Productivity is “Importanter”

no “new you” created from a list of actions; there can be no “new you” outside careful consideration of your habits and leanings as they are the real action points irrespective of your list. A few critical considerations are outlined below, and it is my view that they are important ingredients to feed into your plan for the year.

Take responsibility

If you have worked for at least 1 week in the corporate sphere you would have heard the phrase, “take ownership”. When a task lands at your desk, it is your duty to ensure that it is finished. I believe this attribute is the distinguishing ingredient for how far or fast most lawyers go professionally.

The proverbial “they” that many of us refer to in our conversations about work do not exist. There is no “they” that can take responsibility for your career like you can. If many of us stop transferring the blame for non- achievement to third parties and we determine to be responsible for our progress, we will recognise that our work experience is different.

Take care of yourself

Mental health has in recent times, taken the spotlight in professional circles. In the legal services industry, several surveys have shown that there is an uptick in the occurrence of suicides and this has been attributed to frustration, emotional dissatisfaction, bad habits and stress. Take it easy on yourself. Also, do not beat yourself too hard in such a way as to cause mental stress when you make errors at work. In many cases, you are akin to a child learning to walk and if you do it right, you will become steady on your feet.

It is important to also note that you must have periodic reviews of your personal aspirations and those of the organisation within which you work. If there is a misalignment between these, the pressure of work combined with internal dissatisfaction could lead to persistent failure and mental stress. Additionally, pace yourself, work efficiently, manage the expectations of your peers and superiors. No platitude or imperative is enough to keep you going when your body needs to stop. You are dispensable if you are not useful, so make your health (both physical and mental) your priority.

Where it is the case that your personal aspirations are not in line with those of your organisation, you need to work towards changing this as quickly as possible. Speak to a

superior, get guidance, introspect intentionally to seek to understand how you can align these expectations or change your base and do not stop until you find peace.

Target efficient productivity:

Permit me to say this, planning the year is important but your productivity is importanter! In this context, the reference to productivity simply means the ability to deliver desired results. The desired result is subjective, and you must work to develop the intuition to articulate what is sought to be achieved with each task or client engagement.

Many have learnt from experience that it is no longer sufficient to show up at work and do what you are told to do. Every business owner seeks stakeholders who would mind the business to ensure successful output and growth and you must be able to bring mind value to the table as well. As such, irrespective of the position or role you play, how you show up, what you do when you show up and the extra that you bring to the table go a long way to determine how well you would do professionally.

Also, it is so easy to be caught up in activity and flurry of the many tasks that you are faced with daily, as such, planning must be intentionally geared at results so that you are not very busy but unproductive. At every point, you must be able to measure the progress made towards the desired result and when it is time bound, you must align priorities to ensure efficiency and timeous delivery.

Please note that you will continue to operate on the same level if you do not take steps to grow. Even physical growth is aligned with diet as such, you must feed on material and cultivate relationships that will enhance your productivity. One easy way of doing this is to invest heavily in reading books on productivity and management, test yourself on the learning by trial and error but be careful not to do things that are averse to the culture of your organisation. This is vicarious learning and when this is done well, you would note that you have a line-up of examples to feed off on how best to implement your tasks as they evolve from day to day.

2019 will have its shot at you, but you must be prepared if you want to thrive. I wish you all the best.

OYEYEMI ADERIBIGBE IS A SENIOR Associate at templars. she is also the current Vice-chairman of the young lawyers ’forum of the Nigerian bar association-section on business law and the young Lawyers’ committee liaison officer of the african regional forum of the international bar association. Feedback – oyeyemi.aderibigbe@templars-law.com ;yemiimmanuel@yahoo.com.