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FDCC News
34 spring | federation flyer www.thefederation.org
4. Take advantage of active rest.
Now, you may be thinking “that’s all great but I still need
time to just rest.” Of course, I won’t argue with that.
There is, however, a thing called “active rest.” This is not
a mind game; it’s real. Active rest happens when you
do something but change the task. When I write a blog
or social media post, it is work but one that employs
skills that I don’t get to use in law practice. In this way,
I rest my lawyer brain and activate my creativity and
openness. Do I still sometimes truly need to do nothing?
Absolutely, but if I vary my activities, I can rest without
doing nothing all the time.
5. Collaborate
Even as an introvert, I know that the oldest and most
reliable way to support your well-being and succeed
in business is to not do everything on your own.
Collaborating with your colleagues, friends from
professional associations, or even your clients can be a
great way to market and network at the same time. In
addition, it may help you keep ideas fresh, build courage
to try new things, and avoid putting too much pressure
on yourself.
I know lawyers face many pressures and business
development is one of them. If you do it right, though,
business development can be fun and support well-
being. You do not have to sacrifice all your free time or
mental health to be effective with business development.
Instead, I hope these tips help you consider an approach
to business development that helps you grow as a lawyer
and a person.
Claire E. Parsons is a litigation attorney at Bricker Graydon LLP in the
Cincinnati area and a member of the FDCC’s FedLife Committee.
Contact her at: cparsons@brickergraydon.com.
I keep my values, and the value I could offer clients, front and center in all
my business development efforts.