Five Steps That Attorneys Can Use to Manage and Enjoy the Holidays

ManagingTheHolidaysThanksgiving is tomorrow, which means that other holiday activities are just around the corner. With gatherings to attend and organize, gifts to buy, houses to clean, and meals to plan, most people experience some stress during the holidays. For those with already demanding schedules, the added obligations of the holidays can get overwhelming.

Try these easy steps to manage the holiday season:

1. Pay attention to your health.
Whatever you currently do to maintain your health, don’t stop. Remember that food, beverage and exercise choices can affect your sharpness at work and your ability to handle stress in general. Quiet time, meditation, and adequate sleep will also help your mood and concentration.

2. Plan.
Make a plan for getting through the next month. Note all important personal obligations, work deadlines, and other events. Don’t add unnecessary obligations to your to-do list until you have filled in the mandatory.

3. Manage expectations.
Both at work and in your personal life, advise interested parties (including family and clients) of what they can expect from you for the next month. Keep your own expectations realistic as well.

4. Delegate.
Consider enlisting help for holiday shopping, meal preparation, and house cleaning. At work, speak with your legal assistant, paralegal, and associates about how they can help keep on top of necessary obligations and files in which you expect activity. If you don’t have support in your office, a freelance attorney may be able to help with your workload.

5. Be Present.
Once you have chosen to spend time with your family and friends instead of working, be there. If you successfully managed the expectations of your colleagues and clients as suggested in Step 3, you can limit your availability without causing an upset. As much as possible, put your phone away and enjoy where you are.

The Minnesota Freelance Attorney Network wishes you a very enjoyable and low-stress holiday season!

Effective June 1st 2016, Lynn Walters is no longer accepting assignments as a freelance attorney. Lynn’s new company, Blackstock Walters, LLC, offers litigation support services such as legal research, motion preparation, and document summaries on a project basis.

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2 Responsesto “Five Steps That Attorneys Can Use to Manage and Enjoy the Holidays”

  1. Karin Ciano says:

    Great post Lynn! Let’s all take a deep breath and remember to enjoy this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

  2. Susan Wiens says:

    Most everyone experiences added stress during the holidays. Thanks for mentioning meditation as a way to de-stress. If you are interested in learning more about the ways that meditation help with stress and better health, see the articles posted on modmeditation.com.

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