Consistency: Laying the Groundwork (Part 1)

I’m Melissa Shanahan, and this is The Law Firm Owner Podcast, Episode #199.

Welcome to The Law Firm Owner Podcast, powered by Velocity Work. For owners who want to grow a firm that gives them the life they want. Get crystal clear on where you're going, take planning seriously, and honor your plan like a pro. This is the work that creates Velocity.

Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode. This is Episode 199, which naturally means that Episode 200 is coming up next week. And I have been so in reflection mode about the fact that this is Episode 200. I cannot believe it. I mean, you guys, I do work really hard to practice what I preach here and the concepts that I talk about, but we are all human. And I still am shocked that we are here we are at 200.

When I've reflected on this, and what contributed to the success of us actually getting here every single week; for almost four years this podcast has produced an episode. The only exception to that was a week when there was a lot going on in the world, and it felt trivial and tone deaf to actually put out an episode. And I, on purpose…

I had an episode slated for that week, and I decided not to do it, it didn't feel right. And so here we are, that's the only episode that's been skipped. We're creeping up now on 200, and I am just surprised. I've talked about before, when you really stick with something or when you go after something, you will blow your own mind if you set this game up right.

And this is an area where I have blown my own mind. I tend to flame up and flame out with things. I have to fight hard against that. And I have to really use the tools that I have come to learn and understand and help others with. And if I don't rely on those tools, I will go into default mode for myself. My personality is very much flame up and flame out.

Now, are there areas of my life that that still happens? Yeah, there are. But if there's one thing I've learned in all these years, of all the coaching and professional development that I have soaked up and also that I work with clients on, it is this, you cannot be a 10 out of 10 with every area of your life. And so, you choose. You make choices on what you're going to aim for. And you line yourself up with something really specific and you go for it.

That requires a level of constraint to say that, to choose the thing that you're going to go for. Because at any given point, there's always something that you probably, if you're being honest with yourself, there's more than one thing in your life that you'd really like to make headway on.

And it's not that you can't do more than one at one time. But I will tell you what, constraint, the power of constraint, with allowing you to make headway without being watered down across many things you're trying to make headway on. Just focused in on one thing and getting yourself to the next level or to the level that you're desiring with that one thing.

That allows you to show up much differently than if you have a few different goals and you're trying to make headway on all of them at the exact same time. So, as I reflected, there were many things that I took down as notes that I wanted to expand on for you guys, that I actually did research on so that I could present even better to you guys.

And what I came up with ultimately, is I wanted to do a series of episodes around the topic of consistency. And as unsexy as that sounds, just bear with me, because consistency is the key to blowing your own mind.

Consistency is the key to achieving the goals that you have set for yourself. It is all about consistency. And we can look at this topic from different angles and through different lenses over the next four episodes, so that you start to reshape or reframe your perspective on consistency and the importance of it.

And I know we can all say yes, we know it's important. I'm not here to just tell you that it's important, we all understand on some level that consistency is important. However, we need to get underneath this topic. The more you can get underneath a topic and the more you can educate yourself, the more ammo you have when it comes to showing up in the ways that you want to show up.

Knowledge isn't the only thing, but really understanding something is important. You know I talk a lot about, there is passive learning and there's active learning, and one is not better than the other, they're both necessary. Passive learning, to me, is when you intellectually gain knowledge in a way that has you intellectually understanding the concept.

But active learning is entirely different. Because that's when you apply the learning in real life, out in the world, and you gain experience. And through your experience, you get such a deeper level of understanding about that concept. That is a meta skill that you can apply over and over and over to other areas of your life through this deep learning.

And on top of that, it has you hitting your results faster; the results that you want to create much more quickly. So, it's very important to have passive learning and active learning. And what I'm hoping to provide you in these four episodes is, certainly the ability to intellectually understand on a much deeper level than you currently do about the topic of consistency. And what goes into that and looking at it through different lenses.

