The creative lawyer a practical guide to authentic professional satisfaction

The Creative Lawyer should be required reading for anyone who has taken the bar exam— or, for that matter, anyone who is considering taking the LSAT.” Gretchen Rubin, author, The Happine

Praise for Michael Melcher and The Creative Lawyer

“There is no book on the shelves to compare with The Creative Lawyer Funny, well-researched, and

provocative, it’s an invaluable guide to understanding yourself better—not just as a lawyer, but as a person It’sfull of useful exercises, relevant case histories, and powerful insights, delivered in unlawyer-like concise andentertaining prose The Creative Lawyer should be required reading for anyone who has taken the bar exam—

or, for that matter, anyone who is considering taking the LSAT.”

Gretchen Rubin, author, The Happiness Project

“Whether you are living the law or leaving it, you need wise counsel to make your career meaningful.One part Socrates, one part Deepak Chopra, one part cheerleader, Michael Melcher is the ideal advisor for

lawyers contemplating their options The Creative Lawyer should be mandatory reading for anyone who has

ever set foot in law school.”

Noah Feldman, Professor, Harvard Law School

“Thousands of lawyers and law students will be thanking their lucky stars that someone took the time to

write such a helpful and insightful book The Creative Lawyer empowers all lawyers to find true career

satisfaction by providing them with the tools to take an unflinching look at themselves and take control oftheir own future A book full of applicable wisdom and practical exercises designed to conquer the problemkeeping so many lawyers unhappily toiling in unfulfilling careers: lack of self-knowledge.”

Henry Robles, Television Writer, Switched At Birth

“Though I am often described as a lawyer, to me law was always something I could do, not who I am—and it’s turned out there are many ways to do it, too Through stories, questions, checklists, and prompts,Michael Melcher helps map out ways of thinking through and acting on the life-long challenge/opportunity

of shaping our careers and, really, our lives We all want a happy life, and we definitely need more creativelawyers…so grab the map, “recalculate,” explore, and go!”

Evan Wolfson, Founder & President, Freedom to Marry

“The Creative Lawyer is a must for any lawyer contemplating his or her options Michael Melcher takes

the mystery out of finding and building a fulfilling career Not only does he walk through all the essentialsteps of making a successful career or life transition in a concise and entertaining way, but he also breaks theprocess down into bite-sized chunks that even the busiest lawyer can find time to do in a week I recommend

this book to every attorney I counsel Your first step in making a change should be reading The Creative Lawyer!”

Susan Robinson, Associate Dean for Career Services, Stanford Law School

“Attorney, know thyself! Michael Melcher will guide you through the labyrinths of your career, your life,and your creative self to uncover the paths to happiness Former practicing attorney and current executivecoach, Michael writes passionately, providing exercises and real-world examples on how hard-driven

professionals can keep the spark alive Wherever you are on the career trajectory, read this book! You willdiscover what you have been pursuing, without knowing it, all your working life.”

Shubha Ghosh, Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Entrepreneurship, University of Wisconsin, Madison

“In The Creative Lawyer, Michael states the truth: ‘… life won’t stay the same Change will happen.

You’ll experience transition…’ No kidding This book provides thoughtful, practical resources that enableintelligent curious people to learn to be resilient and to get firmly in the driver’s seat of their life and career at

a time when many professionals feel buffeted by things beyond their control Don’t just read this book—take

it, devour it and use it over and over as life changes.”

Karen MacKay, President, Phoenix Legal, Inc.

“Michael Melcher’s guidance provides more than career advice for lawyers Knowing your values,understanding where you come from, and realizing where you want to go gives you the power not only to takecharge of your career, but also to stand up for what you believe in When you can envision a better life foryourself, you can envision, and speak up for, a better world This is how we start to create change.”

Peter Lehner, Executive Director, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

“Law is a great servant but a terrible master—you can do anything you want with a legal career, and youcan also get stuck as a bleak, uninteresting version of yourself Michael Melcher’s book shows you how tofigure out what you want and then how to go out and get it Melcher’s voice is engaging, supportive and oftenhumorous, but this book is not an invitation to self-indulgence (Melcher seems pretty allergic to whining).Instead, it’s a clear set of marching orders describing the work you need do to get yourself on the right path—which ultimately can only be the one you define for yourself.”

Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America

“This brilliant book is for lawyers seeking authentic professional satisfaction and those who coach them.With wit, honesty, and practicality, Michael takes us from inspiration (merely a suggestion) to

accomplishment The Creative Lawyer is full of encouragement, guidance, examples, and exercises—all

delivered in Michael’s uniquely engaging and comforting voice Lawyers can and do thrive; read this book andfind out how.”

Linda Mercurio, Executive Director/Attorney Coach Lawyer Reentry Program, American University Washington College of Law

“After 20-plus years coaching attorneys, there are many books I could recommend to my clients The Creative Lawyer tops my list, particularly for those seeking to find fulfilling alternatives to BigLaw Michael

Melcher helps attorneys move beyond outdated frameworks that limit the possibilities of what they might

accomplish He guides them to recognize that they have the resources and wisdom to effect change in theirlives This new edition is a must-read for anyone who wants clarity around what would bring genuine careersatisfaction, along with the confidence that he or she can indeed pursue an authentic career path.”

Jennifer Greiner, President, Greiner Consulting, LLC

“It took a lot of hard work, but Michael’s advice and thought-provoking insight into how lawyers thinkand work led me to my career now Four years later, I am immeasurably happier with my work and career andhave Michael to thank for that Do yourself a huge favor and read this book cover to cover!”

Barrett Prinz

Chief People Officer, One Acre Fund

“Melcher’s highly empathetic and pragmatic style leads the reader through a generative journey of reflection and exploration The stories, examples, structure and exercises of this book bring to life the keyguideposts for lawyers looking to jumpstart and vitalize or re-vitalize their careers You will end up not onlyinfused with a sense of expanded possibility, but also have a clear vision of who you are at your best and apersonal plan of action to lead you to success.”

self-Colleen Yamaguchi, JD/MBA, Executive Coach and Adjunct Faculty, The Center for Creative Leadership

“A practical, intelligent, and inordinately useful tool for lawyers of every experience level who seek torecalibrate, or simply be more conscious around, their path through the legal profession and beyond I lovedthis book.”

