The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
Episode 14: Mindfulness + Meditation
What if you could find calm amidst the often chaotic world of big law? On this episode of "The Grace Period," join me, Emily Logan Stedman, as I reveal how mindfulness and meditation became my lifeline in the relentless world of civil litigation. Discover how a spontaneous decision at an airport led me on a transformative journey towards improved wellbeing, helping me manage self-judgment and stress despite a demanding career.
Tune in, and let's explore how mindfulness can become a powerful tool in your arsenal, making the overwhelming nature of legal practice a little more manageable.
Find out more at https://thegraceperiod.substack.com/.
Welcome to the Grace Period where we get real about attorney mental health and well-being and pull back the veil on the high-stakes world of big law. I'm your host, emily Logan Steadman. In this demanding profession, it is crucial that we don't lose ourselves in the hustle for billable hours period. We have honest conversations about finding consistency, minimizing chaos, developing coping strategies and destigmatizing mental health. It is time to prioritize our shared humanity, to find our grace period. So far this season season two of the grace period we've defined well-being and talked about why it matters in the law, and I've shared my own story with mental health burnout and what led me here to this podcast. Today we'll talk about mindfulness and meditation. I know what some of you are thinking I barely have time to breathe, let alone meditate, but I hope you'll stick with me here. I'm in the trenches, just like you. I'm a practicing attorney, a civil litigator, a partner. I get it. Our profession is consistently ranked as one of the most stressed or stressful out there.
Speaker 1:Later this season, I'll talk about my self-care routine a process of six discrete steps that I can do, one if that's all I have time for all, or some combination of the six parts if I have more time or do them one by one throughout the day to take breaks, pause or regroup. For now I'll say this Even in trial, even in long days nearly all-nighters, many long days in a row I no longer view taking care of myself as optional. It may be as quick as reading eight pages of a book for fun, to wind down before I go to bed, or sticking to boundaries around sleep to make sure I get enough of it, or making smart food choices at breaks and over lunch. If I have time, I'll work out, or I'll have a meal with my husband. Maybe I'll take my dog on a longer walk. Maybe it is saying no to other tasks and delegating accordingly so I can be singularly focused and not distracted. Self-care for me no longer is optional. Why? Because, as I shared in the last episode, I've burned out. I've seen what that looks like firsthand. I've seen its impacts not just on me but on my husband, my friendships and my family.
Speaker 1:You have the ability to create time in your life and in your workday for the things that matter for you, whatever they are. I hope to give you some examples of things you can do with that time to better take care of yourself. I also hope to share tools to help you better manage your time so that you can create space for those choices. Today, I'll talk about a tool that has helped me and that I hope will help you navigate the choppy waters we face. That tool is mindfulness.
Speaker 1:Mindfulness is a practice of being present, of being engaged in the moment, of being aware of your thoughts and feelings, without distraction and without judgment. That last part is key. Mindfulness is about letting go of judgment. For me, this is deeply related to my self-talk. I am not nice to myself. I am extremely hard on myself. I'm constantly judging myself. Would I talk to a friend the way I talk to myself? Absolutely not. Mindfulness, and mindfulness meditation specifically, has truly helped me with this. Meditation is a way to cultivate mindfulness, but of course, it's not the only way. Mindfulness is a skill and meditation is an exercise to help you build that skill. To help you build that skill, other techniques, like those I talked about in season one around productivity and time management, have also helped me be more present when working or after work with friends and family. I'll talk about other mindfulness and self-care techniques throughout the rest of this season.
Speaker 1:Today, I'm focusing on meditation, and I know some of you are skeptical. Trust me, I was too. Let's go back to 2017. I was sitting at the Milwaukee airport about to catch a late night plane to Vegas for a friend's bachelorette party. My mind was racing, I couldn't focus. I was stressed about work. Of course, I no longer remember what I was stressed about. You know, it's funny how that happens. So I pulled up my iPhone in the app store and I downloaded the first meditation app that came up, headspace. Back then, headspace made you run through introductory lessons before opening up the full library. So I gave it a shot and, honestly, I've never looked back Again. I was skeptical. I didn't think it would work. I didn't think I could get my thoughts under control and that's just it.
