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If you’re like me, your e-mail inbox is probably overflowing right now with messages that talk about all of the things that you can do better and “fix” in 2014…Perhaps it’s a gym wanting you to come exercise, a financial advisor with advice on how to get your finances in order, a resort with an invitation to come relax and recharge your batteries… No matter what the directive, it seems like everyone has an idea for what your New Year’s Resolution ought to be.

Well, I’d like to propose something a little different for this year…instead of worrying about what you should be adding to your already busy plate, maybe you should be thinking about what you should quit??

The Freakonomics blog touched on this very topic in 2011, and I think that their message was spot on:

"To help us understand quitting, we look at a couple of key economic concepts in this episode: sunk cost and opportunity cost. Sunk cost is about the past – it’s the time or money or sweat equity you’ve put into a job or relationship or a project, and which makes quitting hard. Opportunity cost is about the future. It means that for every hour or dollar you spend on one thing, you’re giving up the opportunity to spend that hour or dollar on something else – something that might make your life better. If only you weren’t so worried about the sunk cost. If only you could …. quit."

Take a minute or two and reflect upon the different projects you have going in your life…are they truly serving your ultimate goals? And if they aren’t, can they be delegated? Can they be removed from your list completely? And what would you do if you were able to recover that opportunity cost spent on projects that aren’t serving your goals?

To me, it’s all about focus. Focusing intently on the strategies you can employ to meet your goals, whatever they may be. I'd like to challenge you to take the next steps, break through barriers, implement tried and true systems, and (where appropriate, of course) to quit those activities that are getting in your way.

To your success,

David J. Zumpano, Esq, CPA, Co-founder Lawyers With Purpose, Founder of MPS, Founder and Senior Partner of Estate Planning Law Center

Families are wonderful. They set the foundation for how we should act and when. We then call these actions traditions. Except, things change.

When I grew up, we opened presents from immediate family members on Christmas Eve. Then, on Christmas morning, we discovered the delightful gifts Santa had left for us unwrapped under the tree. To this day, as an adult with my own children, we still spend Christmas Eve at my parents’ house. Except, it will just be my mother’s house this year – our first without my father, who died earlier this year.

I started a tradition a few years ago, but I let it lapse. I will initiate it again this year – lighting a blue candle for my father, and for all those who have died whom I want to take a moment to remember. With my children and mother now involved in the new tradition, it should continue year after year.

This happens in our businesses as well. I learned that a seasoned employee was telling a new employee, “that is how we have always done it,” regardless that I had expressed a new way I wanted it done. A new tradition? A new procedure that becomes tradition, until it needs to change.

The five lessons I have learned from our Christmas traditions that I can use in my business are:

1. Each year, review the traditions/processes you want to keep and those you want to change due to different circumstances. (I want to continue going to my mom’s house on Christmas Eve, but now I do Christmas day at my house with my children. Keep doing retail seminars, but begin doing prospective client workshops too).
2. Determine if new traditions/processes should be added to the existing ones. (Add our “Blue Christmas” moments. Add sending an “it was great seeing you” card each week to a new person or client you met.)
3. Don’t change just to change – keep what is working for you and continue to celebrate its benefits. (Keep extended family traditions while creating new ones with new family. Keep calling our clients three days after our initial meeting, just to check in.)
4. Put measures in place for accountability. (Enroll my children and mother in the Blue Christmas ritual. Enroll your firm team members in the new process – I have just enlisted my office administrator to ensure that we set aside a certain percentage of gross revenue for savings each week.)
5. Enjoy the traditions/processes and remember what it is really all about, for you personally and for those you love.

Victoria L. Collier is a Veteran and Certified Elder Law Attorney, Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Co-Founder of Lawyers With Purpose LLC, and author of “47 Secret Veterans’ Benefits for Seniors—Benefits You Have Earned … but Don’t Know About.”

“Let go or be dragged.” ~ Zen proverb

“Earlier this week,” is the phrase I used to start the weekly production meeting. Marci immediately cut me off: “Molly, its only Tuesday a.m.” Well, it certainly felt like late Thursday afternoon, with Friday tolerantly waiting on the horizon. I’ve been pondering that simple comment. So many people I talk with have the same theme, feeling like they are white-knuckling through their week. I realized how fast and furious we move through our days, hopping from one task to another, often unaware and unconscious.

In looking back on my week, I’m beginning to notice the absolute necessity for the power of the pause in our lives. We ignore the value of having that transition time between appointments, phone calls, tasks, etc. Most of the time we trick ourselves by saying, “I don’t want to be late,” “It can wait,” “I don’t have to pee THAT bad, it can wait another hour.” But the truth of the matter is, there is little that is more important than the power of the pause to transition between activities and appointments, because those waiting for that next appointment are better off for it. They get your full, undivided attention. They don’t have your rushed energy when you fly into their appointment, meeting, or whatever it is. I can’t tell you the countless times I have personally either been on the giving or receiving end of “Whew, sorry I’m a few minutes late, my last meeting went over.” Next thing you know, the person on the other end is trying to care for you. “Do you need a few minutes to….” “No, no, I’m fine. Let’s get started.”

Ironically, I was late to a call with my coach last Tuesday. I spun into the call with “Sorry I’m late, my last call went over.” She led me into a transformational conversation that started with, “Consider the possibility that when we don’t take the time to properly transition from one action to another that it can be counterproductive. Consider that your rushing because you do not want to be 1 minute late could be actually hindering you from allowing the time you have together to be so much more powerful.” WOW.

What I took away from that call is the necessity for “The 1-minute transition.”

1. Stop and take one deep transition breath (into your belly deep) and repeat, “I am done with X now and I have the follow-up notes there to support me during my office/admin time so I don’t drop the ball.” (10 seconds)
2. Physically get up and MOVE. Grab a glass of water, a bit of food, use the restroom. Do whatever you need to move into your next event while letting go of the previous. (40 seconds)
3. Stop and take one deep transition breath (into your belly deep) and repeat “I am moving into X next and my intention is to be fully present.” (10 seconds)

All it takes is a 1-minute transition to create a conscious shift. Paula taught me that, if I’m authentically going to help others, skipping this time is not an option. If we don’t take that sacred time, it communicates to the person/meeting/event how little we put into being fully prepared to be with them. WOW, what a breakthrough, this 1-minute transition “process.” Because my current reality is that I have an unforgiving calendar, unrelenting follow-up and time-sensitive year-end wrap up, and none of that is going to ease up between now and December 31st – and all without potty breaks.

My weekly planning is going to look a little different come Sunday evening. I’m going to add to the top of my weekly focuser “The 1-minute transition.”

I have also added this to my green “Meeting Focuser” sheets as well as a sticky note next to my phone and on my computer. White-knuckling is nothing more than a habit, a way of being. With the tools and training, it no longer has to be “It is what it is.” If you’re interested in hearing more about weekly planning and how to create safety nets to support you, please join us for a 1-hour webinar on “Effective Weekly Planning” on December 16th. Click here to register.