Performance Virtuous Cycle

Continuing on from last week’s post about the "Virtuous Cycle," here is a deep dive.

This toolkit delves into essential principles that underpin personal growth, wellbeing, and peak performance. From the positive impact of quality sleep and nutrition to the critical roles of discipline, knowledge, and a positive mindset, we'll dive into a comprehensive journey of self-improvement.

Quality Sleep

“Sleep is the best meditation.” Dalai Lama XIV

Sleep is critical for good health. It’s the very foundation of our lives.

Consider this question – Would you go to work drunk every day?

When you don’t get enough sleep that’s exactly what you’re doing. The impacts of sleep deprivation are the equivalent of turning up to work drunk.

If you’re regularly pulling hours well in excess of 40 hours a week, then you’re undermining your productivity.

Working long hours on a regular basis limits the time that you have available to look after yourself and in turn, erodes your productivity and performance.

If you’re tired you are less productive and do lower quality work which wastes time due to re-work. And clients really don’t want to pay for unnecessary rework!

Not sleeping enough is the equivalent of turning up to work drunk! Here is a summary of the research findings –

• Getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night over an extended period significantly reduces reaction speed, short-term and long-term memory, ability to focus, decision-making capacity and cognitive speed all suffer.
• Cutting sleep back to 5 or 6 hours a night for several days in a row, and the accumulated sleep deficit magnifies these negative impacts
• The impairment to cognitive ability of going 24 hours without sleep, or a week of sleeping 4 or 5 hours a night is quite alarming – it’s the equivalent of having a blood alcohol level of 0.1%. This is twice the level of the legal limit of blood alcohol levels allowed for driving in my state

If you are neglecting your health, diet and fitness then you will lower your productivity – research shows that you will be more productive if you keep yourself fit, get great sleep, eat well, spend time with friends and family, or participate in your favourite pastime.

Tips to improve sleep quality

I’ve assembled the best sleep tips I can find from all the various sleep research that I have reviewed –

• Adults need 7 hours of sleep and 8 hours in bed every 24 hours – you don’t sleep the whole time
• Monitor your sleep – Fitbit, Sleep Cycle – what you measure improves!
• Regular sleep schedule for bedtime and wake-up time
• No screens an hour before bed - perhaps read the old-fashioned way
• Don’t go to bed on a full stomach or when you are too hungry
• Exposure to sunlight and nature during the day
• Be physically active – not too close to bedtime
• Be well hydrated – dehydration impacts sleep quality
• Remove distractions from the bedroom
• Naps during the day can make it hard to sleep
• If you don't fall asleep within about 20 minutes - do something relaxing and go back to bed when tired
• Avoid nicotine and caffeine, especially in the afternoon and evening – their stimulating effects impact sleep quality
• Avoid alcohol – you sleep more deeply for the first hour and less deeply after that
• Calming activities before bedtime - take a bath, meditate, listen to music
• Limit worries – plan for tomorrow before today ends
• Reduce stress – organise, prioritise, delegate

Good nutrition

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Hippocrates

Hippocrates was a Greek physician in Classical Greece. He is considered the "Father of Medicine" in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field. He is also credited with coming up with the Hippocratic Oath which is still relevant for medical practitioners today.

Nutrition affects your performance

Eating better will increase your productivity and wellbeing!

We all know that we feel better when we eat better.

Good nutrition and healthy eating are about more than weight loss.

Good eating habits improve your wellbeing, your mood, your productivity, your focus, and your happiness.

Extensive research studies (too many to list and too many to count) confirm that the food we eat impacts our health.

“Employees with unhealthy diets were 66% more likely to report a productivity loss than healthy eaters” Brigham University research

What good nutrition looks like

The CSIRO has found these specific foods improve brain function –

Folate found in beans and greens Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish Vitamin C found in berries and citrus Vitamin E found in nuts and vegetable oils

This small list supports the importance of highly nutritious food and those high in good fats. Low-fat diets of recent decades have definitely been debunked.

Exercise

According to the Mayo Clinic, regular exercise helps prevent or manage many health problems and concerns, including -

• Stroke
• Metabolic syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Many types of cancer
• Arthritis
• Falls and breaks

It also helps to improve cognitive function and helps lower the risk of death from all causes.

Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier, more relaxed and less anxious.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently, so you have more energy!

Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster, get better sleep and deepen your sleep. Just don't exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energised to go to sleep.