Emily Garcia Uhrig, Professor of Law, McGeorge School of Law

“The Creative Lawyer transformed my career from a series of “have to” tasks and assignments to a

progression of “want to” goals and achievements This well-written book redefines the very idea of work-lifebalance, acknowledging that the two are not mutually exclusive Melcher’s book teaches us to find what welove about our work and then speak positively about it Further, as he skillfully points out, finding meaningful,invigorating activities outside of work can be the very thing that helps instill creativity inside the office andultimately rejuvenates a work life that too often leaves us bored and largely unfulfilled As a former big-firmattorney, Melcher has written with a genuine understanding for the highs and lows of practicing law As aresult, what he teaches is truly transformative

“I had the pleasure of having Michael Melcher facilitate our firm’s retreat While other executive coaches

or consultants have skills of general application, Melcher was a practicing attorney and understands from

personal experience the highs and lows of practicing law He easily translated The Creative Lawyer principles

into a day-long workshop, customized to the personality and culture of our firm His engaging, interactivestyle helped attorneys discover in just a few short hours which peak experiences shaped their lives and how tostart recreating the values underlying those peak experiences in everyday work life He also demystifiedbusiness development, providing tools and ideas for reaching out within your extended circle to developbusiness in a genuine way His own enthusiasm cultivated enthusiasm within the group to learn more andstart applying his principles.”

Sandy McDonough, Partner, Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton

“I keep a copy of The Creative Lawyer on my night stand Every time I feel slightly off-centered, I pick

up the book to re-read it or do some of the exercises in the book to help me feel on track with my career andpersonal goals In many ways, the book chronicles my professional journey and it is amazing to realize thepersonal growth that I have achieved since I first purchased it.”

Aliza Sherman

“Lawyers of every stripe continue to reap the benefits of delving into The Creative Lawyer Whether

attorneys are figuring out how to brand themselves, identifying and advancing consequential relationships, orsearching for deeper meaning in their work, Michael Melcher offers invaluable food for thought in the newestedition of his book Well-crafted approaches and exercises that I have not seen anywhere else are included.Highly recommended!”

Joi Y Bourgeois, Esq., Vice President, Greiner Consulting, LLC

“The Creative Lawyer is an essential roadmap for a changing legal environment To have a fulfilling andmeaningful career, you may want—or need—to reinvent yourself Michael Melcher has done it, and this bookshows you how to thrive professionally.”

Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future and adjunct professor,

Duke University Fuqua School of Business

“Michael Melcher’s mission in The Creative Lawyer is to help lawyers know themselves, understand

better what they want from their work, and map out a plan for a more satisfying career, whether in or out ofthe law There is a great deal of practical, sensible wisdom in this book, and it’s a fun read besides.”

Christopher Sprigman, Professor, New York University School of Law

“As a lawyer coaching other lawyers in Canada, I have observed how rarely lawyers are trained to managetheir careers and develop a practice that fits with their values and strengths Michael Melcher’s book shows usstep by step how to create a better life in the law whether a lawyer is just starting out or is a senior

practitioner I have used this book with my lawyer clients since its first publication This new edition will helplawyers adapt to a changing legal market and changing world This book is a gift to the legal profession andshould be in every law firm library and in every lawyer’s office.”

Linda K Robertson, JD, LL.M, Lawyer Coach & Practice Consultant, Vancouver, Canada

“The Creative Lawyer is a smart, practical, and often inspirational guide for any lawyer seeking to build

both a better business and a richer life.”

Daniel H Pink, author of Drive, A Whole New Mind, and To Sell is Human

“A must-read It combines practicality with ingenuity to lead lawyers to live more fulfilled, productiveand successful lives Packed with advice, the book is an invaluable guide for lawyers to take the concrete stepsand develop the skills they need to live enriched lives and thrive as lawyers.”

Deborah Epstein Henry, Author, Law and Reorder, Founder & President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC,

“This book will be an invaluable resource for every lawyer looking for ways to gain satisfaction from theprofession, as well as in his or her life.”

Richard I Beattie, Senior Chairman, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

“At last–the book the legal community has been waiting for! Through vivid storytelling and thoughtful

exercises, Michael Melcher takes the reader on a guided journey to a new life The Creative Lawyer will bring fresh answers and energy to legions of stuck lawyers much in the same way Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way has

unleashed the artistic potential of thousands of shadow artists.”

Marci Alboher, VP, Encore.org and author of the Encore Career Handbook

“I met Michael Melcher at an all-day retreat that my firm had with him The retreat consisted of a day group session focused on business development skills and perspectives, followed by in-depth, probing one-on-one sessions I must say he is a breath of fresh air among business development consultants Anyone canexhort you to “network, network, network!” Michael did so much more than that He helped me identify whatsets me apart from others personally and professionally, and then trained me to use those distinguishingfeatures in marketing my firm and myself The result is that I am supremely comfortable in any networkingsituation and my networking has become vastly more effective On top of that, Michael is a great listener, andgentle and supportive with his coaching I’d recommend Michael to others in a heartbeat—so long as they’renot my competitors.”

half-James Keneally, Harris, O’Brien, St Laurent & Chaudhry

“Michael F Melcher’s The Creative Lawyer should be handed out to every graduating class of law school

students at their hooding ceremonies.”

Joe Hodnicki, Co-Editor, Law Librarian Blog

“Addresses the professional needs of a lawyer’s most often ignored client: her/himself With clear, direct

prose and a dose of humor The Creative Lawyer provides a practical roadmap for achieving professional

satisfaction by lawyers regardless of seniority or career path It should be in everyone’s in-box.”

Andres V Gil, Davis Polk & Wardwell

“If you’re a lawyer—or really anyone—in search of a richer, more fulfilling life, you owe it to yourself to

check out Michael Melcher’s The Creative Lawyer Packed with practical exercises, grounded in proven

research and real-life experience, it will put you on a “systematically creative” path towards happiness.”

Amy Gutman, author of Equivocal Death and creator of Plan B Nation: Living Creatively in

Challenging Times

“Michael Melcher has been the keynote speaker for our annual multi-week program for several years.With quiet power and authentic presence, Michael lights up a room and engages an audience And, when youconsider that audience is often full of analytical, skeptical, “show me something I don’t already know” lawyers,

Michael’s ability to instantly connect becomes even more impressive With depth and charm, he motivates,challenges, and inspires He shares knowledge and experience with a generosity of spirit that is captivating andrare His presentation and facilitation are always a highlight of our program.”

Linda Mercurio, Executive Director/Attorney Coach, Lawyer Re-entry Program, American University Washington College of Law

“Months after Michael Melcher’s presentations in Dublin and London, I continue to receive emailencomiums from attendees He provided a framework on “Managing Your Career from the Inside Out” thatwas a hit, either because he particularly adapted the concepts in his book to the needs of Irish and UK lawyers,

or because the questions our lawyers face and the solution sets for those questions are actually quite similar tothose faced by lawyers over in America Michael has a particular gift for getting just the right level of

interactivity from his audiences—enough to make the experience lively yet not so much that they becomeintimidated and flee I was actually gobsmacked at how well the audience responded You would not knowthat lawyers in Ireland and the U.K are considered a skeptical group—in Michael’s deft hands, they werecheerful, responsive and quite riveted, and rather than scurrying off upon the conclusion to do their billablehours for the day, they lingered and chatted with one another for quite some time Plus, Michael’s a great guy

to hit the town with—an extra plus for any sponsor.”

