Lessons from Training for a Triathlon
I want to share with you the lessons I have learned while training for a triathlon that can be applied to the growth of your firm.
These lessons came from the actual training plan itself and from my own experiences of preparing for this race.
Lessons From the Training Plan
- The first few weeks of training start off very light and build up as you go along. This way you don’t overdo yourself and get hurt. Once you build up your strength, there’s a few weeks of hardcore workouts. In the last few weeks leading up to the race, the training starts to get lighter and lighter.
Takeaway: when you start a project or implement a new system, you can’t just jump into it. You have to take things slowly. The middle of this project is when you’ll do the bulk of the work. As you approach your goal, you should be doing less work and putting in less effort since you already did most of the work. - A triathlon is made up of swimming, biking and running. The plan has you do a different piece each day. You’re alternating between them to give yourself enough time to recover and grow in each one.
Takeaway: you should have no more than five projects going on at once and the ideal would be three projects. Just like with the sports, you should spread out the work you do on each one. Only work on one project per day and don’t work on it two days in a row.
Doing this will help you avoid:- Brain fatigue
- Being less creative
- Not thinking things through clearly
You need the extra time to think, process and recharge in order to be more effective when you return to that project.
- Training needs to happen six days a week and it’s important not to miss days and then try to make them up. By being consistent in the training, it will become easier because you’re building on your last training.
Takeaway: when you have a project and you’re not consistent, so you’re always trying to catch up, you won’t be able to reach your goal. Consistency is the key to keeping your firm moving forward
Lessons From my Own Experiences
- The first thing I decided when signing up for this triathlon, was that my goal was to finish the race. When it’s your first triathlon, the important thing to concentrate on is finishing the race, not winning.
Takeaway: when you start something new in your firm, your goal should be to implement it. For right now, the results don’t matter. It’s important to fully implement a new strategy as your first goal. Once you have successfully done that, then you can implement a results goal. - The motivation to train for a triathlon is difficult on your own. Having a training partner makes the training a lot easier. You’re able to motivate each other to push yourselves harder.
Takeaway: find someone in your firm that can motivate. Someone you can bounce ideas off of and hold yourself accountable to. - Eliminate the naysayers and surround yourself with cheerleaders. When you do a triathlon for the first time, there will be people who don’t think you can do it. Those people will get in the way of your training, they will drain any motivation you have. You need people who will strengthen your motivation.
Takeaway: there are going to be people who don’t believe in you or your goals and you don’t need that negativity. Make sure you’re only surrounded by the people who will cheer you on. - In order to actually get all your training done, it helps tremendously to put it on the calendar.
Takeaway: put your projects on the calendar and block out that time. Once it’s there and blocked out, you have to do it. It’s a scheduled appointment. - If you don’t get the training done early in the day, it will likely get pushed off. Even if it’s on the calendar, something may come up and your training will keep getting pushed off.
Takeaway: the first thing you should do when you go into work, is to do the work needed for your project. If you don’t, you’ll get sidetracked by all the regular firm work.
The Simple Step-by-Step You Can Do Today
- Create a 90 day goal
- Break it down in three projects
- Break down each project into a plan for every week of the quarter
- Schedule the plan on your calendar and make it the first item on your to-do of that day
There will always be exceptions, but make sure they are few and far in between. You should overall be staying on track.
Nobody’s Perfect, But If You stick to the Plan, Your Firm Will
Continue Growing Once Again
Resources
James Wedmore’s Business By Design
https://www.businessbydesign.net
The Triathlon Show Podcast Hosted by Michael Eriksson
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-triathlon-show/id1209821045
The Cliff Ravenscraft Show
https://mindsetanswerman.com/category/pam/
The 90x Goal Planner
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Author
Moshe Amsel
Author
Moshe Amsel the host of the Profit with Law podcast is not an attorney. As the owner of a successful accounting firm DreamBuilder Financial and Law Firm Growth coaching organization Profit with Law, Moshe has proven that there are better and different ways for a law firm to do business and be successful.