Meaning, for those of us who have this perfectionistic bone in our body, where it's all-or-nothing type mentality, and how do we start to get underneath that? How can we change our perspective so that that doesn't derail us? There are other obstacles, also. And so, we'll talk through the obstacles that we face. We'll talk about solutions to those obstacles.

Now, if any of you have ever read James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, a lot of people look to that as a resource. It's very good. It's very deep. There's a lot of very helpful information in that book. And then also, Indistractable by Nir Eyal. I think those books, paired together, are just magic. And my hope is that here, I can distill down, within four episodes, hopefully not too long of each episode, the things that are the most important when it comes to you going after your dreams and going after your goals.

And no matter what those are, whether we're talking about the growth of your business, or whether we're talking about making significant headway in something in your personal life, it doesn't matter, it's the same skill set. And so, that's what I'm going to be focusing on over these next four episodes.

I really dissected down all of the knowledge that I have around this area, as well as what I have put to practice when it came to, now, hitting 200 episodes. Because trust me, and for those of you that have a podcast or started podcasts, you'll understand what I'm saying, it has not been a cakewalk. It has been a thing, and here we are.

There are payoffs to the consistency of it, not just to say that I'm proud that we have 200 episodes, because I am very proud of that. But also, the reason that I wanted to start the podcast was to gain trust from people who don't really know me, and don't know Velocity Work. I wanted them to have a resource that would build trust, they could get to know us and understand how we work, how we think, what we put into practice. The kind of vibe that we have with our clients, for example.

And the more that they get to know myself and the company, the easier it is going to be for people to say, “Hey, I want to participate.” That's the whole point of doing this podcast, is to be able to drop knowledge that I have and drop experience I have that will benefit a lot of people. There's going to be a small portion of those people that want to engage further with us. And those people are my favorite kind of people.

And more and more over the years, we have seen people come to consults, for example. And now, nearly every single consult that we have, we will ask them how they heard about us, and it's the podcast. That was my goal with this. That was my goal. Because there's so much information out there, how can we create something that cuts through the noise for law firm owners, and helps them actually make headway and feels like a useful podcast?

And the more I can show up and do that in a great way, not only do law firm owners, generally, who listen this podcast get to benefit and use that information. Because I give a lot of free information on this podcast. But those who want to take it to the next level, I am lucky enough to get to work with those people. Because of all the work I've put out there already. They want to take it to the next level. And that is the most fun.

So, we've put ourselves in a really good spot, a really good position, because of this podcast. And I am so grateful for that. It wasn't easy. It hasn't been easy. And yet it was worth it. It has been worth it. It's been worth showing up every week. Whether I want to or not, whether we are organized enough or not, whether something got deleted that was really important and I have to redo it or not.

All the barriers that come with consistency and going after something that matters to you, we've experienced them, and we kept going. And because we kept going despite all the obstacles along the way, we have a podcast that is hitting Episode #200. That is almost four years straight in the making, every week of this podcast. That is remarkable to me. It blows my own mind. I am shocked.

But here we are, it works. Basically, what I'm saying is all the stuff that I work with people on and all this stuff I work really hard to implement, it pays off. It works. It works. It's validating. And there's a sense of momentum that comes with it that, of course, I knew it works, otherwise, I wouldn't be doing it, right? But now I'm getting to see some of the real fruits of labor, long term, delayed gratification kind of work. And here we are.

And not only are we still here, we are just getting started. That's what it feels like. So, anyhow, that is what these episodes are going to be about. And the whole point in me bringing this information to you is so that it's usable for you. And you can take nuggets that resonate with you and apply them, implement them, right away.

Now, I don't expect that every single point that I make in every single one of these episodes is going to be something that you're writing down and running with, although I hope that it feels that interesting to you. But what will make this more useful for you is if you just listen and soak it up. And wherever you hear something that pings you inside differently than the other points I've made, listen to that, run with that. Just go with it.

Implement that one thing, or get underneath that one thing, for yourself. But give that attention after this episode is complete, instead of trying to implement everything that I talked about on the episodes.