Colin Carroll, Founder and Managing Director, Lawyers Business Development Club

Dublin & London

The CREATIVE LAWYER

The CREATIVE LAWYER

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AUTHENTIC PROFESSIONAL SATISFACTION

SECOND EDITION

MICHAEL F MELCHER

Cover design by ElMarie Jara/ABA Publishing.

The materials contained herein represent the opinions of the authors and/or the editors, and should not beconstrued to be the views or opinions of the law firms or companies with whom such persons are in

partnership with, associated with, or employed by, nor of the American Bar Association or the ABA

Publishing unless adopted pursuant to the bylaws of the Association

Nothing contained in this book is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for specific cases, andreaders are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel This book is intended foreducational and informational purposes only

© 2014 Michael F Melcher All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written

permission of the publisher For permission contact the ABA Copyrights & Contracts Department,

copyright@americanbar.org, or complete the online form at http://www.americanbar.org/utility/reprint.html

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Melcher, Michael F (Michael Francisco) author

The creative lawyer: a practical guide to authentic professional satisfaction / Michael F Melcher Secondedition

This book is dedicated to all the lawyers who want something more, even if they’re not sure how to get it, oreven what it is.

What Happens Now?

Why You Need This Book

Being the Creative Lawyer

Why a Second Edition

How This Book Will Help You

Exercise: A Snapshot of Where You Are Now

Chapter 2

20 Minutes a Day

The Limits of Critical Thinking

The Big Picture: Creating Your Master Plan

The Details: 20 Minutes a Day on Your Career—Not in Your Career

Exercise: Plan Your Next Ten 20-Minute Sessions

Exercise: Make Your Pledge

Exercise: Identify Your Time Bogs

List Your Time-Wasting ActivitiesList Triggering Situations

Take Positive ActionExercise: Use Issue Spotting to Move Forward, Not Stay StuckScenario

TasksThe Big PictureWorking and Living More Effectively

Chapter 3

Who You Are Now: Identifying Your Values

When Do You Like Being You?

Your Peak Experiences

Exercise: Your Peak Experiences

Generate RecollectionsDetail Your Peak ExperiencesDerive Values

Exercise: Interest Questionnaire

The Evolution of Values over Time

Debrief

Evaluating Your Shoulds

Exercise: List Your Shoulds

Exercise: Your Restatement of Shoulds

Exercise: Values Summary

My Top ValuesMaster Plan Intervention!

Examples of Values

Chapter 4

Living Your Values in Work and Life

Theories of Balance

Lessons from Child Rearing

How Close Are You?

Creating a Values Fulfillment Plan

Exercise: Brainstorming Your Values PlanDebrief

Chapter 5

Be Clear about Your Trade-offs

The Unlikely Story of Betsy Chao

Betsy’s Trade-offs

The Mystery of the Older Law Students

Disaggregating Your Job’s Characteristics

Exercise: Identifying Pluses and Minuses

Low-Level Values Conflicts

Career Annoyances

Exercise: Career Annoyances You Can Live WithThe Negatives That Go with the Positives

Violations of Your Bottom Line

Exercise: Identifying Your Bottom Line

Living with Ambivalence

Exercise: The Power of “And”

Master Plan Intervention!

Evaluation Point: What’s Going On in Your Career?

“How My Job Works for Me”

Exercise: “How My Job Works for Me”

Chapter 6

Exercising Vision

Alicia Walks into a Dream Job

Vision and Ambivalence

Goals versus Visions

Creating Career Visions

Exercise: Creating Career Vision Statements

ExamplesYour Career Vision PossibilitiesMaster Plan Intervention!

Exercise: Additional Vision Research—Doing Market Research on YourselfSupporting Your Vision

Exercise: Brainstorming Your Board

Master Plan Intervention!

How Visions Reshape Themselves

Exercise: Interim Vision Assessment

Part 2

Work

Chapter 7

Self-Management and Type

From Aramaic to B-Corps

Exercise: Work Styles Quiz

The Insight of Type

How Preferences Play Out in Work

Extraversion and Introversion

Sensing and Intuition

Thinking and Feeling

Judging and Perceiving

Self-Awareness versus Growth

Exercise: Stretch Yourself by Building on Your Strengths

Preference for ExtraversionPreference for IntroversionMaster Plan Intervention!

Majority and Minority in the Field of Law

The Thinking Majority

Tips for Feelers and Thinkers

The Introvert Paradise

Sensing/Intuition

Tips for Sensing and Intuitive Types

Managing Yourself Creatively

Exercise: How Do Things Fit?

The Value of Differences

Chapter 8

The Habit of Experimentation

How Do You Figure Out What You Really Want?How Career Experimentation Works

Exercise: Designing Career Experiments

DebriefExercise: Brainstorm Experiments

Experimenting Enough

Deepening Experiments

The Experimenters’ Journeys

Chapter 9

How Relationships Matter

Emotional Intelligence: Get It or Get Behind

Exercise: Getting Curious about Your ColleaguesRelationships Get Work Done

The Role of Others in Your Success

Exercise: How You’re Connected

Ingredients of Solid Relationships

Exercise: Identifying Needs

The Special Relationship of Mentoring

Relationships Enrich Your Life and Make You HappyExercise: Sketch Your Circle of Support

Additional Exercises

Chapter 10

Networking and Social Capital

How Is Your Social Capital?

Awkward? Perhaps Essential? Yes

Building, Maintaining, and Accessing Relationships

Building Relationships on Purpose Is Okay

The Value of Non-lawyers

Exercise: Diversify Your Crowd

How Your Network Shapes Your Learning

The Strength of Weak Ties

Exercise: List Your Strong and Weak Ties

Exercise: Analyze Your Network

Master Plan Intervention!

Finally, about Those Networking Events …

Chapter 11

What You Talk about—When You Talk about Yourself

How Communications Make or Break You

How Well Are You Describing What You Do and Who You Are?Exercise: What Do You Say?

The Positioning Statement

Professional Development

Business Development

Career Transition

Personal Goals

Talking about What You Want

Creating Positioning Statements—Tips

Exercise: Draft Your Positioning Statement

Master Plan Intervention!

Chapter 12

Managing Time and Attention

Is “Busy” a Boring Brand?

Time Management—What’s the Real Problem?

Reflection on Your Time-Management Practices

Managing Your Energy

Exercise: Analyze Your Energy Flow

Breaking through Procrastination

Debrief—Procrastination

Force-Rank Your Priorities

Exercise: Force-Rank Your Priorities

Attention Management

Mindfulness, Multitasking, and Focus

Exercise: Technology Habits Review

Part 3

Growth and Transition

Chapter 13

Learning Inside and Outside the Job

Learning and Professional Satisfaction

Exercise: What I’d Like to Learn

Learning and Discomfort

Assessing Competency Gaps

Exercise: Competency Gap Analysis

Master Plan Intervention!

