Lawyer wellness has been getting more attention of late, which is great news for everyone. So much so, in fact, that 2019 has been declared by some as the industry’s ‘year of wellbeing’. In one of the most stressful professions that exists, it’s vital for lawyers to tune in to these discussions and fully understand how to manage our wellbeing.
Overworked and overwhelmed
The daily grind of being a lawyer goes without saying. Those late nights hunched over a mountain of case files. Skipped meals and greasy, shoved-in takeaways that we barely noticed swallowing. Evenings missed with family, every single day we compromise on much-needed sleep to get to the office and bill those hours. The casual damage we do to our physical and mental wellbeing takes its toll. So it is incredibly important that we develop strategies to care for ourselves.
Mindfulness in practice
In a great blog for the platform Clio, which empowers lawyers running small practices with legal management software, Sam Rosenthal looks at what legal wellness looks like. Mindfulness may be the buzzword of the decade, but it’s not without reason. Being mindful of every aspect of our lives is the key to feeling – and being – in control.
In another timely piece for our industry, Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s book Burnout explores the causes and consequences of burnout, and how to reject the system that keeps us locked in a cycle of self-care and stress. Both point out the importance of listening to our bodies and what it is screaming at us it needs. More sleep, better nutrition, more movement, deeper relaxation… and more meaning.
Meaning and mental health
One of the core manifestations of the exhaustion and overwhelm of burnout is the feeling of futility – that nothing you do matters. Feeling disengaged and unable to make a difference is a real tragedy of the toxicity of the profession – because we are highly skilled people. Like an indisputable pantheon of lawyers before us, from Mahatma Ghandi to Barack Obama, we really DO have the power to make a difference. The law matters. Policy matters. And finding meaning in the work we do, within whatever micro parameters we work, is the ultimate way to be mindful of who we are and stay true to it.