Exercise improves the quality of your life

In summary, exercise combats health conditions and diseases; it helps us to control our weight; improves our mood and boosts energy; promotes better quality sleep: can be fun and social; and puts the spark back in our lives!

So, with all these amazing benefits, how do we know that we are getting enough to have a positive impact on our performance, health and well-being?

There are various studies and recommendations from world-leading health organisations. At first glance, some of the recommendations appear, although, upon closer examination, it is clear that the amount and type of exercise that is required directly links to your specific health and fitness goals.

General health benefits can be achieved with at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week – this translates to 5 30-minute brisk walks each week. That has never been enough for me, although it’s a great place to start for anyone who is currently inactive.

There is also broad agreement that in addition to the 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, we also require some periods of vigorous aerobic activity, such as high-intensity interval training and a minimum of 2 strength training sessions per week.

So, if you are starting from zero this is a simple program for how you can incorporate enough exercise to reap the benefits –

1. First month - introduce 5 half-hour brisk walks every week – 150 minutes per week

2. Second month – keep up the walks and start strength training twice per week – 250 to 300 minutes per week

3. Third month – keep up the walks and strength training and introduce two periods of high-intensity aerobic activity (such as soccer, touch football, jogging, interval training, cycling with the kids, intermediate hiking) – 300 to 350 minutes per week

4. Fourth month – alternate 45 minutes of strength training and high-intensity training so you are doing 2 x strength and 3 x interval training each week. On the weekends double up one day and do a longer walk the next day – 350 to 450 minutes per week

It is also best to exercise in the morning, and you maximise the benefits from spreading exercise out all through the week. One day of exercise and 6 days of inactivity will not yield the benefits!

You need to do 300 minutes or more per week to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals. The recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic activity is the bare minimum to get you started.

Positive mindset

“The good life is using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.” Martin Seligman

Martin Seligman is recognised as the founder of Positive Psychology in the late 90s. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of human flourishing and an applied approach to optimal functioning. Many of the concepts and activities contained within The POSITIVE Lawyer draw on the field of positive psychology and associated research.

With this in mind, let’s consider how to create a positive environment and create a positive mindset.

This is particularly important for lawyers. Lawyers have amongst the highest rates of depression, anxiety and addiction out of all professions in every country. It’s a poor competition to win. Lawyers also rank in the top 2 or 3 for the highest suicide rate and often take out the number 1 spot.

We know that lawyers trend towards the upper end of the scale for pessimism and perfectionism and that within five years of starting work as a lawyer, 70% of new lawyers will quit for good. Something is wrong with the environment and mindsets of our legal profession, so let’s shift that!

Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the positive aspects of human life, such as happiness, well-being and how to flourish. It is a relatively new field of research that is exploring how people and institutions can support the quest for increased satisfaction and meaning.

There is power in positive thinking. Positive emotions are linked with better health, longer life, and greater well-being. On the other hand, chronic anger, worry, and hostility increase the risk of depression, heart disease, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide.

FOUR OF THE MAJOR AIMS OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY:

1. Rise to life’s challenges, make the most of setbacks and adversity
2. Engage and relate to other people
3. Find fulfilment in creativity and productivity
4. Find lasting meaning by helping others

Purpose and Meaning

“If you have a strong purpose in life, you don’t have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there.” – Roy T. Bennett

Most lawyers choose the profession due to the high marks it takes to be accepted and the desire to do good in the world by preventing injustice.

The reality is quite different. Legal workplaces seem to be generating more stress than most. There is an oversupply of lawyers which creates a toxically competitive environment.

The workload and hours can be inhumane due to a failure to prioritise and plan legal matters effectively. In some practice areas, clients are distressed and suffering from mental illness which subjects their lawyers to Vicarious Trauma. And another big factor is that legal workplaces are often fuelled with negativity, unreasonable expectations, bullying and harassment. One in two female lawyers and one in three male lawyers say they experience bullying at work. This is much higher than the general working population.

Importance of purpose

Having a sense of purpose brings lifelong benefits, research shows that purposeful people live longer and are –

• less sick
• less depressed
• less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol
• better performers
• more successful
• happier

What is your purpose?

Purpose is a sense of knowing that your life has meaning, value and importance.

Purpose is more important than goals as it takes them to a higher level.

Having purpose means the work you do is serving humanity in a positive way.

There are many benefits to living a more purposeful life...

