September is Self-Care Awareness Month. Although it’s become a trendy concept, self-care is still elusive to many in the legal profession.
Self-Care Basics for the Legal Profession
Practicing self-care sounds lovely, but is easier said than done when you’re in a challenging profession. Still, having tough professional demands makes self-care even more important. Recent posts on our blog offer guidance to get started:
How Can Lawyers and Law Students Prioritize Self-Care? Prioritizing self-care can be difficult, but if it seems impossible, consider what you need to reevaluate.
Practicing Self-Care: Tips for Lawyers and Law Students to Avoid Burnout. In a challenging profession, basic principles of self-care will help you avoid burnout — or recover from it.
Setting Boundaries: Essential Tips for Lawyers and Law Students. Understand the difference between boundaries and limitations, acknowledge the problem of discomfort, and use practical tips to get started on communicating clear boundaries.
Self-Care News Highlights
10 Steps to Identify Irrational Resistance to Self-Care (ABA Journal). Rosario Lozada, a law school professor, mother, and daughter of two aging parents, offers a 10-step exercise to shift your awareness to self-care, beginning with an invitation to bring your focus (and your preferred means of note-taking) before identifying obstacles and other key steps along the way to “resting in awareness”.
How to Practice Self-Care: 10 Worksheets and 12 Ideas (PositivePsychology.com). 3 Self-Compassion Exercises, a Self-Care Assessment, Energy Management Audit, Taking Care of Myself worksheet, How Would You Treat a Friend worksheet, Changing your Critical Self-Talk exercise, Self-Care Wheel, emotional intelligence tools, and more.
Reframe How You Think About Self-Care (Harvard Business Review). A range of practical advice, encouraging readers to think, “It’s so busy at work right now, I can’t afford NOT to take care of myself!”
This MIT App Makes Self-Care as Addictive as a Video Game (Fast Company). With no endorsement of its therapeutic value, the game does sound interesting — framing both ordinary tasks like doing the dishes and surprising emotion boosters like attempting jazzercise as “Adventures” through which you earn points.
You Need Both Self-Control And Self-Indulgence To Be Happy (Forbes). Discusses a new study from the University of Zurich demonstrating that being able to indulge ourselves “is as fundamental to a happy life as self-control.”
Free & Confidential Consultations:
Lawyers, law students, and judges in Massachusetts can discuss concerns with a licensed therapist, law practice advisor, or both. Getting support when you need it is fundamental to self-care. Find more on scheduling here.
