In this article, we discuss how difficult it can be to stay motivated and focused on work during challenging times. We provide some tips to keep your career on track and productivity humming. Read on to discover how to improve your productivity, work at your best and take care of yourself.
A legal career can be stressful, involve long hours and challenging deadlines. It can also involve demanding clients, mountains of documentation and difficult to navigate legal matters. Throw in a global pandemic, ever changing government restrictions and health orders and this would add stress and anxiety to anyone’s day.
Many people in our legal industry have been working from home for a very long time. They have been juggling home related responsibilities and working longer than usual and outside their normal hours. It can be exhausting and overwhelming. It can also be tricky to stay motivated and productive when you are dealing with often feels like Groundhog Day, with remote learning to manage, virtual meetings to attend and demands from bosses or clients that seem insurmountable.
At the other end of the extreme are those who are living on their own and missing the camaraderie of the office and feeling very isolated. Everyone’s experience of the pandemic is a little different and our ability to get back to business as usual seems like it will continue to be on hold for some time.
In uncertain times, all anyone can do is their best. Looking after yourself, your mental health and trying to keep a positive outlook is important. Acknowledge that these are not normal working conditions or times and consider what this means for your self-motivation.
It can also help your motivation levels to try and remember why it is that you do what you do… what you are passionate about and why you love your job.
Here are our 7 tips to help keep your career on track and work product and billable hours ticking over.
1. Try new productivity techniques
As the Greek philosophers said, drastic times call for drastic measures. Are there any productivity improvements you can make that will help you manage what you need to in your day?
- Can you split a large and complex task into more manageable portions?
- Can you spend more time off-line and only respond to e-mails at set times in your day?
- Are you making good use of templates for documents and regular e-mail replies?
- Have you tried the “eat the frog” technique, where you do the toughest task on your to-do list first?
- How are you managing your prioritisation of tasks? Does this need work?
- Can you delegate anything on your to do list?
- Have you tried productivity techniques such as pomodoro where you work in 25-minute bursts and then take a 5-minute break?
- Does your firm have technology or software that could help with your day that you are not utilising to its full potential?
- Can you use AI or dictation software to help get concepts and thoughts out of your mind and onto paper? You speak much quicker than you will write or type.
- Can you batch tasks? This means doing the work that requires similar effort, programs and skills at the same time. It might be reviewing documents or drafting a letter or even just returning calls all at the same time in your day.
- Can you make more use of video conference technology to reduce the need to commute to meetings or the office?
- Can you reduce the number of meetings in your day by getting things agreed via concise email correspondence?
2. Keep Learning
Sometimes your motivation levels can wane when you are doing the same thing day-in and day-out. Learning new programs, new ways of working or investigating further areas of the law that are of interest can help you stay inspired to succeed. Even something small like a hack for your phone or a shortcut in the production of a document can give you a sense of achievement.
3. Have a Defined Work Schedule
It can be helpful to understand when in your day that you are most productive. For some people this will be first thing in the morning, and for others it may be late in the day. Work on the most challenging tasks when you are at your best.
Make sure you include physical exercise and some outdoor time in your working day. It will help you focus and recharge.
4. Improve your Workspace
Ensure you have an ergonomic and comfortable chair to work in, a solid desk and a computer at a good height. Ensure your lighting is good and that your screen is easily viewable. If office improvements are not possible, sometimes even just an office tidy up makes you feel more able to focus on the task at hand.
5. Figure out How to Minimise Distractions (as best you can!)
With apologies to those of you with very little kids at home, for whom this may be an impossible task. Can you remove any social media distractions from your phone? Is there a way of negotiating with family members some uninterrupted work time?
If there is no way to get uninterrupted time in your house, is there anywhere else you can work whilst still following government health guidelines?
6. Reward yourself
When a project gets delivered, a matter resolved or documentation completed, consider how to reward yourself. A walk in the sunshine, listen to some feel good music, treat yourself to something small.
Many legal industry professionals are perfectionists and high achievers, making working at less than their usual output a struggle. Consider how you can make peace with this and to expect a little less of yourself for the time being. Now is the time to be a realist, based on the hours in your day and the challenges of your working situation.
7. Ask for Support
If you still find your motivation waning and the ever-increasing challenges of dealing with everything going on around you, consider asking for further support. You might need someone to talk to, or you might need to restructure your role or responsibilities for a short time.
Asking for help is not career limiting, it is a sign of self-awareness and is often a way of preventing workplace errors or omissions that can occur due to exhaustion or overwhelm.
In times to come, we may look back on these days of working from home and reduced social commitments and smile. We may see silver linings which for many young families has increased connections and time together. Others may have found more time to pursue hobbies and interests outside the law. The only thing that we do know for certain is that this time too will pass.
If you are looking for a new role in the Legal Industry in Melbourne, Australia, then get in touch with us. Legal People is the gateway to your next career move. We are specialists in the Legal Industry and recruit Lawyers, Support staff and HR professionals. If you enjoyed reading this article, you can follow our Company Page on LinkedIn for regular updates. To browse our currently available roles click here.
