Weekend emails, late hours, and dozens of tasks await us each morning. Our dream is to hit peak productivity, but what happens when boundaries are not set? The desire to scale quickly can sometimes kill the passion that helped build our business in the first place, says Cathy Kenton, CEO of the Legal Tech Media Group. To combat mental fatigue, she recommends prioritizing stimulating work: the things that add value and make us excited to go to work in the morning. In an article for Fast Company, Aytekin Tank expounds on this topic, arguing that our obsession with productivity is drawing us away from what we love to do.

For the first time, attorneys surveyed in Bloomberg Law’s quarterly Attorney Workload and Hours survey reported experiencing burnout in their job more than half the time, and an increased number — nearly half — reported their overall well-being had declined. Those who reported a decline in well-being also reported lower job satisfaction scores. The latest version of the survey asked in-house and law firm attorneys about their job satisfaction, workload, well-being, job status and work culture in the fourth-quarter of 2021. Bloomberg has more analysis. Then watch your mailbox in coming weeks for the May/June 2022 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. It offers a deep dive into what legal burnout is and what you can do about it. The issue also will be online on May 2.

Attorneys are known for their ability to thrive under pressure, manage a significant amount of stress and work much more than the standard 40-hour work week. But according to the American Bar Association, attorneys are among the most sleep-deprived group of professionals. While some are aware of the toll this takes on their personal and social lives, a lesser number understand the impact that working from sun-up until sun-down can have on sleep patterns and overall health. A wellness blog from Thomson Reuters looks at sleep recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation, the adverse effects of not getting enough sleep and tips for helping our bodies wind down earlier in the evening.

There is a lot we cannot control about our lives, but we can develop good habits to improve our work life. A recent article from Reuters highlights five habits specifically designed to help lawyers. First, make the most of institutional knowledge. Tap into the knowledge of colleagues to get a head start on new tasks. Second, stay informed and build accuracy checks into your workflow. The law is constantly changing; developing a process for staying informed will save time and heartache. Third, sharpen your legal research skills. Learn how to effectively research a legal issue and utilize trusted sources of information. Fourth, never leave your work vulnerable. Take advantage of available resources to make sure your work is ironclad. Fifth, believe in yourself. Once you’ve done your due diligence and made certain your work is as solid as possible you have earned the right to move on to the next task with confidence.

The ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division has been focusing on wellness issues in its newsletter for members. The “Legal Burnout Solution” series recently dealt with the interrelationship between self-esteem and well-being. The author reports that approximately 85% of the population suffers from low self-esteem, which is defined as what we think and feel about ourselves. The American Psychological Association says that low self-esteem can lead to emotional problems and substance use, while high self-esteem helps us develop coping skills to manage stress; strengthen emotional resilience; ward off depression and anxiety; and achieve better social relations, higher job satisfaction and improved well-being. The steps to developing a healthy self-esteem include focusing on the positive, showing ourselves compassion, practicing mindfulness, maintaining healthful habits, and building solid and open relationships. Read more about each of these steps. For those open to self-assessment, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale is a popular tool.

It’s easy in these difficult, uncertain times to lose hope, but allowing ourselves to sink into a funk can affect our professional and personal lives. Leadership development consultant Dane Jensen says that hope has not often been a topic in business but the COVID pandemic has changed that. Today, he says, business leaders are realizing that hope is essential for workers’ satisfaction, motivation, health and performance. When things look bleak, remaining hopeful is one of the toughest but most essential self-management tasks. He lays out three steps we can take to reclaim hope: (1) imagine a plausible positive future, (2) identify steps to achieve that future, and (3) view setbacks as inflection points to reset. When we believe that the future will be better than the present and that we have the power to make it so, we can sustain hope and enjoy its many benefits. Learn how to get started in Jensen's recent Harvard Business Review article.

The ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division has been focusing on wellness issues in its newsletter for members. The “Legal Burnout Solution” series has dealt with a number of topics, including making time for self-care. A recent issue featured a foreclosure attorney who reprogrammed how she thinks about work hours. By slightly adjusting her work schedule to prioritize morning workouts, she now reports enjoying and staying consistent with exercise and feeling less stress, all while maintaining the same level of service to her clients. She shares how she overcame challenges to stick with her plan. The article also looks at the “Prepare, Prune, Pass it On, and Plan” model, which is designed to help prioritize projects and reinforce new positive behaviors. Read more about self-care and watch for an upcoming issue about improving self-esteem.

A law firm's commitment to well-being and an attorney’s sense of control over their own work are the most important factors in whether they feel overwhelmed by job demands, according to a new survey from the Institute for Well-Being In Law. In fact, these elements can help ward off burnout. With a high turnover rate in associates (25% according to the 2022 State of the Legal Market Report), some firms are trying to pay their way out of the problem, says institute Vice President Anne Brafford. But that approach is not working, and in fact, the employers that did the best job of retaining people did not engage in the compensation war, she says. The takeaway for Brafford is that the actions of supervisors, and the structures a law firm builds to support those relationships, are the best mechanisms to avoid employee burnout. Law.com has more on the survey.

In 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, author Annabel Streets discusses the science behind, and the benefits of, one of the simplest forms of exercise. Among her suggestions for getting the most out of walking, Streets says to walk with a friend. Studies have shown that distances appear shorter and inclines less intimidating when walking with a buddy. She also suggests walking backwards! Research suggests that reverse stepping not only boosts memory, but can reduce aches and pains in the spine. On a cold day, Streets also says to “ditch the scarf.” According to the National Institutes of Health, exposing your collar bone to the cold activates fat-burning cells around the neck and shoulders. She also advocates ditching GPS in favor of your own route mapping. Experts believe that inability to read a map can increase dementia risk. However you walk, just get out there and go! (Adapted from the February 2022 issue of Spry Living)

Are you tired of the endless work hustle? Then it is time to ease up, says Iffy Ibekwe, founder and principal attorney at the Texas estate planning firm Ibekwe Law. In a recent article for Above the Law, Ibekwe recommends creating an end of the workday ritual to enforce boundaries that work for your life. Like a bedtime routine that prepares us to sleep well, a routine to end the workday can provide closure for the day, free us up to move into “personal time” and set us up for success the next day. Her first recommendation is to set a time to end the workday. As that time approaches, she advocates reviewing the next day’s meetings and tasks; creating a to-do list for the next day but limiting it to only two items; turning off the computer; tidying up your workspace; reflecting on the day; and then leaving the workspace. It will all be there tomorrow. We will be in a much better place to face those challenges if we step away today.