Okay, so here's how we're going to do this. There's going to be four episodes, like I said. The order of the topics that I'm going to share information on about consistency; this week is going to be the power of consistency. I'll give some good nuggets. I mean, I know we all know that it's very powerful, but I will talk more in depth about that and why.

And then the next episode, which I think is really fascinating for many of you to think through, is the order in which you do build consistency. Meaning, the things that you are choosing to focus on to become more consistent with how you decide what order to go in. We're going to talk about that in the second episode.

The third episode is for those of you who have a perfectionistic tendency; there's a difference between consistency and perfect consistency. And so, we're going to talk about that, and how you allow yourself room for mistakes and setbacks, and how can you recognize that it's all progress.

Because progress isn't a straight line, and that's okay. It's okay to stumble along the way, but you get back up, which is resilience. And so, we're going to be talking about what's required for resilience to actually be your reality, something that you exhibit.

And the last episode I have planned, we're going to be focused on obstacles to consistency, and overcoming obstacles to consistency.

Let's dive in on this episode to the topic of consistency. So yes, the power of consistency is it what will be centered around. But I want to, in this episode, get you very comfortable with the concept itself and really sink into the concept itself, because it will set the stage for the rest of the episodes.

Okay, let's start by defining consistency, just for the sake of this podcast. When I first sat down to really think through bullets that would help define consistency, my head was going towards action. So, the consistency of maintaining the same or similar actions day after day after day, or steps day after day after day towards something, which is very action oriented.

But as I got deeper into really preparing for these episodes, it feels important to say that it also is not just maintaining a set of actions, it's maintaining the same principles or values over a period of time. Because if you have the same values, belief systems, reasons for doing things, your actions are just sort of innate, they're very natural.

What comes next is you exhibiting behavior in the world according to those. And so, it feels important to say here that making sure that you're very in tune with your beliefs. And what is consistently there will determine, in a much more predictable fashion, what the actions will be. If that doesn't make a ton of sense to you right now, I think it will as we go on to these episodes.

But essentially, consistency is the quality of being constant, one foot in front of the other. You hear me talk about turtle steps. It's just repeatedly performing an action or exhibiting a behavior that is one step closer, one step closer, one step. It's like one mark on the wall for what you wanted. And the more you do that, the closer you get to creating these sustainable results for yourself that otherwise couldn't have happened.

It usually means that you are creating or adhering to some sort of routine or some sort of habit that is repeated over time. There are exceptions to that rule, but I think oftentimes, when we think of consistency, we think of habits and routines. And that can be healthy, but really, only if you're focused on first order habits and routines. Which we'll talk about more when we get to the second episode where we talk about the order in which you build consistency.

But first order decisions matter greatly. So, if you want to be healthier and  you decide you're going to run 30 minutes a day, whatever you decide, right? But it doesn't matter the habit that you say you're going to start doing every single day, but what if you don't get any sleep? Right? Like, how about you start consistently focusing on your sleeping, getting to this place there, and then you can focus on the habit that you want to develop.

So, I guess that's a little bit of what we'll talk about in the future. But habits and routines can be, if you don't think about them in the right way, they can set you back and hold you back and create the sense of deflation faster than anything else. So, you really have to be in tune with, what is it that you say you're going to be consistent with?

And is it the thing that makes the most sense to give you the biggest bang for your buck with the results that you want to create? It's having a look just a level deeper than what your brain first serves up as the thing that you should start doing consistently.

So, when we talk about the power of consistency, the power of consistency lies in its ability to help us achieve our goals over time, through small incremental steps, the turtle steps. It means showing up day after day. It means putting in the work. Even when it doesn't seem like you're making progress, it doesn't matter, you show up anyway.

It means making a commitment to yourself and following through on that commitment, no matter what. Additionally, when we talk about the power of consistency, it lies in the compounding effect of those small actions over time. Each step we take builds on the last and over time, those tiny actions add up to very significant progress. Those turtle steps add up to significant progress.

