If I were to offer you $100 today or $120 a week from now, which would you choose? While thought experiments aren't the same as real-world experiments, if you're like most people you'd choose the hundred bucks now. That's the conclusion of a classic study, which found that, when it comes to decision-making, most of us opt for immediate gratification.

Why does this matter? Well, succeeding as an associate in a law firm is all about balancing short-term and long-term rewards and prioritizing time and attention in congruence with one's personal objectives.

For example, associates who have no intention or desire to make partner at a law firm would likely optimize for the billable hour, because the economic incentives in most law firms would provide them with greater financial rewards for doing so.

Associates who hope to make partner, however, would balance billable time with a greater emphasis on non-billable time. They would understand that the old apprenticeship, “keep your head down and do good work” law firm model has changed, and that associates who are elected into a partnership are those who have unique skill-sets and demonstrable business development acumen. These qualities—unique skill-sets and business development acumen—take considerable amounts of time and effort to acquire, so if partnership and its long-term rewards are the objective, the rational thing to do would be to invest in them throughout one's career as an associate.

Of course, no one is purely rational. We're all affected by cognitive biases that lead to suboptimal decision-making. While we all prefer big rewards over smaller ones, most of us have an even stronger preference for present rewards over future ones—even when the future ones are much bigger. This concept, or cognitive bias, is called “hyperbolic discounting.” In short, the farther away a reward is in the future, the smaller the immediate motivation to achieve it.

Instead of leveraging the immense power of compound interest, many people prioritize short-term spending over long-term investing. And, yes, many associates, who harbor hopes of partnership, prioritize the bonuses and salary bumps that come from high billable hours and never find time to invest in the non-billable work that's necessary to realize the longer-term rewards available at a law firm.

The disconnect between goals and everyday action

Preference for short-term rewards over long-term ones is not the only reason law firm associates fail to invest sufficient time in continuing education and business development activities. They're also flooded with billable-hour work demands that cloud and overwhelm their ability to focus on important, but not necessarily urgent, long-term priorities.

Like waves crashing on shore, partner and client demands can crowd out all else. Despite good intentions, as expressed at the bottom of a to-do list, the urgency of the moment almost always takes precedence. Next thing you know, you're a seventh-year associate who's being told that you need a book of business to make partner, and you're scrambling furiously to catch up.

Except you can't. There's no time. You still have hefty billable hour requirements. And there's only 168 hours in a week. You needed to start earlier. Only in the rearview mirror can you see clearly how short-term thinking cost you the long-term opportunity you covet.

At the root of this problem is the fact that, while most associates start their careers with goals in mind, they never reduce those goals to everyday action. It's not nearly enough to want something in the future. You need to have a clear plan in place and, most importantly, act on it. A goal without action is merely a dream. Goals determine the direction you want to head in but action determines your progress.

To make goal-setting more effective, here are some principles to keep in mind:

Make it specific. To be useful, a goal must be specific. “I want to become a good lawyer” is too loose. “I want to make partner in eight years” is better.

Don't have too many. If you have one clear goal, your direction is defined. Your actions can all be directed toward achieving a single outcome. Have too many goals and you may find yourself going in circles (or never get started in the first place).

Understand its component parts. A big goal in the future is really a series of smaller, interim goals.

By keeping these principles in mind, it will allow you to achieve far more, over the long term, than you ever thought possible through a process called deconstructive goal setting. Deconstructive goal setting, like all goal-setting exercises, involves envisioning a big, ambitious objective. But it doesn't stop there. It forces you to work backward from your goal to determine and define all the steps necessary to get there.

Let's say you're a third-year associate and you want to make partner. You have approximately five years to achieve your goal. Through a process of deconstructive goal setting, you'd first take the time to understand what it takes to make partner at your firm. At most this involves becoming a highly competent lawyer who's capable of developing business that keeps herself and others at the firm busy. With this understanding in mind, it's all about deconstructing these objectives into specific action steps within the constraints of allotted time.

You have five years to work with. This means that, to be on track for your five-year goal, you will need to progress to a certain point in one year. To be where you need to be in one year, you'll have to take action this month. A month passes quickly, so you better have a plan in place this week. And if you're going to make progress this week, you probably need to be focused on your long-term priorities today.

See how this works? You're capable of achieving extraordinary results way out in the future. But actually doing so is contingent upon on taking everyday action. Don't procrastinate. Don't merely plan and hold loosely formed beliefs about what the future holds in your head. Put the work in now to make it happen. Here's how:

1. Define your goal: Think clearly about what you want. Write it down. This will allow you to understand what it takes. Don't fixate on the result (e.g., making partner). Focus on the underlying skills, qualities and attributes that will allow you to achieve the result. There are lots of sacrifices and trade-offs that you'll have to make to achieve what you want, so it's important that you understand them from the start.
2. Deconstruct your goal to everyday action: Work backwards to understand the component parts of your big goal and set a series of smaller goals that will keep you working on a linear path within the time you have available. You should deconstruct your big goal to the point where you have a clear understanding of the appropriate action you should be taking today to be on the right path.
3. Block Time: You're going to have all kinds of externalities, from urgent work demands to personal issues, attempting to derail you from making progress on your goals. Your calendar, which is likely filled with other people's priorities, will be one of your biggest impediments to progress. But it can be your best friend. If you have the courage and discipline to schedule time with yourself, even if it's just 15 or 30 minutes per day, you'll create the space and time necessary to stay on track. Block time to work on your goals every day—otherwise you'll never get where you want to go.

Jay Harrington is an executive coach and trainer for lawyers and law firms and is the author of the new book, “The Essential Associate: Step Up, Stand Out, and Rise to the Top as a Young Lawyer.” He is the owner of Harrington Communications and is associated with Simier Partners. Contact him at [email protected].