If you’re in the legal industry, you probably think that productivity is the most important thing there is. But, as Helen Geib notes, there are two things more important than productivity.
Helen’s post on the ACEDS blog (Getting Things Done and the Two Things More Important than Productivity) discusses how legal culture is fixated on productivity to the exclusion of more important considerations. While certainly it’s better to be productive than unproductive, productivity is only third most important when it comes to getting things done.
As Helen observes, we’re more productive when we accomplish more in an hour today than we did yesterday. But…working harder is not the answer, especially for a profession already suffering from sky-high rates of burnout, stress, substance abuse and work-life imbalance. We suffer when we push ourselves beyond our boundaries. The quality of our work suffers too.
The healthy approach to productivity focuses on cultivating good habits. We need to minimize the distractions and time-wasting activities that occupy too much of our working hours. Fostering wellness also boosts productivity (your brain needs sleep!).
Great advice! After all, we’re in it for the long haul, so we need to take care of ourselves. In the short term, productivity is great, but there are two things more important than productivity – whether we’re talking short term or long term.
Helen has a lot more great advice in the post, so check it out!
So, what are two things more important than productivity? You’ll have to read Helen’s blog post on the ACEDS blog here to find out! It’s just one more click!
BTW, if you missed the EDRM webinar last week on Practical Steps to Build a Knockout Personal Brand with Helen, Cristin Traylor, Shawn Tuma, Kaylee Walstad and me, check it out here!
So, what do you think? Do you know the two things more important than productivity? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.
Good points, reasonable and common sense. Reminds me of how a college professor (obviously some time ago, given the ‘typewriter’ reference!) compared being “effective” or “efficient”. His typist analogy was someone being efficient by typing 140 words/minute, regardless of errors – the typist created a document very quickly if one ignores the need to go back and correct errors; in contrast is the typist whose typing speed was 100 words/minute but very accurate – an effective use of skills, time, and dependability. The challenge in any business entity is to train and support staff (and managers) who can combine “effective” and “efficient” to gain utmost productivity and professional outcomes.
Aaron Taylor
Aaron, I only wish I could type 100 words a minute (accurately or not) in creating my blog posts – that would save me a lot of time! 🙂
Ha…how true! I think I could take one zero off that number.