Which is very different than flame up flame out, which is what we talk about a lot on here. Which is what my tendency is and what many people's tendency is. That's a very human nature kind of thing, is to get really motivated and flame out, right?

So overall, the power of consistency is in its ability to help us achieve our goals, build good habits and routines, and create a sense of stability and momentum in our lives. And this requires dedication and commitment. But the rewards are worth the effort.

It really is about one foot in front of the other and the compounding effects of one foot in front of the other, day after day you keep showing up, you keep showing up. And there's going to be times you experience obstacles that knock you off the track. We will talk about that and what it means to get back up.

Along those lines, I want to share with you something that I taught a long time ago. I had to go back and find this video from 2019. I was leading a program called Velocity 2020. If you're one of the very few people in that, shout out, because you're still listening and that is fantastic. In that program, I taught a concept that was really helpful for them, and so I think it'll be helpful here.

So, I went back to look it up, to make sure that I really did as great of a job here as I did back then, with all the prep that I had done in presenting it. But in short, this is called The Success Equation. But what's funny about this is that it lines up so well with the topics that we're talking about now, and consistency.

There are a few terms that you'll want to really understand so you can see the full picture for what we call The Success Equation, which by the way is such a cheesy name, but hear me out, because it makes sense once you understand where we're going with this.

Okay, the first concept is the concept of resilience. Resilience is the effect of a compelling reason to complete something. It's the effect of a compelling reason to complete something. We'll talk about compelling reasons here in a minute. So, that's the working definition of resilience.

And if you think about this with resilience, when you're going after something, there's a definition of quitting that I use, which is, to fail ahead of time. The only way you can really fail is if you quit. If you keep going, keep getting up, you keep trying; that's resilience. And eventually, you will get to the outcome that you actually wanted to create. So, resilience is the effect of a compelling reason to complete something.

Now, let's talk about the word commitment for a moment. Commitment is a created stance in which you know what you will do or will not do, regardless of what happens or does not happen. I'll say that, again: Commitment is a created stance, in which you know what you will do or will not do, regardless of what does or does not happen.

Regardless of the circumstances outside of you. Regardless of what's thrown at you. It doesn't matter, you will keep going or you won't. There's a clarity. And it's a stance that you create about what you're going to do or not do, no matter what; that's commitment.

Okay, then the third thing that you're going to want to really understand, and we'll tie all this together, is a compelling reason. A compelling reason is very important. I have everybody, during strategic planning retreats, they have to be tied and connected to their compelling reason. Why are they doing what they're doing? Because it's hard. If this were a cakewalk, that'd be one thing. But the truth is, it would be much easier to go down the street and get a job.

Now, some people don't agree with that, because of how strongly they feel about working for themselves. And as hard as it is, it's still what they prefer, right? However, everybody has a different compelling reason. There are nuances there and getting in tune with the reasons. Like, what is so compelling that keeps you engaged in the game?

And knowing that helps you. So, knowing what you want and why you want it. And one way to get to this is by creating a really clear vision for yourself and connecting to the goal that you're shooting for. And connecting the goal to the values that you hold. And connecting the goal to your purpose, your deeper purpose.

You don't have to know any of this explicitly, and you don't have to be able to articulate this beautifully, but you do need to be able to just draw a picture, a mental picture, in your mind of what it is you're trying to create. And why. What will it be like when you get there? What are you expecting it to be?

Because if you were expecting it to be crappy, you're not going to go for it. You're expecting something else, what is that? And what does it look like for you? It's going to be different than your neighbor. So, being connected to that really helps you formulate a compelling reason.

My advice here is to be very honest about why you want what you want. If it's straight-up money, there isn't anything wrong with that. People get really weird about that, because they feel like they should have some altruistic reason for building what they're building. If you do, that's great. But if you don't, the only thing that matters is that it's compelling enough to you, to keep going to get to your goal.