Making Your Professional Learning Plan

Exercise: Ingredients of Your Professional Learning Plan

Growth Outside the Job: Jennifer and the Dolphins

How Parallel Growth Works

Exercise: Brainstorm Methods of Parallel Growth

Master Plan Intervention!

Zigzag Learning: The Growth That Happens When We’re Not Expecting ItExercise: My Zigzag Learning

Chapter 14

Knowing and Owning Your Brand

What Is Brand?

Your Brand Now

Exercise: Assessing Your Current Brand, Part 1

Exercise: Assessing Your Current Brand, Part 2

Master Plan Intervention!

Is Your Brand Working for You?

Can You Have Success without Failure?

The Zigzag Journey

How Do You Assess Progress?

Are You Cocooning?

Chapter 16

Money and Other Taboos

Are You Willing to Interrogate Your Taboos?

Money as a Distraction

When Money Impedes Exploration

When Future Actions Are Based on Sunk Costs

When Money Serves as a Consolation Prize

When You’re Not Conscious of How You Use Money

Exercise: Money Consciousness Questionnaire

Debrief

Getting More Conscious about Money

Exercise: Hire a Financial Planner

Exercise: Experience a Money-Limited Day

Other Blocks That Inhibit Progress

Preconceptions about the Degree of Change We Need

Choosing a Small Change When a Larger One Is Called ForAvoiding a Small Change When a Larger One Is Not PossibleExercise: Identify Your Taboos

Debrief

Interrogating Your Taboos

Exercise: Scenario Building

Words and Reality

What Happens Now?

Master Plan

Values, Vision, and BrandGrowth and ExplorationTools and ResourcesSelf-ManagementJane’s Master Plan

Values, Vision, and BrandGrowth and ExplorationTools and ResourcesSelf-ManagementValues, Vision, and BrandGrowth and ExplorationTools and ResourcesSelf-ManagementValues, Vision, and BrandGrowth and ExplorationTools and ResourcesSelf-Management

Index

I used to read the acknowledgements pages of books and wonder whether so many people were crucial in

producing a book I’ve discovered that the answer is a big yes Writing a book and then making sure it actuallystays alive in the marketplace long enough to reach its intended readership are complicated tasks that requirereservoirs of backup enthusiasm when the author’s original supply runs dry Writing is painstaking work, andfor every shimmering moment of expected greatness there are a dozen doubts What writers—and all peopletrying to live original lives—most benefit from is what Julia Cameron calls “believing mirrors,” people whosomehow see what you are trying to do or who you are trying to be, sometimes before you see can that foryourself

For this book, Marci Alboher, Gretchen Rubin and my original agent, Molly Lyons of Jöelle DelBourgoAssociates, played important roles in its conception, basically insisting that I write it when my early

enthusiasm was starting to flag Tim Brandhorst at ABA Publishing guessed exactly what I was trying toachieve and as luck would have it this title fit well within his own ideas for reinventing legal publishing.Jennifer Tuttle and Jason Mazzone provided valuable editorial comments for the first edition When the bookcame out Neal Cox, Melinda Sarafa, Karl Hampe, Priya Chaudhry and many others helped promote it Aspecial thanks to the growing ranks of coaches who are also lawyers, in particular the folks who received theircoaching training from the Hudson Institute of Coaching, as I did myself Many have used this book withtheir clients and recommended it to others

In gearing up for this second edition, Zach Marco played a big role keeping me on track, as did mylongtime aide de camp Emily Morgan and my new agent Jacqueline Flynn, who took over when Molly madeher own transition to new adventures My partner, Jason Mazzone, encourages me on a daily basis through hisown relentless work ethic, which is a bar nearly impossible to match but one that I like to keep in sight.This book came from somewhere, namely, my overall development as a person with a particular set ofskills and a point of view about life Many people throughout my life have played special roles in encouragingthe development of the creative part of me and in helping me to figure out how it might result in somethinguseful for the world In college, my best friend Faith Adiele, someone I saw as a “real” writer, played a pivotalrole when she challenged my belief that I didn’t have a calling as a writer “You’re a good storyteller,” she saidone night, as we passed Leverett House on the way back from dinner That was a big a-ha moment for me Inlaw school, Carmen Chang, Deb Swenson and Craig Mallery validated different parts of my personality, andPolly Arenberg and Leticia Miranda did the same on the business-school side When I practiced law, AndresGil, Meg Tahyar, Michele Warman, Mark O’Brien and Evan Wolfson made me feel I could be a lawyerwithout losing who I was as a person As I created a new career for myself, Clark Freidreichs and Dr DrorNir taught me important techniques about personal development that I continue to draw from in coaching.Dick Beattie, Jack Rosenthal, and Debby Landesman each played significant mentoring roles thathelped me manage the inherent scariness of transition

My early public-school teachers played large roles in helping me see myself: Mrs (Gail) Hartman, Mrs.(Joyce) Thatcher, Mrs (Karen) Claborn and Mr (John) DeNike (Even though I’m now a decade or so olderthan they were when they first instructed me, it still seems improper to refer to them by their first names!) Mycousin, Dolores Gandarilla, has consistently been a faithful and fervent fan of my various incarnations andalways makes me feel I’m currently doing the best thing ever.

Behind most things is the influence of my mom, Dr Trini Urtuzuastegui Melcher, who demonstratedhow to address big problems, including those not of your making, by creating even bigger ambitions

In preparing both this book and the original edition, many lawyers opened up to me in interviews,perhaps more than they anticipated I appreciate their candor and willingness to be curious about not just theircareers but also about themselves Many of these individuals are named in this book, and others are

represented by pseudonyms Either way, I thank them for sharing their truth

Most of all, I thank the clients whom I have worked with over the past dozen years Their journeys havebeen mine as well, and I’m grateful that the world has brought us together

About Michael Melcher

Michael Melcher is one of America’s leading executive coaches He is a partner at Next Step Partners, anexecutive coaching and leadership development firm based in New York and San Francisco He works withindividual leaders and teams in a variety of industries to develop leadership, build team functioning, andbalance individual career development with advancing organizational mission He has worked with seniorleaders and teams at law firms, other professional services firms, foundations, advocacy and internationaldevelopment organizations, technology and media companies, pharmaceutical and consumer goods

companies, and start-ups

Aside from the U.S., Michael has coached leaders in more than a dozen countries, including China,

Thailand, Myanmar, El Salvador, Haiti and Tanzania His articles have been published in The New York Times, ABA Journal and other journals, and he has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes,

as well as in numerous books on leadership and career development The Creative Lawyer is his second book.

Michael attended public schools and then earned a B.A from Harvard College and a J.D./M.B.A fromStanford He started his legal career at Davis Polk & Wardwell He lives with his partner and many dogs inNew York and Western Massachusetts

www.michaelmelcher.com

www.thecreativelawyer.com

Part 1

Self

Chapter 1

What Happens Now?

