Rainmaking Recommendation # 262: Happy New Year, Once more!

It’s been a while since I sent you a Rainmaking Recommendation. Without getting into the nitty gritty, I have been dealing with some health issues that were finally diagnosed and with which I am tackling and getting better. 

But, this means that I have missed my annual Happy New Year post, which explains that you must set goals for your new year.   Thankfully, I have another chance since today is the start of the Lunar New Year! 

So first, Happy New Year!

While I don’t believe you have to have a specific day like January 1^st, or the start of the Lunar New Year, to develop your goals, for many people (like myself), it helps to have a meaningful date to start something positive and measure it from there.

Besides,  it’s been a  little over a month since the New Year began, and I can pretty much guarantee for many of you that your New Year’s resolution has taken a back seat to everything else. But were you aware that there is a specific day for this? January 17^th is Ditch New Year’s Resolution day.     By this day, a little over two weeks into the new year, most people are thought to abandon their resolutions.

Congratulations if you haven’t. And if you have, start again today!

If you are going to set or renew your goals today, then there are few things you need to know to be successful. 

• Use the S.M.A.R.T.Y. formula to write down your goals, with the most crucial part being the Y – or WHY – you are setting this goal.

• Break it down into small bite-size pieces you can work on every day, even if only for 15 minutes. Have you heard of compound interest on your money? This is the Compound Effect on your tasks and tactics (it’s also a book by Darren Hardy, which I highly suggest you read).

• Determine a productivity management system (I hate the term “time management” since you really can’t manage time, only what you can do within the 24 hours you are given) that works for you and, most importantly, allows you some relaxation time to avoid the burnout that many mid-market and big law attorneys are going through right now. 

The most important thing you must do is make a decision. Decide that this is the year you are going to become a Rainmaker! And then do all that you can, ethically, to achieve that goal.