And if you aren't honest about it, then you're going to be hiding from your own truth. And so, then you're going to be selecting a reason or saying that this reason over here is really why I want to do it. But it's not true. It just feels better to say it feels like you should say that. No, you’ve got to get really honest about this and be able to say what your compelling reason is and be connected to that.

And at least a bit, it can morph over time, harden over time, and get clearer over time. But you have to start out with a seed that matters to you. So, that is compelling reason, that's the concept of having a compelling reason.

Now, what I want to help show you is that there's a lot of research out there now; the science of resilience being the main factor with success. So, people who are setting out to achieve something, if they aren't resilient, if they aren't exhibiting resilience, they won't make it.

But what I want you to understand is that what creates resilience is a really hard commitment to the goal. So, if you're not very committed to the goal, you're not going to be that resilient. You're going to get knocked down and be like, “Well, whatever.”

But if you’re really committed to the goal, then of course, you're going to get back up and get back up and get back up. Every time you're knocked down, you're going to brush yourself off, and you're going to keep going. You're going to learn from the experiences. It creates resiliency; resilience, I guess.

So, commitment creates resilience. Now, let's back up one step further. If resilience is the biggest determining factor with actual success, and we know that requires a very hard commitment, a very deep commitment in order to exhibit resilience, then you back up one step further: What creates a really hard commitment? Why would you be committed to something that's hard to achieve?

That is where your compelling reason comes in. And so, if you are connected to why you want the thing that you want, then it fuels the commitment for you to stay engaged, with going after the thing that's challenging, that's hard to get to. And when you are committed that hard, because of your compelling reason, then you are resilient.

And that resilience will ensure that over time, it may not happen as soon as you thought but it doesn't matter, over time you will achieve what you set out to achieve. And so, this feels important to lay the groundwork for this topic of consistency. Because consistency does require a commitment.

If you don't understand why, and you don't believe hard enough in why you should go after this thing, it just doesn't really fuel you, then your commitment is going to wane over a period of time, and probably shorter than you would imagine. How you keep your commitment strong is by being really engaged with why you want to create what you want to create.

You can look to your future, you can have that vision in your mind's eye, write about the vision, and be really clear about the outcome that you are trying to create with the work that you're doing. And through that, be really connected. The more connected you are to your compelling reason, the harder you'll be committed. The harder you'll be committed, the more resilient you will be.

Now, also, the harder you are committed, the more consistent you will be. And resilience, as an example, when it comes to consistency, is when you do fall off the wagon, when you do skip a day and you didn't plan to do that. But you did skip a day for some reason, or you said you were going to do something, and you didn't do it, resiliency is getting back up and doing it the next day. Instead of just throwing your arms in the air or letting it slip out of focus, which, by the way, is quitting.

If you want to listen to an episode about your relationship to quitting, there is an episode on it. And it's one of people's favorites. So, go back and listen to that. We'll put that in the show notes for you. I'm saying that I think I've done that episode. If I did do an episode where it was called that, it is in an episode somewhere, so we will do our best to find that.

But yeah, what is your relationship to quitting? And the more you are tuned in with that, the more self-awareness you have, the better off you are. Because you will start to identify when your justifications come up for relaxing back and not being consistent, which means you're not as committed as you should be.

And oftentimes, it's because you're disconnected from why you're trying to do what you're trying to do. Oftentimes, when I'm working with people, the vision that they have for themselves, that they've created for themselves, the outcomes that they want, because of the hard work that they've put into the firm, and because of the growth that they put into the firm, there's a really specific way that that looks for them.

Not just in their personal life, but yes, in their personal life and what that means for themselves and for their family. But also, what it means for the firm and for the team and for the clients, like there's a full picture. And clients’ minds, if you push them to create it, they will write about it, they will spit it out. It may take some thought, but they'll have a few nuggets that really grip them.

And by doing that work every single quarter, I have my master group members do this work every single quarter, they have to refresh their memory on that. Because if they don't, then their commitment will wane. Because they get caught up in the busyness of things.