Meet three people

Jane has practiced law for more than 25 years She worked at a firm and then went in-house at a majorbank She did well and enjoyed her work After 20 years, a corporate merger eliminated the tight professionalteam she’d worked and learned with, so Jane decided to explore her long-standing interest in working onissues affecting poor people She became executive director of a small, regional, legal nonprofit But after threeyears in this new position, Jane feels an awkward mixture of emotions about her career: she loves its purpose,but many of the tasks of being an executive director don’t appeal to her She spends a lot of her time trying toraise money without obvious success, she feels isolated in her office, and her support staff is weak Jane knowshow to “think like a lawyer,” but thinking like a lawyer isn’t helping her figure out what she should do withher life Should she stick it out or go back into private practice? Has the time for accomplishing great things

passed? What happens now?

On the opposite side of the experience spectrum is George, who is a junior associate at a big urban lawfirm George is moving up in life He attended a solid college and law school, and his hard work has paid off.George now works at a firm populated with attorneys from many of the Ivy League schools that rejected hisearlier applications Brand recognition is important for George, and he’s willing to work hard to keep it andthe rewards it will presumably bring George wants to progress in his career as a lawyer He wants to makepartner Yet at the same time, he’s thinking that one day he might want to build a career in business He alsowonders about the long-term sustainability of his life He married three years ago and has a one-year-oldchild So far he’s making it work But will it work five years from now? Or in ten years? How will he achievehis disparate goals? He’s not sure Does he just work hard and expect the best? Are there specific strategies he

should put into place? Should he plan for the future or focus on the present? What happens now?

Several years down the road from George is Nicole It’s been seven years since Nicole finished lawschool, and she is no longer working as a lawyer Naturally buoyant, enthusiastic, and filled with ideas, Nicolefelt she was not being her real self either in law school or in the three legal jobs she tried after graduating.When her last employer told her that perhaps she should look for alternate employment, she didn’t feeldepressed Instead, she experienced a palpable sense of relief “It was as if I finally had my permission slip toleave I thought, ‘You’re right I’m not the person who should be doing malpractice defense.’”

Nicole spent many months reflecting, exploring, interviewing, and working at various temporary jobs.She ended up taking a job with a large law firm in Los Angeles—but this time working on the firm’s

marketing efforts Somewhat to her surprise, she likes her job a lot She’s learning, the salary is decent, and it’s

a good platform to develop her future And the nature of that future? Nicole was a dancer for 18 years,

including a stint with a professional company between college and law school What Nicole really wants to do

is to work in entertainment She has a vision of one day starting her own talent representation agency Buthow exactly does she make something like that happen? And how does it square with her current professional

path? What happens now?

Jane, George, and Nicole are lawyers with different types of experiences, but they face some of the samequestions They want clarity about their goals They want to know how to achieve them They want to besuccessful as professionals and as human beings

“You’re always told that you can do anything with a law degree,” says Sayuri Rajapakse, a copyrightlawyer in Washington, D.C “But the trouble is, people let go of your hand So you’re out there in the world,and you have to figure things out yourself And that can be complicated.”

Why You Need This Book

If you’re reading this book, you know a fair amount about the life of a lawyer But even though you’re familiarwith the life of a lawyer, there’s a lot you still don’t know about your life and what’s going to become of it.You might be an associate at a megafirm, or you might be a city prosecutor You might be a sole

practitioner or part of a large government department You might be just starting or planning your way out.Whatever the case, you face one major question, just like Jane, George, and Nicole What happens now?It’s the question that’s always out there

Your big-picture goals in the end are similar to those of a lot of other people You want to be happy.You want to be fulfilled You want to make money, grow, have healthy relationships, express yourself,

experience the world These goals are common You don’t have to be a lawyer to have them

Yet, whether you’re practicing or not, you are a lawyer It’s not your identity, but it’s one of the thingsthat make up your identity You have a particular skill set and are likely doing a particular kind of work Youspend a large portion of your time with people who also know this kind of work

Whatever your particulars, you want to do something about your life and career—something positive.Only you’re not sure what that is, or how to do it That’s what this book is all about: how to get from here tothere, whether “there” is a better life within your current job, a different type of approach to your work as alawyer, an expanded or new role in the field, or something out of the law entirely These are often seen asseparate journeys, but in some ways they are all the same: they’re about knowing who you are, what you want,and how the process of creating your career really works One of the odd koans of modern careers is that thetools you need to transition out of a field are the same tools you need to stay happily in it This book will giveyou those tools

Being the Creative Lawyer

The purpose of this book is to give you one big thing—a different perspective on how to manage your life andcareer To use a phrase that appears oxymoronic but is not, I want you to be systematically creative Thismeans analyzing your desires, interests, temperament, and ambitions It means understanding the actualrequirements of your job, including those that have nothing to do with legal analysis It means designing goals

related to things you’re sure about and experiments about things you’re not It means mastering the presentwhile anticipating the future.

The creative lawyer is a lawyer who uses his or her own creativity to make a life that works This can be

in law or outside of it

Why do I use the word creative? Because professional satisfaction is a question of creating what you

want, not just waiting for it to appear You become a creative lawyer when you take stewardship of your ownlife and career

The specifics of being a creative lawyer are

1 Understanding your own temperament, interests, and values as they actually are

2 Assessing realistically how these connect, or don’t connect, with the work you do

3 Creating a plan for integrating who you are with what you do, making use of a group oftools that will take you from thinking to actually doing

This book will show you how to do these things

All of the examples are based on real people, although in some cases names and identifying details havebeen changed Most of the people I cite are lawyers, but some are not, since it’s quite clear that many of thecore issues lawyers face have little to do with being a lawyer

Why a Second Edition

In the years since I wrote the first edition of The Creative Lawyer, the comment I have heard most frequently

is, “Why did you write a book for just lawyers? This stuff is for everyone!” And it’s true—if one day you end

up in a different field, I guarantee you that the exercises and reflections in this book will help you in that field

as well You can use the same ideas and techniques to help your friends, colleagues, students, spouses, andchildren deal with their own careers, as well as try them out on unsuspecting strangers who start talking abouttheir jobs

At the same time, as most lawyers will admit (at least after a drink or two), lawyers are special I don’t

think we’re special in a neurotic way, although that is the conventional wisdom that we lawyers seem oddlyinsistent on perpetuating Lawyers are special because we have a unique place in society, in terms of educationlevel, training, access to power and history This place gives us the potential to make a positive difference inour communities and in the world But whether we can achieve this leadership role depends on whether weget out of our own way and make the best of the assets that we do have Right now, many lawyers feelconstrained, cramped, and even marginalized, but in most cases they don’t have to be There are ways to moveforward

