Organize for GROWTH
Written by Sam Abeysekera on November 18, 2022
Do you want to know the secret to be better organized? 
 
This photo illustrates some of the answers…I took it last weekend from our local beach here in Sarasota, Florida – each year, there are amazing displays of sand art, but this is one of the biggest sandcastles I’ve seen! 

Most people think organization relates to how to do routine things well, and it can do. Examples: a to-do list, email filters, spreadsheets, etc. But that's only one side of it, as it still may not achieve big things or get things done that are meaningful.  

So, what do I mean by organization? 

At its fundamental level, it’s about organizing energy. 

It starts as a state of mind – you align your choices and actions to key strategic goals. 

It's a method of self-empowerment.

It means you pick the best methods to get there and remove or manage anything that obstructs you, like checking emails constantly vs. applying filters to create an easy workflow with what you need instead of what you don’t.
Let's reduce this theory to practice with a recent example: 
  
Jane, not her real name, is a managing partner at a prominent national law firm and the only female partner at her level. 
 
Her managing partner role consumed her time – other partners kept dumping their admin and problems on her, and she couldn’t get on with building her own practice, even though that was a key measure for her compensation. She had become so overwhelmed that she focused only on what was in front of her – pleasing the people around her. But it was like moving heavy buckets of sand from one place to another without ever building anything of substance or enjoying it.
 
As a result, she wasn’t getting high-caliber work or clients she really wanted. She was increasingly frustrated – with her colleagues and herself. 

So how did we change things?

1. We hit the pause button. 
 
Put simply, true organization is about managing your nervous system. Look at it this way – if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can't function at your best so it’s time to do the opposite and take a moment!

Stress is a physical thing, not just emotional. The blood in your brain gets pushed into fight or flight mechanisms, and you can’t think as clearly - and even if you feel like you're functioning, you're compromised. The body releases cortisol and other stress hormones that can take 14-mins to 4-hrs to neutralize! And when something else happens in the day (which it will), there goes another 14-mins or 4-hrs – so you can literally be a 24/7 cortisol-hijacked person! 

So, we hit pause and Jane learned how to stop the people-pleasing with our training which revealed in specific terms the cost she was paying with her career and health.

2. Make the right decision once. 
 
Then, we focused on what she deeply desired for her practice – real goals. She  wanted to grow her practice, help her clients better and develop new services that she would enjoy providing.
 
3. Identify bottlenecks and blast them.
 
Then, we focused on removing all the obstacles blocking her goals, and worked on them in the correct order: We reworked the definition of her managing partner role and aligned it to suit her and the firm. We then got to work building her specialty practice using our targeted methods and methods to get clients. This all took about a week. 
 
Did it work? Yes – she’s doing less work, bringing in great clients already, and energized! 
 
Ultimately, if things are not maintained or worked on, everything tends toward entropy, including a law practice. 
 
So everything we do is geared towards well selected goals and values (the heart of everything) > sub-goals are geared towards them > tasks are geared to sub-goals. Everything feeds itself.
 
It’s incredible what can be done from seemingly small things when they are put towards quite big things – even, a life-size sandcastle!

Let's get to work!

Sam Abeysekera

Sam is dedicated to empowering female partners and founders in the legal industry to break through barriers and redefine success. As the lawyer's advocate, she equips her clients with strategies to become seasoned rainmakers and thrive within the dynamics of law firm culture, all while maintaining balance and authenticity.
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