Counsel to Counsel Episode 123: Setting Your 2024 Goals and Creating Your “To Don’t” List
In my recent podcast interview with Steve Seckler, we speak about goal-setting, New Year’s resolutions, and the power of creating a to-don’t list.
Snippets
Jen on the difference between resolutions and goals:
(13:49) “When I think about resolutions, I think those can often stem from external pressures or societal norms. Resolutions don’t always have a deep connection that goals can tend to bring us. When you’re setting a goal for yourself, hopefully through some self-reflection or maybe some coaching, you can uncover the WHY behind the goal. That said, I don’t think the concept of New Year’s resolutions is terrible. New beginnings. There’s brain science around this — the “fresh start effect.” New Year’s Day, your birthday, Mondays, the first day of the month, all of these new beginnings or fresh starts can bring us a little bit of extra motivation because we tend to feel like we can turn the page on our past failures around our resolutions or our goals. So I don’t dislike New Year’s resolutions entirely.”
On balancing the pursuit of long-term goals with the need to manage day-to-day responsibilities:
(27:40) Get better at saying no. Create a TO-DON’T LIST as one of your year-end reflections. As humans, it’s natural for us to add to the equation and create complexity. We spend too much time thinking about what to add, and not enough time considering what to subtract. So this idea of making a to-don’t list can be very powerful around where is your energy getting drained by people, places, habits, tasks, and experiences. Going into 2024, get rid of the things your doing out of habit or obligation. What could this look like? Don’t spend time with emotional vampires. Don’t spend all day indoors. Don’t schedule meetings or calls without an agenda. Don’t do favors for others because you feel bad.
🎙 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts.
Counsel to Counsel is a periodic podcast produced by Stephen Seckler of Seckler Attorney Coaching. The pod is aimed at individual lawyers who are looking to increase their own career satisfaction and build their marketing and leadership skills. The podcast features interviews with leading consultants, career professionals and marketing experts who advise attorneys on careers, marketing, law firm management and related issues.