If you ask lawyers why they went to law school, a pretty large number will say something along the lines

of, “I wanted to make a difference but also have a pretty good life.” This is a cliché, but it’s also a kind ofuseful ambition Why not own it? Why not try to have it all? The combination of intellectual and real-worldskills that law requires suggests to me that most lawyers want to be in the world, but not swallowed up by it,and that we want something better than perpetuating the status quo, yet not irrelevant to it We’d likesomething better than the ordinary So why not make something better happen? And the first thing to makebetter is your own career If you do that, you can create benefits for others

The second thing I have been frequently asked since The Creative Lawyer first came out is, “How come I

can’t buy this electronically?” So that’s been fixed I’m modern now

In the career field, several topics have emerged that are useful to add These include the notion ofpersonal branding, the emergence of social media as both a professional tool and a personal distraction, andhow to manage time and attention amid the constant digital demands and entertainments that are now part ofthe work world In addition, I have learned that there is a strong interest in learning more about how

transition really works, not just between jobs and careers but also over a lifetime So I have included content

on that

One great benefit of writing this book has been getting connected to creative lawyers of different kinds.I’ve enjoyed learning what they’ve learned, what they’ve created, and what they’re interested in next Manymore of those stories and interviews are included in this edition

Finally, creativity means renewal Things do not stay still—and who would want them to? Just as I wantyou to take a deep look at yourself and what you want from yourself and your job, so have I taken a consideredlook at each page and exercise to make sure they are fully relevant and useful And, yes, I do the exercisesmyself I’m also still a work in progress

How This Book Will Help You

If you’re an experienced lawyer, this book will help you reassess and renew your career It will aid you inunderstanding how your own values and passions might have changed over the years, and what to do if theyhave It will give you a method for ensuring that you have balance in your life

You can read the chapters in any order, but in general the book is divided into three parts The first part

is about Self Being able to articulate to yourself who you are, where you are, and what you want is the

foundation for fulfillment The second part of the book is about Work It focuses on the skills, practices,relationships, and self-management techniques that will help you achieve what you want The third part of thebook focuses on the topics of Growth and Transition It provides paradigms and techniques for understandinghow you may change over time, what is knowable and what is not, and how you can optimize these processeseven amid ambiguity

If you’re a young lawyer, The Creative Lawyer will give you a template for envisioning and managing

your own professional development It will help you integrate work and life from the beginning, so that yourcareer unfolds in the way you want it to It will help you get the most out of your investment in a legal

education and career

If you are happy in your career, The Creative Lawyer will help you manage your career so that you can

stay happy

If you are unhappy or stuck in your career, this book will help you figure out ways to ameliorate yourproblems and gradually get to a place where your work is in synch with who you really are

If you are a complex, interesting person who cannot be easily categorized and are not sure what you

think about your career, this book is for you, too It will give you a framework for sorting things out andmoving forward amid ambiguity

Exercise: A Snapshot of Where You Are Now

This is a general book intended to help a specific person: you So let’s do a quick check-in Write your answers

to the following questions

What emotions describe your attitude toward your career right now?

If your current job paid half your present salary, would you still do it?

If your current job paid triple your present salary, would you be happy doing it—and no other job

—until you retire?

What percentage of your work time is productive?

What percentage of your leisure time do you really enjoy?

What are three positive things about your current job?

What are three negative things about your current job?

What are three skills you have that are particularly suited to being a lawyer?

What are three skills you have that would be useful in most other careers?

How would clients describe you?

How would senior lawyers or other experienced lawyers describe you?

How would support staff describe you?

If you had no personal obligations (family, long-term relationships, etc.) what’s something you

would try?

If you were forbidden from being a lawyer, what would you do?

I have worked with hundreds of individuals on a one-to-one basis and with thousands of others inworkshops My clients have ranged from CEOs to kids just starting out, from financiers and attorneys towannabe creatives and parents reentering the workforce I have also worked with individuals and teams in anexecutive-coaching capacity at firms, companies, and nonprofit organizations My client organizations haveincluded law firms, advocacy organizations, public health organizations, pharmaceutical companies,

international development and social marketing organizations, start-ups, tech giants, accounting firms,management consulting firms, global banks, foundations, environmental organizations, and others

It is pretty natural that professional people seeking career coaching would come to me asking, “Whatshould I do with my career?” But I have also found that in executive coaching and leadership-developmentprograms, which theoretically focus on how to improve leadership capabilities and so have a greater impact,one of the most frequent questions is, “What should I do with my career?”

This does not surprise me Career is one of the great obsessions of our age Our careers are among theprimary vehicles we have to make an impact, find fulfillment, and interact with other people This is neithergood nor bad—it’s just part of our culture Yet we receive no meaningful training in how to frame and developour careers, the advice we get from parents and teachers is often just plain bad, and the economy changes sorapidly that it is unclear which lessons from the past or from current conventional wisdom are relevant, even if

we happened to know what they are

I can assure you that these questions are not limited to people in the United States or similarly wealthycountries People in China wonder what they should do about their careers So do people in Guatemala, inTrinidad, in Tanzania, in Myanmar, in Thailand, in El Salvador, in India, and in Haiti This is not hyperbole:

I have had actual career-coaching conversations with people in each of these places while doing coachingengagements focused on different types of goals My favorite fan letter from the first edition of my book wasfrom a young law student in Saudi Arabia One of my best audiences was a group of lawyers in Dublin If youever wonder, “What should I do with my career? What do I even want? And if I figure it out, can I actuallyget it?” you are in good global company

In coaching various people at different stages of life and in different careers, I’ve been able to see the

outlines—initially dim and later more defined—of which processes work and which ones don’t I have alsoseen how intelligent people block themselves from moving forward, especially in their predilection for

overthinking and underacting And, particularly with clients who are lawyers and former lawyers, I havedeveloped a good sense of which elements of their situations arise from their identities as lawyers, and whichare pretty similar to what most professionals face

The lawyers I have met are a diverse lot Some went to fancy schools you’ve heard of, and others startedoff in third- or fourth-tier schools you haven’t Some work in big firms, and others are solo practitioners.Some have been battered by economic downturns and industry contractions, and others seemed to glidethrough without incident Some act middle class but actually come from great wealth, and others seem likethey’ve really made it but have come from nothing Some have been scrappy from day one, and others havehad to learn resilience

But in general many lawyers do have something in common, at least in the career-planning realm: they

typically lack resources They lack coherent theories for understanding how to create a career They have few

good role models to show them how to create what they want Furthermore, most of the people they talk to—including a lot of blocked, not particularly creative people—are total downers when it comes to the topic ofhow to create a good life Even worse are the law blogs they visit in moments of curiosity, boredom, orweakness, too many of which are swamps of unprocessed emotion and preening, insider negativity The

problem, lawyers are told far too often, is that they are lawyers This is how lawyers are It is our fate.

