Attorney work from home essentials
Whether you are an attorney working primarily for home or split your time between home and the office, these are our favorite work from home products that make our days run more smoothly.
Ready to be “Out of Office”
Whether you are traveling or simply taking a few days to relax at home, we have five tips today to help you set up your time out of the office for success.
Getting a Screen Free Hobby
There are so many distractions happening on our phones, tablets, and computers. And so many of our practices now include meetings and appearances that also appear on screens. If your hobby is one that you need technology to do, you may want to at least consider silencing notifications and staying off of other apps. However, we really would love for you to try something totally off line.
End of the Year Overwhelm
As we approach the end of the year, the calendar seems to be getting shorter but our to do lists are getting longer and longer - professionally and personally. Between work, holidays, kids school schedules, holiday parties, and all of the work that is needed to make it all happen, it’s a hectic time. This week we are going to share the ways we try to keep the end of the year overwhelm under control with four strategies we use to keep the overwhelm at bay.
Keeping An Attitude of Gratitude
Keeping an attitude of gratitude sounds like it should be on a decorative plaque. Ignoring the obvious cheesiness of this saying we do appreciate how much we have to be grateful for. But when your to do list is stretching down the page, your final exams are looming, and you are feeling stressed out it can be difficult to stay focused on gratitude.
The Courage To Say it Out Loud
The biggest challenge is to get started. It can be scary to put yourself out there. You may wonder what people will say. You may be worried that you don’t have something worth contributing. Or you may start to play the comparison game and think you’ll never be as good as the person you follow on social media. Have courage and take the first step to say it loud. Your voice, your perspective, and your ideas are valuable.
Finding Deeper Meaning in Litigation
Being a lawyer is hard. Litigation is a particularly difficult practice area. We find deeper meaning in the practice of law through litigation.
Combating Decision Fatigue
Decision fatigue is the idea that as the number of decisions you have to make increases, the quality of your decision making diminishes. We share five strategies to utilize alone, or together, to help you combat decisions fatigue.
the motherload of Maternity leave
This week Amy shared with us her transition back to work following her third maternity leave. While it was not easy, and far from perfect, Amy generously shared some of her insights on how she made the transition back. There are five steps she took in order to set herself up for success.
Clearness Committee
This week we revisit Greg McKeown’s book “Effortless” and talk about the clearness committees utilized by the Quaker community. In the Quaker community, the clearness committee is a group of community members that a person can meet with to present a decision they are trying to make. The goal is for the clearness committee not to instill their opinions in the matter, but to ask questions that will assist the person to gain clarity in their decision.
Not Everything Requires Going the extra mile
As lawyers we could slave over every detail and every possibility. But it that really what the tasks requires? Is that the best way to serve our clients? These are questions you can ask yourself before you go overboard. Some things do require the extra mile - but NOT everything.
Bonus Episode: Haley’s Solo
Digging deep into the importance of this hobby for Haley revealed the most important thing for her - the community of this specific group of women. This is not just about moving her body once per week. It is the support of being with women who you know care about each other and can laugh, cry, vent, and lean on each other.
Stop “Shoulding” All Over Yourself
Being a lawyer takes a certain amount of drive and ambition. Law school overtly and intentionally pits student versus student and those comparisons are very well known. This environment makes it very easy to consider all of the things you think you “should” be doing - but all of these “shoulds” make it easy for you to lose sight of yourself in the process. But how do you stop “shoulding” all over yourself?
JMT Speaks - with Haley
Authenticity is something that Jenn speaks about quite a bit. I was lucky to get a taste of this from her during this episode. She talked about how authenticity not just learning who you are, but also who you are not. She also explained the value that vulnerability plays in the journey to finding your authentic self.
Managing Client Expectations
Part of the pressure placed on lawyers comes from clients and their expectations. If you can optimize setting expectations for your clients that can relieve pressure from your shoulders.
Leaving the Law
For now we are discussing a few of the reasons why attorneys start to ponder leaving the law - lack of control, pressure, and a general dissatisfaction. Lack of control is not unique to law or any specific practice area. However, within each practice areas the level of control you have and the areas over which you have control vary.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness can take many different shapes and certainly looks different for different people. Mindfulness in your life may manifest itself in different ways depending on what you are looking to focus on at that moment.
Imposter v. inexperienced
Imposter syndrome is something that affected both of us very significantly in law school. When you are put together in a competitive circumstance with the highest achievers from various aspects of life, feelings of inadequacy and not measuring up are commonplace.
Time v. money - home edition
How do you make the decision between something that you want to take the time to do or delegate to some other source at a cost? We discuss how to simply make these decisions for yourself.