So, staying connected to it, and not allowing life to really take over and have you forgetting. You lose focus on the reason you're really going for this. You can lose some of that if you don't keep your focus there. So, for us internally, every quarter they have to come back to this because otherwise, they'll flame out.

That is the success equation. You have a really strong compelling reason for you, it doesn't need to matter to anyone else. No one else needs to know it. It doesn't need to tickle anyone else's fancy, it needs to be yours, your compelling reason. And then because you have a compelling reason, your commitment will be hard. It'll be really committed to the thing that you're going for.

And then because of that strong commitment, you will be, just as a byproduct, you will be more resilient in your going after of the thing. And that equals success; of achieving the thing that you're setting out to do. Now all of this works if you have picked something that you're shooting for.

You have to exercise constraint when you're choosing the thing that you are going for, the thing that you're aligning yourself up with. There is constraint that's required there, to choose the thing. And so, some of you get stuck in this because you never actually choose the outcome with specificity. You never decide what you're aiming for.

And that makes it very difficult for you to have any sort of compelling reason to line yourself up with; what you haven't named yet. And so, that's why we talk a lot about aiming and how important aiming is.

Now, having laid some of that groundwork, I hope you can understand how important consistency is. And for this episode, and for the following episodes, I think you will do best to consider something very specific. A result that you want to create, an outcome that you want to achieve; very specific.

And if you can do that, and think kind of backwards, or just think through what I'm talking about, with that in mind for yourself, it's going to be helpful, and it'll feel less all over the place with what we're talking about here. So, if you have that something in your mind, then you know that you need to figure out why you want that so bad. Like, why that's the outcome you want to create.

You know that the commitment needs to be strong, which will be fueled by your compelling reason for yourself. And then, because you have a strong commitment, you will be more resilient.

In this episode, that's really all I'm going to say about those things. That, to me, is a given when it comes to the topic and the conversation about consistency. So, back to just the topic of consistency.

Now that we've laid some of that groundwork, let's talk about some of the ways that consistency really serves you, other than achieving the goal. Yes, of course, achieving the goal. But there's some things along the way that it really does for you. The first that I want to mention is that it allows for steady progress and ensures you stay on track.

Now, think about how frustrating it is to not make steady progress and to not stay on track towards the desired outcome. There are all kinds of conversation that goes on in your own head about your failure to be able to stick with something, or to be able to see something through, or even if you're cynical about it and you don't really dwell on it too long, just having an opinion of yourself as someone who doesn't finish things. So many of us have that.

So, when you are consistent it really does allow for that steady progress and ensures that you stay on track towards the outcome, and there's so many good byproducts of that. Another point, which is sort of inherently implied in what I was just describing, but you build momentum. And building momentum gives you a sense of ease as you're working towards the thing. It's not so hard, you'll feel less friction. And that's why there's momentum, there's less friction on the way to the goals.

And there's payoffs there. Another thing about consistency is that it will help you develop discipline and control over yourself. There are so many times that we don't exercise control where we could, we don't take the reins where we could. Because we don't have discipline, we don't have follow through to do the things that we said we were going to do.

But doing what we said we're going to do is essential to achieving your goals. And so, this is really about training your brain to focus on the task at hand, ignore the distractions, and do what you said you were going to do. That is a meta skill that can be applied to different areas of your life. This is really up leveling your operating system between your ears.

The other thing that consistency really helps us with is building confidence and improving your self-concept. This touches on a little bit, what I said a few minutes ago. But when you see yourself making progress over time, you begin to believe in your ability to achieve the goal. That confidence is super powerful. Because sometimes we set goals that are so big, it's tough to believe in them.

But when you really see that what is required to achieve the goal is to keep showing up, one foot in front of the other, no matter how far away it seems to you, then it really does build your belief in the goal, no matter how far out it seems. So, confidence is a powerful motivator. And it helps you maintain consistently and push through obstacles to have resilience.