This is simply not true

The Limits of Critical Thinking

The legal field doesn’t constrain people’s potential But it does tend to constrain their way of thinking about

potential

Lawyers sometimes don’t see the possibilities before them, and they therefore don’t always act in waysthat take advantage of those possibilities At the extreme, lawyers become the keepers of their own cells,walled off from new ideas and energies They create a kind of acquired sensory deprivation

The core cause of this? Well, it’s got a lot to do with issue spotting

“Issue spotting” is identifying potential problems, inconsistencies, and unresolved conflicts When wespot issues—when we “think like a lawyer”—we take things apart, look for flaws, compare possibilities againstevidence, contemplate problems, see cracks in arguments, and contemplate risks

Lawyers who work for ExxonMobil do this, and so do lawyers with the ACLU The practice cuts acrossimmigration law, tax law, and any other kind of law It’s the default way of approaching problems

Issue spotting is an important legal skill You cannot advise, represent, or help clients without it

However, issue spotting can be deadly when it comes to the process of creating the life you want

When attorneys apply this kind of thinking to questions of their own careers, they tend to

Analyze rather than explore

Identify flaws and potential problems

Look for clear precedents

Require solutions of general applicability (“What would work for lawyers?”) rather than specificapplicability (“What would work for me?”)

Demand logical explanations

Be skeptical about possibilities

Defer action in situations of uncertainty

Avoid taking risks

These techniques do not work because, as it happens, the process of attaining career fulfillment is not all that

dependent on logic When it comes to careers, it’s only through action that we acquire relevant information It’s the doing that builds skills and provides reliable data It’s the exploration that leads to certainty We

imagine we can think our way to insight, but insight is something that frequently shows up only after actionhas been taken

Lawyers are often not very aware of the role they play in keeping themselves stuck, because the methodthey use is completely legitimate in other situations On the surface, they believe they are thinking thingsthrough to their logical, proper conclusion But what they are doing in fact is staying comfortable withfamiliar, though ineffective, behavior

The Big Picture: Creating Your Master Plan

The Creative Lawyer Master Plan is all about action, taken consistently over time It involves breaking things down into discrete, actionable chunks and doing rather than thinking You need a map to do this, and this

book gives you one It examines the key components of career satisfaction, one by one

You can get a good overview on how careers really work by reading this book But the greater value is inthe doing If you do the exercises and actions recommended, I assure you that you will gain clarity, focus, andultimately enthusiasm for your career Sometimes this will feel messy But it works

What specific factors make up a fulfilling career?

Values You have a sense of your core values—the factors that make you fulfilled—and you find

ways to fit them into what you do To the extent your core values cannot be expressed in yourcareer, you find other ways to express them

Vision If you have a picture of what you are working toward and a general theory about how

you are going to make it, you will be more effective in achieving your goals and far happier inthe process, including through low periods where you feel stressed, unrewarded, or isolated.Vision has positive, motivating effects even if later you change your mind about what your idealvision is

Attention to relationships and consistent networking Other people are your primary sources of

learning, a major form of personal sustenance, and usually required to make progress on anyprofessional goal If you know how to form meaningful professional relationships, take time to

do so, and work to expand your circle, you will be far more powerful and likely happier

Mindful communications It matters how you talk about yourself, your interests, and your

capabilities This includes being coherent in professional settings, but it is equally important insituations that do not seem to count, such as meetings with old friends and new social

acquaintances

A habit of experimentation Certainty on what you like comes through testing, not planning.

Experimentation requires taking steps into new areas, being willing to be uncomfortable, andthen taking the time to evaluate what you learned

Parallel growth and lifelong learning Certain types of goals—for instance, a career in public

service or emergence as a thought leader—may take years or decades to build You don’t have

to give up your career to make these other priorities happen, but you do need a habit of makingsmall, consistent efforts Don’t wait until you’re ready—start when you’re not ready

Openness to interrogating personal taboos Some things Americans talk about quite openly (sex,

for instance), and others we discuss only in the most guarded ways (money, for instance) Butyou can’t assess your career if you are not willing to dig into issues that are normally off thetable and that few people will interrogate you on

An ability to focus, and focus on the right things Much has been written on time management and,

increasingly, energy management But since time is fixed, whereas work requirements andpersonal passions are not, what really matters is how much you focus on the things that mattermost to you This factor increasingly requires that you have a strategy for managing

technological demands and distractions

A willingness to tolerate ambiguity, and a sense of how transition actually works Careers,

relationships, and specific job situations take a while to figure out Things often get cloudierbefore they get clearer Part of making progress is being willing to live with uncertainty aboutyour long-term direction Another part of making progress is having useful models for howcareers actually develop and change

The chapters of this book cover these themes as well as other relevant topics As you work through the book,you’ll do exercises that illustrate how these factors show up in your life By the end, you’ll have the elements ofyour own personal Master Plan You will have a sense of how it all fits together, and what you need to do

In Appendix 2, there is a blank template for your Master Plan Right now, your plan is a few blankpages But if you fill it out over the course of reading this book, you will end up with a robust plan that ispersonally meaningful, and you will be ahead of 95 to 98 percent of the lawyers you run into, not to mentionthe vast majority of people in other careers

The appendix also gives three examples of what a personal Master Plan might look like when completelyfilled out

The Details: 20 Minutes a Day on Your Career—Not in Your Career

If you happened to be a good student in your youth, one crushing realization of adult life has been that meritalone does not guarantee you a great career Great careers rarely just happen.1 If you spend all day just doingyour job, you’ll never get anywhere!

If you want your career to be something other than a hamster wheel, you need to work on yourself with

as much dedication as you work on your job—not the same amount of time, but with the same passion It iseasier to make progress if you have a master strategy of the kind we are devising But that is not enough Youneed to invest time in yourself, every day

Numerous authors who write about companies or executive performance have made this or very similar

points They range from Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s and author of the book Copy This! If you don’t work “on” your business (or “on” your

career), you will be consumed with the day-to-day grind and never see, understand, or deal with the broaderstrategic issues at hand

Everyone knows this, sort of “Obviously,” you might be thinking, “I know that it’s important to reflect,

plan, think, strategize, and establish priorities I’ll get to all that just as soon as I have time.”