• Increased fulfilment and resilience
• Guidance and support during tough times
• Motivation to add value and achieve success
• Feeling more alive and living longer

Work-life balance

Perfect work-life balance is a state that few people achieve. It is certainly made easier when you love your work and find it deeply fulfilling because then the time at work can pass by with satisfaction and ease.

It’s also enhanced by being disciplined (again that word comes up) about your working habits so you can prioritise, delegate, and get everything done. Then you can work normal hours and switch off more easily.

“Unreasonable working conditions are created by a lack of planning and a lack of empathy.” I know from personal experience that with more planning you can have a better work-life balance. This is even easier when your workplace displays empathy and understands the benefits of flexibility.

What does work-life balance look like?

Well firstly, it is different for everyone! Although we do know some things that are valid across the board.

The public push for this work-life balance began around 70 years ago and often included the symbol of ‘888’ with the accompanying statement of the daily ideal -

8 hours work, 8 hours recreation and 8 hours sleep!

It seems this balance is still alluding to most people and some professions find it more difficult than others.

Lawyers can expect to work 66 hours on average per week! 42 hours of which is billable work.

This means that the average lawyer is coming in early, staying late, and putting in some extra time on the weekend.

4 simple steps to reduce working hours

Here are 4 easy ways to create awareness and frameworks to enable across-the-board reductions in working hours that will enable better work-life balance and improved wellbeing in our communities.

1. Reporting – by enforcing accurate reporting by all employees across all businesses and organisations, governments will have data to support systemic change across entire sectors where overwork has become an unacceptable baseline.

2. Flexibility –workplace policies that enable flexible working conditions that are considered in a fair and open manner. Concepts such as job sharing, and part-time and compressed working weeks are often discussed and rarely implemented. Regulations will assist with this process.

3. Job Sharing – many people would happily earn less in order to have a greater work-life balance and to take on part-time job-sharing arrangements. Employers offer this option although rarely encourage it due to perceived additional people management issues.

4. Regulations – the types of flexible arrangements and workplace policies will gain little traction until they are mandated through the implementation of government regulations and legislation.

Improving work-life balance

Are yourself – How much is enough? Can you afford to earn less and work less to reclaim your work-life balance?

This is a great exercise to help you break the cycle of too much work. It works in two ways –

You consider if you could work fewer hours and still get your work completed, and then you consider if you could earn less money and still have a great lifestyle.

You may not have a breakthrough or specific action the first time you do reflect on these questions, although over time you might realise that you can adjust both working hours and expectations.

You may be able to reduce distractions at work, become more productive and work a few less hours a week, or

Perhaps you could afford to work 4 days a week, either as a compressed working week on full pay, or 4 days per week on less pay, or

You could find ways to reinvest your commute so that it is either productive work time that is counted in your overall hours, or so that it is time for leisure or exercise. You could start cycling to work or make it your time to read books just for fun.

Knowledge and learning

“The purpose of my life is to share knowledge and create change!”

I developed my personal purpose statement about 7 years ago and it still rings true. It is the reason I get up in the morning and do what I do. One of my key strengths is my “love of learning” so it is wonderful to share my knowledge with others every day.

Knowledge is not merely a reservoir of facts but a dynamic force for improvement. When we see knowledge as a means to create change, it becomes a driving factor in enhancing our performance.

Benefits of Lifelong Learning

According to the research, there are many benefits that come from the commitment to lifelong learning that goes with a growth mindset, including –

1. Improves short and long-term memory
2. Protects the brain against ageing
3. Improves brain neuroplasticity
4. Increases resilience and mental wellbeing
5. Increases happiness
6. Boosts confidence and self-esteem
7. Improves energy and immunity
8. Engages mind and body
9. Keeps you healthy

10. Increases social connectedness

I’ve found that many lawyers that I work with are similarly interested in mastery and certification. One critical element often holds them back. Often, they lack a growth mindset and sufficient resilience to keep going through the learning ups and downs. I figure this is because lawyers have to work so hard at school and then at university to excel that they’ve sometimes run out of energy.

Legal Knowledge Management

Legal knowledge management is critical to the success of legal teams and law firms. All it requires is a small amount of discipline.