Speaker 1:Meditation is not about controlling or changing your thoughts. It is about knowing and resting in the idea that your thoughts are not facts. They are constant and they come and go. Facts they are constant and they come and go. In fact, the more you engage with your thoughts and, if you're like me, the more you fight those thoughts the stickier they become. The bigger they become, the louder they become. Meditation taught me how to pause, see or hear my thoughts and to let them pass like the clouds in the sky. This isn't new age fluff. There's solid science backing this up.
Speaker 1:Studies show that mindfulness meditation can improve focus, reduce stress and even enhance decision-making skills. But why should we lawyers, attorneys, law students, legal professionals care about this? Imagine being able to pore over your files with greater focus or being able to navigate client meetings or meetings with partners and those you report to with greater calm. Mindfulness can help with that. It can sharpen our attention to detail, improve our interactions with clients and colleagues and help us maintain more consistency in our thoughts, in our reactions and our ability to do our work. And again, we need to keep an eye on burnout, an all-too-common issue in our profession. Mindfulness is an effective tool in combating burnout and it was for me, those thoughts about wanting to get in a car accident because if I was injured just enough I'd get a break. Meditation helped me see those thoughts for what they were a sign of burnout, a nudge to address the underlying stressors. Meditation helped me realize that those facts excuse me, those thoughts are not facts. They don't define me, they're not my identity.
Speaker 1:Again, some of you are skeptical. You're probably thinking well, that sounds great, but I don't have time for that. The good news is you don't have to spend hours or even many minutes meditating to reap the benefits. It can happen in a minute or two, and studies show that even just 10 minutes at a time over help bring the benefits of mindfulness meditation into your life. If you're willing to try, I'm going to walk you through a quick exercise right now. You can do it at your desk, in your car, walking, wherever you are.
Speaker 1:First, just take a deep breath In and out For the next 30 seconds or so. Just focus on your breath, feel the air moving in and out of your body. Your mind will wander. Just gently bring your attention back to your breath In and out. Counting can help One in two out three in four, out up to ten, and repeat, try it with me. One in two out In through your nose, out through your mouth or nose, as you're comfortable. Five Out six In seven, in eight Out eight, In nine out ten. We'll stop there. If you found your mind wandering as you tried to focus on your breath, you've experienced the essence of a mindfulness practice.
Speaker 1:Meditation doesn't stop your thoughts. It doesn't keep your mind from wandering. It helps you learn how to let your thoughts go by, gently coming back to the present moment or to your breath, and your breath is always with you. You can always pause, find your breath, count to 10, and move on or repeat the cycle over and over until you're ready to get back to it. It's not about having a perfectly clear mind. It's about noticing when your attention drifts and bringing it back. It's about noticing when your thoughts and feelings are getting the best of you and focusing and letting them pass. If you're interested in exploring this further, there's tons of resources out there. If you're interested in exploring this further, there's tons of resources out there.
Speaker 1:I really like my app, headspace, but Calm is a wildly popular one too. My suggestion is to experiment with videos and voice apps until you find someone whose voice doesn't annoy you, whose voice doesn't interrupt your ability to meditate. And again, I get it. We work in a high pressure and high stakes environment. Mindfulness can seem like a luxury. It once did to me, until I burned out, until I hit what felt like rock bottom and I was ready to quit the law altogether. So now, mindfulness and meditation isn't a luxury. It's a tool that I can't ignore, and with mindfulness, you can start so small, even just a minute or two to five minutes a day can make a difference. I encourage you to give it a shot for just a week and see how you feel. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Grace Period.
Speaker 1:I hope this discussion has provided some insights about mindfulness and meditation. Next week we'll talk about gratitude and journaling. I know I know more woo-woo, but it works, I promise, and it doesn't have to be cheesy or trite. Until then, remember you don't have to sacrifice your well-being for career success. Remember you don't have to sacrifice your well-being for career success by prioritizing self-care, setting boundaries and seeking support. You can survive and even thrive in the law and in big law. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. That is the path to our grace period. Disclaimer this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice of any kind, including legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by listening to this podcast.