There is nothing like that feeling. There is nothing like the feeling of knowing that you are going to honor what you said you were going to do, no matter what. No matter what. And so, the consistency, and having the self-discipline to show up and do that every day is, like I said, it's a meta skill. It's a muscle that you use that gets stronger and stronger and stronger over time.

All this is great, right? We're all like, “Yes, yes, yes, Melissa. I agree, totally.” But this episode, it felt important to talk about those points and really let you sink into the topic of consistency. There is nothing that matters more. Nothing. That is the key, is to show up consistently and do the things you said you were going to do along the way.

The way that I focus on strategic planning, which you all know is that, yeah, we have a goal. But then we choose these priorities that we're going to honor, in order to take ourselves to the goal. So, that's where Rocks come in, Quarterly Rocks. Which are key quarterly priorities that you are going to accomplish.

It's the effort that you're going to put forth. You have to show up consistently to get that stuff done. It is not a cakewalk. These aren't tasks you can cross off a list, they are projects that need to be fully executed, and they are projects that are going to move the needle for you.

And so, by showing up consistently for those things, no matter how busy you are, no matter what else is in the way, no matter what the obstacles that you're facing, that is what's going to take you to your goal. That is what's going to allow you to hit the numbers that you want to hit. It's because of the effort that you have put forth consistently.

And that is something that we do inside of Velocity Work. We offer accountability, and we do so purposefully. But just by nature of keeping the conversation alive, and just because people know we're going to be marking their statuses on their progress and the progress they're making. They invariably engage more than they might on their own. With staying true to what they said they're going to do and creating the consistency along the way.

Some really high-level tips I'm going to leave you with, just on the topic of consistency, that are general truths, that will be helpful. And then we'll dig in and look at consistency from different angles in the future episodes.

The first one is to start small; you've heard me talk about turtle steps. I've mentioned it on this podcast, too. Starting small is really important and determining what the small steps are is really important. Sometimes the thought of starting a big complex task can be overwhelming. And it can be demotivating.

And so, breaking down the big thing, the big project, into its smaller components and thinking through ‘what's my first step, what's the very next action I need to take’, then it's a manageable task. And then your brain can get on board and then you can get going. So, really breaking things down to something very small allows you to stay consistent, because it gets your brain on board and you know exactly what you're supposed to accomplish in that day.

Instead of, “I'm supposed to make headway on implementing this new system.” Well, what are you supposed to do with a new system? You need to know that. Start small, break things down to small, break things down into turtle steps, and take that turtle step.

The second thing that I can offer up at the end of this episode, is to make it a routine. And when you can make a task a part of your daily or weekly routine, it becomes a habit. It's easier to follow through with, so find a way to build it in. Maybe it's the first thing you do every morning before you even open your email is you give attention to this thing that you said you were going to do. You get to decide. But try to find a routine and a groove with it. And that is helpful.

The third thing I want to offer is accountability. Putting yourself in a position where you are accountable means that someone else knows about it, and you're on the hook for it. And putting yourself in that position can be really powerful. And so, you could, if you have good enough friends who can serve this purpose, tell someone about the task or the goal and have them hold you accountable, it can be powerful.

Joining something like Mastery Group or working with a coach of some sort; putting yourself in a position where accountability is a thing. I don't just mean you give a status update, and if you say, “I didn't do it,” they're like, “Okay, better luck next time.” No, that's not accountability.

Accountability is somewhat you're on the hook for this. Did you do it? Did you not do it? If you didn't do it, you better be able to articulate why and not because it's worth having some shame around it. But because it's worth understanding it and the reasons why you didn't, so that you can learn from it and keep going.

That requires work and focus, and you won't do it on your own. Very rarely will people actually hold themselves to that standard. And your friends won't do it either, trust me. I have some friends that are extremely self-disciplined, and we talk about these things all the time. But you know what? When I call that friend and I'm like, “I didn't do my thing.” It's kind of like, “Well, do you just want to come over have a glass of wine instead?”

