Evaluating career and life from a "7 habits" perspective.

• Author: Magro, Anne M.

A common lament of most professionals today is that they have too much work and their work-life balance is out of whack. However, they do not always make the time to determine whether they are using their time well, whether they are effective at what they do, and how they might improve their work-life balance. This column explores an approach to answering these questions. The title makes reference to the wisdom of Stephen Covey's popular book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon & Schuster, 1989), which provides advice on how to be effective in work and life. Covey's 7 habits are:

1. Be proactive;

2. Begin with the end in mind;

3. Put first things first;

4. Think win/win;

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood;

6. Synergize principles of creative communication; and

7. Sharpen the saw.

While this column focuses on the work and life of tax professors, it contains insights helpful to tax professionals as well. It also debunks some of the common myths of the academic life, such as professors working limited hours and having only teaching responsibilities.

Where to Start

What does it mean to be effective? What are the benchmarks of success in professional life? In personal life? Assuming there are even answers to such questions, professionals would still have to reflect on their own performances to determine whether they actually were effective. And even if they are effective professionally or personally, is there balance? Finally, if they determine that they are effective and have balance, how did they accomplish that? That is, what are their "7 habits"?

The starting point for such an analysis begins with a self-assessment. Without that, neither effectiveness nor balance can be determined. Complicating the assessment is the number of roles individuals typically play. This long list might include parent, partner, sibling, child, friend, professor, colleague and community member. The roles professionals play encompass what they value and guide their assessment of success in being effective professionally and personally while maintaining balance. Professionals will need to ask themselves three basic questions: (i) What does it mean to be effective--professionally and personally? (2) Are they effective? (3) How can they achieve the desired level of effectiveness and balance?

As a tax professional, the answers to these questions may differ from those of a tax professor. The definition of effectiveness in a tax practice certainly diverges in some ways from academia. It also may be different within each group, depending on where they work and the demands of their personal lives. Nonetheless, the underlying exercise of determining...