Emotional Well-Being is in the spotlight for the 5th and final day of National Lawyer Well-Being Week 2020, hosted by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being.
Today is our last round of daily emails and blog posts — but the point of this week is to highlight that we need to focus on our well-being year-round. View more here on Lawyer Well-Being Week and how leadership in the Massachusetts legal community can participate. Subscribe to our emails here, and accept the challenge to stay focused on your own well-being. We know it isn’t always easy for lawyers to put themselves first — but it’s best.
FINAL SURVEY REMINDER! (For now, anyway.) Practice putting yourself first by taking our SURVEY on lawyer well-being needs across Massachusetts.
This is your chance to make sure our Free & Confidential services respond to your needs and support your well-being. We’re working to deliver what lawyers need for well-being — including practice management assistance and other professional needs — across Massachusetts in collaboration with the new SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being.
Join this week’s last virtual Coffee Break at 2pm, a collaboration with the new SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being which will feature our own staff clinician Shawn Healy, PhD and Martha Knudson from the Utah State Bar Well-Being Committee. Other FREE online events on MAY 8th (all eastern time zones):
10:00am: Working Remotely With Children
3:00pm: Conquering Chronic Disease & Preexisting Conditions in the Age of COVID-19
3:00pm: 10 Keys to Happier Living in Challenging Times
Today highlights EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING; below are resources to help you FEEL WELL — the Lawyer Well-Being Week tagline for Day 5.
Positive Emotions Activity Worksheet: (1) Prioritize Positivity, (2) Notice & Savor Positive Emotions, (3) Grow Your Gratitude, (4) Do Acts of Kindness, (5) Identify & Use Your Strengths, (6) Pick & Practice Positive Emotions, (7) Align Your Life With Your Goals & Values, and (8) Mindfulness & Meditation.
2-Minute Stress Relief Activity Guide
Design Your Self-Care Plan Activity Guide
5 Steps to Bust through Procrastination & Overwhelm, Dr. Sarah Reiff-Hekking (2018) Webinars for Busy Lawyers On Demand, 33 mins.
Quick Tips for Lawyers to Beat Stress, Build Happiness, and Boost Productivity, Anne Brafford (2018) Webinars for Busy Lawyers On Demand, 32 mins.
The Anxiety Toolkit: Mindfulness Practices to Reduce Anxiety in Trying Times, Jon Krop (2020) Lawyer Well-Being Channel, 16 mins. Jon Krop, a lawyer and meditation teacher, offers practical mindfulness strategies to manage anxiety, which is skyrocketing for many during the COVID crisis.
Resilient Thinking For Lawyers Part I: Taming Negative Emotions, Anne Brafford (2020) Lawyer Well-Being Channel, 1 hr 29 mins. Guided by a downloadable Worksheet, Anne gives 6 steps for resilient thinking based on positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
Resilient Thinking for Lawyers Part II: Boosting Positive Emotions, Anne Brafford (2020) Lawyer Well-Being Channel, 1hr. Guided by a downloadable Worksheet, Anne explains 8 science-backed activities for boosting positive emotions: (1) Prioritize Positivity, (2) Notice & Savor Positive Emotions, (3) Grow Your Gratitude, (4) Do Acts of Kindness, (5) Identify & Use Your Strengths, (6) Pick & Practice Positive Emotions, (7) Align Your Life With Your Goals & Values, and (8) Mindfulness & Meditation.
Cultivating Wisdom During the COVID Crisis: Resilience Strategies to Combat Loneliness, Olivia Ash & Elina Teboul (2020) Lawyer Well-Being Channel, 1 hr.
Lonely Advocates: Combating Loneliness in the Legal Profession, Olivia Ash (2019) Lawyer Well-Being Channel, 7:14 mins.
Tips for Boosting Optimism for Health & Happiness, Elina Teboul (2020) Lawyer Well-Being Channel, 10:40 mins.
Well-Being Strategies for Solos and Small Firms, Anne Brafford (2020) Lawyer Well-Being Blog.
6 Tricks from Yale’s Most Popular Class on Happiness, Justin Maiman (2020) Business Insider.
How to Make Stress Your Friend, Kelly McGonigal (2013) TED Talk, 13:47 mins. Research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be true. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive. She’s the author of The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good For You, And How To Get Good At It.
Want To Be Happy? Be Grateful, David Steindl-Rast (2013) TED Talk, 14:18 mins.
Why We Focus on The Negative, Roy Baumeister (2019) Greater Good Science Center, 1:55 mins. Esteemed scholar Dr. Roy Baumeister describes the evolutionary reasons why we notice and are more strongly impacted by negative emotions.
5 Ways Bosses Can Reduce The Stigma of Mental Health At Work, Diana O’Brien & Jen Fisher (2019). Harvard Business Review.
How to Manage an Employee With Depression, Kristen Bell De Tienne et al. (2020). Harvard Business Review.
Employers Should Offer Free Screenings For Depression, Douglas Jacobs (2015) Harvard Business Review.
What Companies Can Do To Help Employees Address Mental Health Issues, Barbara Harvey (2018). Harvard Business Review.
Manage Your Emotional Culture, Barsade, S., & O’Neil, O. A. (2016). Harvard Business Review.
There’s No Shame In Taking Care Of Your Mental Health, Sangu Delle (2017) TED Talk, 8:58 mins. TED Fellow Sangu Delle talks about confronting his own deep prejudice that men shouldn’t take care of their mental health and learning to handle anxiety in a society that’s uncomfortable with emotions.
How To Start A Conversation About Suicide, Jeremy Forbes (2017) TED Talk, 12:09 mins. In a personal talk, Forbes shares his approach to helping a group of traditionally silent men open up about their struggles.
Project Happiness (2011). Amazon Prime. 1hr. Award-winning documentary that includes interviews of George Lucas, Richard Gere, neuroscientist Richard Davidson, and the Dalai Lama on the nature of lasting happiness.
The Emotional Life: In Search of Ourselves and Happiness, PBS (2010). Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video, 3 episodes, 1 hr, 53 mins each. The series is hosted by Dr. Daniel Gilbert, Harvard psychologist and author, and covers three themes: (1) improving social relationships, (2) resolving negative feelings (depression, anxiety, etc.), and (3) searching for greater happiness. It’s aimed at giving viewers a deeper sense of what makes us tick and insights into how to use that information to improve their own emotional and social well-being.
Depression: Out of The Shadows, PBS (2008). PBS Documentary. Available on DVD, 90 mins. Addresses the stigma and challenges of living with depression.
Happy (2012). Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video, 1h 15mins. Combining real life stories from around the world and interviews with leading scientists in happiness research, Happy explores the secrets behind lasting happiness.