• Knowledge management (KM) is a collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information within an organisation. It provides a framework to support organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.
• Legal knowledge management is the process through which law firms can capture, combine and leverage their team's collective knowledge. Instead of working individually, the team members can work as a united front and leverage good practices that have previously been developed.
• A formalised knowledge management approach enables legal teams to share expertise, content and information efficiently and effectively.
• Most lawyers understand the value of precedents, although few lawyers, legal teams or firms really leverage the value of these precedents

Discipline and habits

Discipline is the bridge between goals and achievements. It's the relentless commitment to daily habits and routines that lead to success. Without discipline, even the best intentions remain unfulfilled. To cultivate discipline, start with small steps and gradually build your self-control. It's not about perfection but about consistent effort.

10 habits of highly productive people

1. Be disciplined about the basics
2. Maintain a healthy body and positive mind
3. Ruthlessly prioritise
4. Focus on what is important, remove the unimportant
5. Allocate time for the important things
6. Use every minute
7. Allocate time for rest and rejuvenation
8. Get in the zone and stay in the zone
9. Create the right environment
10. Good enough is good enough

Productivity Foundations

Habits 1 and 2 are foundational habits, these underpin your ability to apply the tools and mindsets applied in the other habits.

Be disciplined about the basics – this refers to the daily routines that keep your mind and body in peak condition. These are the core routines that are performed automatically without thinking, the routines that are rarely forgone – only given up deliberately and due to extenuating circumstances.

Maintain a healthy body and positive mind – it is widely understood that in order to deliver our best performance, we need to be in peak condition, both mentally and physically. This is all about sleep quality, optimum nutrition, physical fitness, and good mental health.

Creativity

I believe that creativity is critical to a fulfilling life. I was a talented artist during high school and after university. I’ve won numerous art competitions for my paintings and ceramics. Then life came along, and I focused on my career and family so art was no longer a priority. I simply didn’t have the time, so I satisfied my need for creativity through my work. I always found the problem-solving and complexity of my career in project management to be an incredibly creative pursuit.

Creativity improves your health

We undertake creative pursuits such as writing, acting, drawing, or dancing simply because we enjoy them. Intuitively, we know that creativity is good for us, and our creative passions make us happy.

Creativity supports our physical and mental wellbeing. Here’s what the research tells us about creativity –

• Artistic self-expression can contribute to the development and maintenance of a positive identity
• Creating art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, increases brain plasticity and can provide a state of mindfulness
• Expressive writing can help to overcome trauma and manage negative emotions
• Writing about positive events of our ‘best selves’ is associated with an increased sense of wellbeing
• Writing things down also helps with learning and memorisation – pen and paper have the greatest increase in cognition
• Learning and playing music increases the connection between the two hemispheres of the brain
• Participating in theatre performances improves psychological wellbeing and cognitive function
• Dancing increases flexibility and strength and provides the same benefits as exercise
• Creative past times increase immune function

Connection

Connectedness is a fundamental human need. Just like food, water and shelter are needed for physical survival, connectedness is increasingly understood to be a core human need and a basic requirement for psychological stability. Indeed, it started as a survival need as it was easier to survive when we lived and hunted in groups.

As humans, we are social creatures, and we experience distress and face severe developmental consequences if we lack interpersonal relationships. Lack of connection, or loneliness, has been linked to inflammation, accelerated ageing and cardiovascular health risk, suicide, and all causes of mortality.

Benefits of social connection

• Social connection is just as critical as eating well, moving well, thinking better and stressing less
• A lack of social connection is a greater detriment to health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure
• People who feel more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression
• Social connection increases self-esteem, empathy for others, trust and cooperation
• Loneliness weakens the immune system

Performance virtuous cycle

In embracing the concept of a performance virtuous cycle, we acknowledge the critical role played by quality sleep, nutrition, exercise, a positive mindset, purpose, and work-life balance. These components form an intricate web, each reinforcing the other. By prioritising these facets and incorporating the principles of knowledge and discipline, we embark on a transformative journey. This journey is not devoid of challenges; rather, it is through overcoming these challenges that we uncover our inner strength and resilience.

Find out more...

The POSITIVE Lawyer® program improves legal mindsets and transforms ways of working by drawing on scientifically proven tools and techniques from Positive Psychology and Therese Linton’s expertise in legal project management, legal process improvement and personal productivity. It is a great support for lawyers looking to reduce burnout, improve their work-life balance, reduce stress, and increase resilience.

To consider how to improve and optimise your performance, I invite you to book a FREE initial 30-minute coaching session.

Or, buy the new bestseller The POSITIVE Lawyer® Mindset here.

My aim is to inspire you to transform your working life and achieve great things and I look forward to joining you on your journey!