I mean, that's what these friends, who are really high level, high production kind of friends that are really great with self-discipline, but they're my friends. Right? So, friends don't always do it.

And then, of course, find a deeper why. Visualize what it is that you want to create and connect to the why. Why do you want to create that for yourself so bad? Finding the deeper why and understanding that deeper purpose or reason behind. Why are you going for that task or for that goal? It's important and it can help provide motivation, overcome the urge to not do what you're supposed to do.

And so, when I say stay connected to it, stay reminded of it. Do you need a post it in front of you on your computer? That's like, your sentence on why this matters so much, something you need to keep top of mind.

The next one is to celebrate progress. Celebrating small wins and progress helps increase motivation. And some people have a really hard time with this. And I did, too. I remember when someone told me that I needed to celebrate more of the milestones along the way. I was like, “What are you talking about?” It felt like I was supposed to get confetti or something.

Celebration felt like the wrong word, and so another word that, for me, resonates is “acknowledgement”. Acknowledge the small wins and acknowledge the progress along the way. Because it keeps you from feeling like a hamster on a hamster wheel. And the more you can do that, the better.

And so, setting up small rewards attached to the effort that you're putting forth. As a reward for yourself, and a pat on the back or a high-five to a teammate who's participating; all that stuff matters. There's so much research on it out there.

I know some people need it more than others. But you will give yourself a leg up and you will create more ease if you build in some of this well-researched reasoning for putting rewards into place or acknowledgments into place. So, that you can see your progress along the way. You acknowledge the progress along the way, and you're not just running for the horizon that you're never going to catch. There's always ever-moving target of what you're striving for.

Okay, and then removing distractions. So, I mentioned Nir Eyal’s book Indistractable. It was so, so profound to me reading that book, because I think he put into words better than I could have at the time, certainly, what I mean by removing distractions and really understanding distractions. Removing distractions can be as simple as turning off notifications or finding a quiet space.

But you want to set yourself up to help improve your focus and make it easier to sink into the task and complete the task at hand. And distractions are such a big part of our lives now with the internet, and the ability to connect so fast with one another. So, there's external distractions.

But there's also internal distractions, which is a bigger deal. It's a bigger thing. It's a reason, more of the time, why people fall off of following through. This idea of procrastination, for example, that is mostly internal. And it's because you either, don't know where to start, it feels too overwhelming, it feels like it's going to be hard, so you keep putting it off. Or it feels like it's not going to be fun, so you keep putting it off.

But there's reasons you keep putting it off. And being in tune with those things can be extremely valuable. Not perfecting it, just being in tune with it. Really learning to understand yourself as you're going after something, as you're supposed to be consistent.

And so, those are the tips that I wanted to offer at the end. There's probably one of those things, like starting small, accountability, and really connecting to why on earth you're going after what you're going after, celebrating progress or putting in acknowledgments into the milestones, and removing distractions.

One of those probably feels a little louder to you than others. And just think about that, roll it around, make a few notes on what you think you can do. Like, right away, three things off the top of your head that you could do to set yourself up for better success, within one of the things I just read you and play with that.

I will be here next Tuesday with the second episode on consistency. Which is all about the order in which to build consistency, and how to think about that for yourself.

Until then, have a wonderful week. Thank you for being here and listening to this bridge that we're crossing over 200 episodes. I hope that these episodes serve you well. I can't wait to connect with you all next week on the order of building consistency. Thanks, bye-bye.

Hey, you may not know this, but there's a free guide for a process I teach called Monday Map/ Friday Wrap. If you go to velocitywork.com, it's all yours. It's about how to plan your time and honor your plans. So that, week over week, more work that moves the needle is getting done in less time. Go to velocitywork.com to get your free copy.

Thank you for listening to The Law Firm Owner Podcast. If you're ready to get clearer on your vision, data, and mindset, then head over to velocitywork.com, where you can plug into Quarterly Strategic Planning, with accountability and coaching in between. This is the work that creates Velocity.