The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
Episode 18: Time Management as Self Care
What if you could reclaim your autonomy in the high-stakes world of big law? Join me, Emily Logan Stedman, on The Grace Period as we explore how effective time management can be a form of self-care for attorneys. We tackle the relentless pressures of deadlines, document overload, and constant interruptions that define our professional lives. With practical tips on minimizing distractions, scheduling deep work sessions, and setting boundaries, this episode promises to equip you with actionable strategies to enhance both productivity and wellbeing.
Reflecting on the essential skills and habits from law school that often fade under the pressures of practice, we'll revisit crucial techniques like putting phones on do not disturb and using browser extensions to block distracting websites. Whether it's setting a timer to overcome procrastination or creating recurring calendar blocks for deep work, you'll find valuable insights to help you thrive in big law. Tune in to prioritize your shared humanity and take meaningful steps toward better time management and improved well-being.
Find out more at https://thegraceperiod.substack.com/.
Welcome to the Grace Period where we get real about attorney mental health and well-being and pull back the veil on the high-stakes world of big law. I'm your host, emily Logan Steadman. In this demanding profession, it is crucial that we don't lose ourselves in the hustle for billable hours. On the Grace Period, we have honest conversations about finding consistency, minimizing chaos, developing coping strategies and destigmatizing mental health. It is time to prioritize our shared humanity, to find our grace period. So far this season the second season of the grace period we've defined well-being, talked about why it is important in the law. I shared my story. I defined mindfulness and encouraged y'all to give meditation a try. We've talked about gratitude and journaling and how to build autonomy by doing at least one thing each day that is just for you. Last week, we discussed asking for and getting help. Today, we'll talk about time management as a form of self-care. We'll talk about time management as a form of self-care. Let's dive in. Do you feel like you're facing endless deadlines, information and document overload, the pressure to constantly be on, interruptions everywhere All of these are often the essence of our experience as attorneys Managing our calendars, our day our time is critical. Attorneys, managing our calendars, our day. Our time is critical. It's a critical tool for improving productivity and upgrading our overall well-being. In season one of this podcast, I shared many time and practice management tips. If you haven't already, I encourage you to listen to some of those episodes for deeper dives into specific techniques you can try and experiment with. Episodes for deeper dives into specific techniques you can try and experiment with.
Speaker 1:Today. I'll hit some highlights. These bear repeating as I believe we do not talk about some of them enough. We all have these skills, at least the foundation of them, or we wouldn't have made it through law school and through the bar exam. Have made it through law school and through the bar exam, but when we became attorneys, life and work began asking more and more of us. With each passing day and year. As that happens, we lose some of these habits or we need new tools to manage our evolving practices and evolving lives.
Speaker 1:Further. Lacking a sense of autonomy is a common feeling in the law. We feel like we have no self-government, no self-control over our time and our day. We feel like we're at the whim of so many others. Lacking autonomy plays a significant role in poor mental health and well-being for attorneys. It is a factor in why so many lawyers burn out.
Speaker 1:So what can you do? Prioritize, delegate, create and stick to boundaries. First, remove distractions. Put phones on, do not disturb. Put phones out of sight. Turn off notifications across your devices. Close email if and when impossible. Utilize your phone's time limits on scrolling social media. Add an extension to your computer's web browser that blocks time wasting websites. None of this is a pipe dream. This isn't impossible. But at the same time, none of this is for all day. Every day, I keep these distraction attackers in my I need to focus toolkit. Some days I don't need them, some days I need all of them.
Speaker 1:Second, create time for deep work. We cannot complete due diligence, write a brief or prep for a big client meeting if we're distracted. Multitasking is an urban legend. Pick a time on your calendar schedule, a deep work appointment, make it show as out of office or unavailable and get to work. You can assign a specific task to that calendar appointment. You can create a recurring block on your calendar. The magic happens when you see the reminder and do the work undistracted. Reminder and do the work undistracted. The magic happens when you see the reminder and tell others asking for your time that, no, you're not available during that block. This takes practice and patience, but when it works it is very freeing and empowering.
Speaker 1:Third, take breaks and utilize timers. I use timers for a lot of things. One way I use timers is to get over procrastination. If I need to do a task that I feel like I'm putting off, I'll set a timer for 5, 15, 25 minutes and tell myself just write, just research. I give my brain that small window to focus, focus, and it usually gets me over the hump of procrastination, builds momentum and I often keep working even after the timer dings. Another way to use timers is to set up short work blocks followed by short breaks, the Pomodoro method. I love doing this. When writing a brief, I work for 25 minutes, take a five-minute break, repeat for four cycles, then take a longer break. On my breaks I check emails, go to the restroom, do other short tasks and then I repeat the five-segment cycle again.
Speaker 1:Breaks help us in two ways. First, it tells our brain we don't have to be working forever, which allows us to stay focused. Second, our brains continue processing things even during those breaks, which help you come up with better writing, more interesting arguments and more. Fourth and finally, let's talk about boundaries.
Speaker 1:One of the biggest time management challenges for attorneys is managing the expectations of clients, supervisors and even ourselves. We often feel like we need to be available 24-7, which can lead to burnout. Instead, we should work on setting clear boundaries and communicating them effectively. Let your clients and colleagues know your availability and capacity or workload. Ask about deadlines Are they firm? What is the final final deadline? You can revisit the episode from season one about saying no to our nudging partners when it comes to managing your workload. There's no such thing as over communicating, and remember you're not alone in any of this. Cultivating a supportive work environment, whether it's through collaborating with colleagues or advocating for firm-wide policies that promote healthy time management, can make a huge difference. Lead by example. Even if you're a first-year associate, you can show good time management and communication with those you report to paralegals and assistants and those that support you. We can make change from the bottom up in our small spheres of influence.
Speaker 1:I promise Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Grace Period. I hope this discussion has provided some insights about time management as a form of self-care. This discussion has provided some insights about time management as a form of self-care. Next thing next week, we'll talk about things that hinder lawyer well-being, with a focus on the ever-hated billable hour. Remember you don't have to sacrifice your well-being for career success. By prioritizing self-care, setting boundaries and seeking support, you can survive and even thrive in the law and in big law. Until next time. Take care of yourselves and others. That is the path to our grace period. Disclaimer this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice of any kind, including legal advice. No-transcript.