The problem is that you will never have time As long as working on your career is something you do after you’ve finished working in your career, you won’t make progress You can’t define the project of making

the life you want as something that only happens in residual time

The only way to make time for working on your career is to make it your top priority—to pay attention

to yourself first, before anything else It’s the 20-Minutes-a-Day Plan Devote 20 minutes a day to working onyour career Everything else happens after that

Here are the basic principles behind the 20-Minutes-a-Day Plan:

1 If you don’t commit to working on your career, you probably won’t

2 You can accomplish useful activities in 20 minutes that will make meaningful contributions to yourlong-term happiness and success

3 You can always find 20 minutes in your day

Let me repeat that last one: You can always find 20 minutes in your day I swear

What can you do in 20 minutes? A LOT The following list gives some examples of how you can use 20minutes a day to enrich your career

None of these count as real, billable work But they all contribute to your success or happiness, or both

In subsequent chapters, we’ll go into detail about specific aspects of career fulfillment, growth, and success.For now, take a look at the suggestions in the following table and fill in some additional 20-minute activities

in the blank spaces Then circle the items you find most appealing

20-Minutes-a-Day Activities: Examples

Exploration and future

vision

Do most of the exercises in this bookConduct one informational phone interviewConduct one short, formal interviewAttend one networking coffee sessionSend one well-written cover e-mailWrite one quick draft of a one-year planWrite one quick draft of a 30-year plan _

Learning and research Skim 40 to 50 pages of a nonfiction book

Read eight to ten pages in depthConduct five to ten online searches

Do some online research on interesting books _

_

Professional development Attend one-third of a professional learning presentation

Have two short interactions at a professional eventFill out one online application to attend a conference

Do several practices of your positioning statement _

_

Business development Send four short mails (e.g., thank-you notes or appointment-setting

e-mails)Send one request e-mail that requires some thoughtMake one quick network assessment

Do one or two telephone check-ins with clientsLeave five or six voice mails for people who aren’t there

Do one quick review of your resume or bio _

_

Physical balance Take one head-clearing walk outside

Do one short cardio workoutPurchase a meal from outsideMake and pack lunchEat one meal alone, calmly, without multitaskingAttend one-third of a massage, training session, or yoga class _

Write, address, and stamp one card or note

_

Work management Write one daily plan or well-structured “to-do” list

Have one informal but meaningful feedback session with boss orsubordinate

Frame or hang one picture (to personalize your office)Purchase flowers (to brighten your office)

Clear one cluttered surfaceRearrange one drawer _

_

Exercise: Plan Your Next Ten 20-Minute Sessions

Doing something consistently for ten days starts to make it a habit List ten things from the above list you cancommit to doing in the next ten days Identify the dates you will do these things

Exercise: Make Your Pledge

Fill in the blanks below Then make a copy of your pledge and post it in a place where you will run into itrepeatedly, like on top of your computer screen, above your car radio, or on your refrigerator door

I’ve done my 20-minute activity for the day yet If I haven’t yet done so, I’ll stop my mental meanderings andinstead take one of the useful actions I’ve identified.

This contract is enforceable in every jurisdiction in the world

Signature / date

Exercise: Identify Your Time Bogs

We will have a whole chapter on time and attention management But for now, let’s do a little alchemy andcreate time where there is none Try the following exercises

It’s easier to carve out 20 minutes a day if you are aware of when you are wasting time And it’s easier tolimit these unproductive activities if you are aware of the things that trigger them

List Your Time-Wasting Activities

To start, list five ways that you waste time during the workday Examples: Checking political blogs during the

day; looking at my e-mail inbox in the morning before planning my day; taking calls from relatives who youknow will just complain for 15 minutes; participating in meetings that start late and end late, and so on

List Triggering Situations

Now, list the situations that trigger these time-wasting activities Examples: I’m more likely to waste time

when I take calls directly rather than letting my secretary screen them; I’m more likely to waste time when Iget really tired and don’t do something to recharge myself physically; I’m more likely to waste time when I’mlate to meetings myself, therefore letting other people get away with being late

1 I’m more likely to waste time when

Take Positive Action

With the goal of freeing up 20 minutes a day to do things that will really benefit your career, write out five

actions you can take that will eliminate some or most of these triggering situations Examples: Tell my

secretary not to let me answer calls directly; make my to-do list before I turn on my computer; make sure I get

up from my desk once an hour; plan to show up to meetings a few minutes early to collect my thoughts

1 I will free up time by

2 I will free up time by

3 I will free up time by

4 I will free up time by

5 I will free up time by

Exercise: Use Issue Spotting to Move Forward, Not Stay Stuck

Here’s a chance to apply your legal mind … to the legal mind

Scenario

Kit is unhappy working at her mid-sized firm but doesn’t see any real options for doing anything different

She gets pretty good reviews but doesn’t know how long she can keep up the hours Besides, she’s not crazy

about the partners or clients she works with—she’s not sure they really value her as a person She still has a

sizeable law school debt and owes her parents another $20,000 Kit sees an ad for a job working in educational

advocacy, an area she has always been drawn to, and starts investigating—but then stops It probably won’t

work out, so why be a sucker?

4 If Kit communicated her situation to you, using more or less the words above, how likely would you

be to help her? Why or why not?

_

5 What advice would you give Kit about how to communicate effectively with people who might be

able to help her move forward in her career?

_

Reading List

One enriching thing you can do as part of your 20-Minutes-a-Day Plan is to read (not for everysingle session, but for some) You can find a lot of great books out there that speak intelligently onthe processes of managing career fulfillment I’ll offer suggestions according to topic area

throughout this book In terms of general overviews, consider the following

The Big Picture

Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, Finding Flow

Want to know how fulfillment works? Csikszentmihalyi explains it, focusing on “the psychology ofeveryday engagement” and applying decades of research Csikszentmihalyi argues that fulfillment isunder the control of individuals, as opposed to happiness, which is more affected by external

variables One of his great findings is that people are far more fulfilled at work than at leisure Anacademic writer whose insights are readable, relevant, and based on solid research

Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind

Pink was a speechwriter for Al Gore before he wrote his first book, Free Agent Nation, which

examined the degree to which new models of self-employment are changing our economy and

society Now solidly established as a trend spotter, Pink has come up with a convincing theory thatthe true growth areas in careers are those that combine left-brain and right-brain skills This book

is especially relevant to knowledge workers who come from left-brain-dominant fields like law,

medicine, accounting, and computer programming A wake-up call and an inspiration

Working and Living More Effectively

David Allen, Getting Things Done Allen, a productivity expert, goes into great detail about

specifically how you should manage time and tasks Usually when reading

getting-things-done-type books, I skim This one, I read every page

Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

This writer, who was the editor of the Yale Law Journal and a Supreme Court clerk, spent a year

test-driving every theory on happiness she could find, from Aristotle to Oprah She turned theseobservations into a book that became an international best seller as well as an ongoing blog with

huge readership The Happiness Project, a book that is equally about transformation and

self-acceptance, is an intelligent, earnest, and practical report from the trenches of how to be happy

Talane Miedaner, Coach Yourself to Success

One hundred and one coaching tips to improve your life—and the tips really work This book is afavorite of many of my clients, especially those who are “sensing types” on the Myers-Briggs TypeIndicator (see Chapter 7) As my client Tony put it, “Extremely useful and uplifting, but not in apowdered-donut way.”

1. You can certainly find exciting examples of amazing careers that just seemed to happen The New York