It’s called the most wonderful time of the year. Kicking off with Thanksgiving and running through New Year’s, the holidays are supposed to be festive and fun. Sadly, many things can kill the party: Drug and alcohol abuse, family squabbles, loneliness, work stress, financial worries and a plethora of other issues. For lawyers, end-of-year stressors can mean breaks in their processes, system overloads and even ethics breaches.
One of the biggest things we can do to balance the stresses of November through January is to acknowledge that these times have special considerations. This is not the time to try to act like shortened response times, court holidays, visiting relatives and school holidays do not faze us. We are not superhuman. Here are some tips for keeping your sanity.
One Tool to Keep the Holiday Pressure in Check
The holidays do not have to be overwhelming and stressful. Use your calendar to plan your time wisely so that you can enjoy the festivities.
Make Sure Your Calendar Is Up-to-Date
As we enter the holiday season, pull out your calendar and mark all the unusual events. Court closings or shortened hours, kids off from school, Aunt Millie visiting, deadlines for mailing before the end of the year, and anything that is not otherwise typical. Then look at your client work, and make sure their dates are all properly calculated and calendared. Court closings can really wreak havoc on your plans if your state has you calculate motion deadlines by court days ahead of the hearing day, for instance. If you hard-copy file in your practice, make sure you look at overnight mail or FedEx and UPS deadlines with the holidays in mind.
There are a few reasons utilizing the calendar is critical. For one, you are ensuring you do not miss any actual deadlines. This is “Ethics 101 for Lawyers.” Another reason is your sanity. If you have used your calendar well, you should be confident that it contains all the details you need. This should help keep you from waking in the middle of the night in a panic that you missed a deadline or that something is due tomorrow.
In addition, if you have a team, your calendar helps them see what is coming up, which allows them to plan for themselves and plan for how to help you.
Tend to Clients
The end of the year can be stressful for clients, too. Sending holiday cards is nice, but what if you also touched base with them about their pending cases? Set aside time in your calendar to send a quick note to each active client letting them know you are thinking of them and taking care of their cases over the holidays. This will go a long way toward good client relations and help fulfill your ethical obligation to stay in touch.
Identify Time for You
Carve out some days for yourself and get them on the calendar. These can be days you take off work completely (out-of-office reply and all), or days when you calendar getting in some holiday shopping before you come to the office. Especially during the holidays, make sure you address your own needs.
Call in Reinforcements
If you look at your calendar and see the coming weeks are going to be difficult to manage on your own, look into resources to help you bear the load until the new year. This may mean outsourcing some of the legal services you provide, but it could also mean getting help to manage your personal life. Hosting an event at home? Have it catered. Need help gift shopping? There are people who help with that! Hire a house cleaner or professional Christmas light hanger. The possibilities are endless.
If you are coping with substance abuse, make sure you have your resources in order for when you need them.
Give Yourself Props
The holidays mean the end of the year, and that means another year of law practice. Take time to celebrate your wins. It is really easy to forget come November or December what happened back in February or March. Take stock of the good times and remind yourself of what you have accomplished this year.
Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com
You Might Also Like …
- “Tiptoe Through the Holidays” by Shawn Healy
- “The Lawyer, the Lion, and the Laundry: Three Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos” by Jamie Spannhake
- “A Third Place Can Be Your Best Place to Work” by Bull Garlington
- “Working From Home? Five Productivity Hacks” by Joan Feldman
- “How Not to Talk Politics and Survive” by Bull Garlington
