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Career & Practice Concerns

Sudoku – More than just a game

In a previous post I talked about the importance of working less in order to engage in different activities (working less and playing more). One such enjoyable activity might be the popular game Sudoku. If you have never played it I encourage you to check it out. In addition to being a fun activity (if you enjoy such things), the benefits of Sudoku on your brain range from improving your concentration and memory, improving analytical thinking, practicing “if, then” thinking, increasing awareness of the interdependent relationships among various factors, and it has been said that it can decrease the chances of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

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Less Work, More Play

Most everyone has heard about the importance of a work-life balance. We have all heard that it is important to get good sleep, eat well, exercise, have good relationships, and have other interests outside of work. “If you have a well-balanced life, your life will be better.” We’ve heard the sentiment, yet many have not adopted a healthy balance. Why is this? At the heart of this resistance is fear. Fear of not producing, not working hard enough, not excelling in a profession that you worked so hard to be involved in.

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The Secret to Happiness (Part 1) – Contentment

There are countless suggestions for how to achieve happiness in this life. Some are great advice, while others not so much. The best advice for how to achieve and maintain happiness is often times the simplest. Contentment is a secret ingredient of happiness. The ability to feel content with what you have, the way things are in your life, and who you are as a person can lay the foundation for happiness.

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Associates need to know when – and how – to say no

(A version of this article was published in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on January 14, 2016 here)

In the life of a new associate at a medium or large law firm, it is not uncommon to sacrifice time with friends and family in the need to work long hours each day, work into the evening or on weekends at times when looming deadlines approach, and work with multiple superiors (partners and senior associates). In addition to the challenge of learning new aspects of the law, managing your time in order to complete the volume of work assigned to you, and trying to maintain your personal life in some fashion, the challenge of saying “no” becomes one of the most common sources of stress among new associates.

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The Secret to Effective Communication is Active Listening

Have you ever been told that you don’t understand, even though you think you really do understand? Have you ever had a person tell you something over and over again and wondered why they felt the need to tell you again? If so, the reason is because that person did not feel truly understood. When we do not feel as though the listener understands us, we want to explain it again in order to achieve understanding. Once understanding is communicated, support is felt.

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New Study on Substance Abuse, Depression, and Anxiety among Lawyers

A new study published this month in the Journal of Addiction Medicine confirms that lawyers have higher than average rates of alcohol abuse, depression and stress.  The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) collaborated in a survey of over 12,000 attorneys in 19 states (not including Massachusetts).  We know that the legal profession is a stressful profession with prior studies showing higher rates of alcohol abuse and depression than the general population, but find it gravely concerning that the levels of substance abuse, depression and stress remain so high, particularly among younger attorneys. 

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Perfection is not your friend

Let’s be honest, everyone would like to be perfect at what they do. After all, if you were perfect, no one could ever criticize you for anything. And let the honesty continue, we all hate being criticized and judged. It just doesn’t feel good. But I assure you, you too can survive criticism (even harsh criticism). The first place to start is to reject the idea that you need to be perfect. You don’t. You’re not. No one is. And somehow we all find a way to go on surviving despite lacking perfection.

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Increase your resilience and reject scapegoating

Resilience is the ability to adapt and learn from any situation you encounter. Often it is described as the ability to thrive despite the barriers life throws at you. There are many ways of increasing one’s resilience (for example: here, here, and here are previous posts that address this). One common temptation that we all have to reduce tension, which prevents us from developing resilience, is the tendency to blame or find a scapegoat. Scapegoating makes us feel good because it removes the tension we feel that is caused by realizing that we need to make changes to what we are doing. Taking responsibility for our actions or our contributions to a situation often feels vulnerable. Blaming others makes us feel safe in the short term, but in fact it only perpetuates the lack of learning and growth. You cannot learn from a situation and develop resilience by avoiding the discomfort.

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Asleep at the Wheel

My latest Q&A column in Massachusetts Lawyers Journal, “Asleep at the Wheel,” I think, captures what can be the downside, for lawyers and others, of only “living in the moment” – sometimes people find themselves on the verge of losing…

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