Judge David Bell has spent nearly 30 years in the legal sector. In 2004, he became a judge of Section C and later served as the chief judge from 2010. During this period, he implemented programs that focused on rehabilitating at-risk youth, improving case processing, and reducing reliance on detention through alternatives such as counseling, case management, and family support services. Judge David Bell’s work earned support from major institutions like the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Judge Bell’s reform efforts extended beyond the courtroom. As co-chair of the Office of School Management from 2007 to 2012, he led the development of a uniform Student Rights and Responsibilities Code for New Orleans’ fragmented school system. This policy shifted disciplinary practices away from punitive measures toward holistic solutions, emphasizing behavior modification, counseling, and individualized education plans.
Since 2011, Judge David Bell has served as CEO of Personal Care Partners, LLC, overseeing a regional healthcare company that operates from Houston to Tallahassee. Under his stewardship, the company has grown from a $50,000 investment to a multimillion-dollar network of home health agencies, including Acadian Home Care Services and Divine Inspiration PCA, among others, delivering high-quality care to communities across the Gulf South.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My typical workday starts around 5:00 am. I get up, stretch, and prepare to exercise. I exercise a minimum of four mornings per week. After exercising, I have my coffee and breakfast. While drinking my coffee, I outline my daily priorities and head to the office.
Upon arriving at work, I immediately address any unforeseen issues with patients, family members, staff, or independent contractors. Once those issues are addressed and adequately resolved, I complete any incomplete action items from the previous day. I then work from my morning outline of daily priorities. I do not schedule meetings on Monday mornings or Friday afternoons. Monday mornings are dedicated to weekend work issues. I find it cruel and unproductive to schedule Friday afternoon meetings. No one likes them and no one wants to be there; it destroys workplace morale. I set aside a block of time each Wednesday and each Thursday to address employee issues. Following these scheduling rules allows me to remain productive at work. Maintaining pre-established times to address work issues, employee-related matters, business meetings, and my daily functions keeps me focused and on task.
Once my workday is complete, I assist in coaching a traveling 7-on-7 football team. In addition to coaching and fund raising for the team. we train kids on proper technique, speed and agility, and strength and conditioning.
My weekends are typically spent in Florida during the summer months. During football season, I travel to LSU football games (both home and away).
How do you bring ideas to life?
The first step to bringing an idea to life is to clearly understand your idea, the purpose of the idea, the plan for the idea, and the realistic timeframe for cultivation. I find outlines to be one of my favorite tools. I typically outline my plan and each step involved. This helps me stay on task and forces me to observe and acknowledge my effort to implement this idea. I find it helps to have peer review; don’t be shy, share your idea and process. Oftentimes, a different perspective can prove helpful.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The focus on a return to public green space, inner city bike paths, and outdoor living excites me. Studies have shown numerous mental, emotional, and physical health benefits to being outdoors. Inner city bike paths reduce the carbon footprint of city living. Fresh air helps to reduce stress and improve overall wellness and mood. One of my goals is to better incorporate green space and outdoor living into our workplace facilities.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Time management is the one habit that helps me be productive. I have designated weekly blocks for scheduling external appointments and meetings, internal appointments and meetings, payroll, administrative scheduling, and invoicing. The days and available times do not change. This has allowed me to understand what I should be doing on any given day, at any given time. It has allowed my coworkers and associates to clearly understand when availability was open for their issues needing attention. The use of a rigid scheduling structure keeps me productive.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Talk less and listen more is the advice I would give my younger self. When you are young, you want to be heard. You feel the need to prove your worth and your knowledge. Fresh of out college, you possess book knowledge, but not much real-life expertise. I look back on the early days and see so many teaching moments that escaped me. There were so many lessons to be learned if I could have just moved out of my way.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I believe the earth is just like one tiny drop of water. Our surrounding environment is composed of algae, protozoans, bacteria, viruses, etc. We are just tiny organisms living in that one drop of water.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I do not bring work home with me. I do not have a work computer at home. Work when you are at work, relax when you are away from work. Your mind and body need rest and relaxation. Work isn’t going anywhere; it will still be there when you return the next day.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
When I feel overwhelmed or unfocused, I take a break and go exercise. If I’m feeling stressed, I may box or grapple. If I feel burdened or overwhelmed, I may take a walk through a park or to a coffee shop. If I am unfocused, I sit and meditate and practice deep breathing exercises. All of these exercises help me find my center and help me to refocus.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Work smarter, not harder. I try to always be the first person at work each morning. It gives people the impression that you are a hard worker. The truth is it is the best time to work. There is no one there to distract you or interrupt you while you are working. You can get more work down in those two hours than most people will get done all day. This early morning time is especially helpful with special projects, cost reports, board presentations, and incomplete tasks.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
I think one of the biggest failures in my career was investing in the dream of a friend. The business opportunity was great. The numbers and projections were reasonable and within normal range. But the money, all of the money, was my money. I made money on the business venture, but I lost a friend. When the business took a downturn, as it was projected to do, I cashed out and sold my interest to my friend. He had not saved one dollar for this day. He blamed me for the business failure and his actions afterwards. He never paid me one dollar for my cashout. I lost my friend, and he lost everything. I learned that your dream can never be more valuable to me than it is to you. I learned to never invest more in you than you are prepared to invest into yourself.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
QUICKBOOKS. I love QuickBooks. QuickBooks has totally streamlined my bookkeeping, expense reporting, and quarterly budget analysis. When used properly, QuickBooks does the job of two people. The setup is effortless. The input is easy. The reports are literally the push of a button.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
I would strongly recommend The Lean Startup by Eric Ries as a book to read if you are interested in going into business for yourself. It offers an engaged and involved approach to thinking and adjusting in real time. It focuses your attention and efforts on what is really taking place by using real-time data. Don’t see what you want to see; see what is moving, selling, and hitting benchmarks. Now adjust your business model for your real-life sales and performance metrics.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Cars. When my son was much younger, he could watch Cars every day. That generally meant we would watch Cars every day. For Father’s Day, he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I just wanted to sit in the theatre and relax, maybe watch a movie. He asked if I had a movie in mind and I told him no. He advised that he knew the perfect movie. The movie: Cars. We sat there and watched Cars together. It was the best Father’s Day, and the perfect movie for the two of us.
Key learnings
- Work smarter, not harder.
- Productivity is rooted in effective time management – create daily to-do lists, prioritize incomplete items from the previous day, and establish set scheduling blocks.
- Establish a good work-life balance; avoid bringing work home with you and make time for yourself and your family.
- Exercise and time outdoors is beneficial for health, well-being, productivity, and managing focus and overwhelm.