  One of the first things you will need to learn as a young associate in a law firm is to listen carefully to the partners’ instructions and check your understanding.  People want to be heard, but they don’t get enough opportunity in our fast-speed bottom-line oriented world.  Next time you talk to someone, watch for 8 listening pitfalls that hurt good conversations:

1. Coming to the conversation with predetermined attitude and assumptions about the other person or the subject matter to be discussed.  Good conversations have the power to create new meaning and understanding, but it is only possible if we are open enough to consider those new possibilities.  So many people use conversations just to reiterate their position on an issue.  Little is gained with such approach.  Instead, join a conversation with an open mind and desire to learn something new.  Listen without bias.
2. Developing your own response while listening.  Sometimes we are so preoccupied with our own thoughts that we are unable to listen attentively to what’s being said.  We either speak or prepare our response, but we don’t really listen.  That produces two monologues, not a conversation. 
3. Completing others’ thoughts. How often do we hear something and say to ourselves:  “Oh, I know where she is going with it.”  We attribute ideas, motivation, intent to others that they may not have.  Patience pays off in conversations.  Let the others finish their thoughts and don’t assume you already know what they are going to say.
4. Jumping to conclusions.  That happens when we choose to act on limited information instead of searching for more.  It helps to suspend your judgment, listen with curiosity and ask open-ended questions.  We’ll learn more this way. 
5. Selective listening.  It occurs when we listen only to what we want to hear.  We like to be right, and our minds like consistency.  We don’t feel comfortable when something upsets our belief system.  It’s easier to ignore that information. The downside is that we don’t learn and we don’t develop.
6. Disengaging from the conversation and using disrespectful body language. For conversations to work, the parties need to show respect to each other.  It’s a basic premise, and it’s surprising how often legal professionals ignore it.  Don’t be a conversation bully.  Listen with respect.
7. Not paying enough attention to supersegmentals, such as intonation, rate of speech, emphasis, tone.  You can listen not only to what’s being said, but also to what’s not being said.  The supersegmentals give away clues about people’s emotions, feelings, stress level that can be important to conversation. 
8. Disregarding feelings and emotions.  Strong feelings and emotions affect our listening, reasoning and judgment.  If the parties feel overwhelmed, it may be beneficial to take a break from the conversation.

Additional resources:

Dialogue: The Art Of Thinking Together by William Isaacs

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen

Are you ready for lifelong learning?

Nobody expects to be able to run a marathon without a proper training.  The training program is usually quite comprehensive, including, among other things, a mileage buildup schedule, choosing the right equipment, injury prevention techniques, proper nutrition, stretching and weight training, mental conditioning.  While people seem to accept the holistic nature of the marathon training, many still struggle to embrace the holistic approach towards learning, in part, because the mainstream traditional education has long considered cognitive thinking as the dominant component of learning.  However, there is more to effective learning than the intellectual competence according to an article entitled Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better, brought to my attention by lifehack.org.  The learning is discussed from several angles, such as: health, balance, perspective and focus, recall techniques, visual aids, verbal and auditory techniques, kinesthetic techniques, self-motivation and others.  Are you ready to train for the “life-changing knowledge”?   

6 steps to eliminating distractions

Distractions have the power to zap our energy, steal time, disrupt our thoughts and make us unproductive.  But what is the source of their power? We most often use the verb “distract” in the passive construction, as in “I was distracted,” or “I get distracted easily,” suggesting that distractions are something that happens to us without our volition. The truth is what is a distraction to some may not be a distraction to others.  Distractions surface when our brain reacts to a stimulus in our environment and causes us to switch tasks (see my post Try focusing instead of multitasking).  This process can work to our advantage in some cases when, for example, we hear a fire alarm and react to it, but it can also make us inefficient.  This brings me to the first step to eliminating distractions:

1. Admit that you can choose to either react to the distracting stimulus by acting upon it or ignore the stimulus.  You are in control.  Build awareness of when and why you respond to distractions.
2. Plan and prioritize your activities.  If you know what you should be doing in a given moment and why, it is easier to stay focused on the task at hand. In his book Finding Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about how to achieve the state of complete engagement, “being in the zone,” or “flow”.  It is a very joyful state when you are completely immersed in the experience and don’t want to get distracted. Do you have a favorite hobby that brings about this sensation of effortless achievement?  According to the author, the “flow” occurs most often when people set clear goals, receive immediate relevant feedback and when there is a fine match between the skills and the challenges they face.  When you consciously choose to put your energy into something that has meaning and value to you, the distractions will disappear.
3. Motivate yourself properly.  If you’ve read my post What is your motivation direction, you may know what works for you.  The truth is we like our distractions because they save us from routine, mundane tasks that we don’t want to do.  The solution is either to choose not to perform those tasks or to make them appealing because of the outcomes or benefits you receive once they are completed.  When you create your list of goals, write down the reasons why you should accomplish those goals.  Visualize the outcomes. The feelings and emotions you experience can be strong motivators.
4. Declutter and simplify.  Make your physical environment conducive to working without interruptions.  Turn off the new email notification, clean out your desk to avoid unnecessary visual stimulation, eliminate the sounds of TV or radio, turn off your cell phone.  You decide when you check your email, talk on the phone, watch TV, or chat with your friends or coworkers.  Schedule those activities and be disciplined about following your schedule.  To learn more about the tools that help to minimize the distractions, read Limiting Distractions from Productivity Goal.
5. Meditate.  Sometimes we get distracted by our own thoughts.  “Oops, I forgot to call my Mom.”  “When am I going to get to that report that is due in a week?”  “I need to go to the grocery store before it closes.”  You know those pesky thoughts that buzz around when you try to concentrate.  Meditation can be a great strategy to train your brain to quiet itself.  When you start feeling overwhelmed and hurried, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and focus on breathing.  Let your thoughts come and go, if they linger, simply redirect your attention back to your breathing pattern.  Take it easy. Relax.  Make it a habit to meditate regularly.
6. Be consistent in your efforts to minimize the impact of distractions, but remember that you can’t avoid them completely.  Don’t get frustrated when distractions happen.  Instead, budget a bit more time for your main tasks to factor in the possibility that you may have to attend to something else.  It is especially important if you tend to underestimate the amount of time you need to get things done.

Additional resources: Managing Internal Distractions by Meg Edwards of the David Allen Company.

Do you have tips to minimize distractions?  Please leave a comment or email me. 

A few notes on note-taking

I wish my office clutter would disappear with the same consistency as my post- it notes do.  Seriously, how often do you lose your notes?  Have you ever lost phone numbers, to-do lists, brainstormed ideas?   I sure have.  Even my grocery lists vanish in my purse with alarming frequency.  And what do you do with those passwords that some sites create for you to use and don’t let you change them?  So, I’ve decided to learn more about different ways to take notes and, hopefully, keep them.  Here are a few ideas and resources on the subject of note-taking:

3"x5" index cards.  I get them in different colors for various categories of notes.  I use them to create a bank of interesting ideas for my future projects.  I keep all my cards in a simple plastic card file.  If I need an idea to work on, I flip through the cards.   This system can also be used to create flashcards and mnemonics for studying.  It’s portable and easy to use.

Dream boards.  A dream board is really a collection of images that represent something you want to attain in your life.  You list your goals, create mind maps, clip motivational images from magazines, do your own sketches and attach them to a poster board.  Choose a spot for your dream board where you can see it often.  Look at it, internalize it and see your desires manifest.  You can use the same idea to create a learning board for the projects you work on or the most challenging concepts you need to memorize.  Make your learning board visually stimulating to boost your creativity and aid your memory.

Paper place mats.  Forget the napkins, they are not very good to write on anyways.  Use the paper place mats instead.  We adopted this method of note-taking when my husband and I were having a discussion while waiting for our food in a restaurant one day: he took his place mat, turned it over and started making a list.  How about organizing a brainstorming lunch session where people can write on a paper tablecloth while munching on something?  I think it’s more fun than writing on a legal pad.  Besides, new ways of doing things provide good stimulation for the brain.   

For a collection of web note-taking resources, check out Fifty Ways to Take Notes from Solution Watch.

You can design your own customized note-taking sheets at http://www.eleven21.com/notetaker/ or generate your post-it notes at http://www.signgenerator.org/parody/post-it-notes/.

By the way, I started using my cell phone to text message my grocery lists (this way I can send them to my husband for execution).

Juggle your way to a better brain

I am not talking about the metaphoric juggling of all the things you need to do in law school or law practice.  I am talking about the actual physical act of juggling. Scientific studies suggest that juggling causes an increase in grey matter in certain parts of the brain responsible for advanced mental functions. When we are busy, we often abandon physical exercise to free that time for our studies or work, but physical movement is crucial for learning.  Neurophysiologist and educator Dr. Carla Hannaford presents more evidence that movement improves mental capabilities in her book Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head.  It is especially true for somatic learners, as I mentioned in my related post on multiple intelligences.

I encourage you to take your first step to a better brain.  Get away from your computer or books for ten minutes, pick up a couple of oranges or some juggling balls, if you've got them, and juggle.  You'll have fun, laugh at yourself, release stress, re-energize your body and mind, and set a process into motion to grow that grey matter in your brain.  Need more inspiration?  Check out the Just Your Average Joggler blog or watch the video of Chris Bliss juggling.