Blurred boundaries
LawCare’s Elizabeth Rimmer looks at how to maintain healthy boundaries between work and home life, avoiding stress and burn out
If you’re feeling completely overwhelmed, you’re not alone. At LawCare, the legal mental health charity, we’ve heard from many legal professionals over the past year or so who have been struggling whilst working at home and are finding it hard to switch off from work. The boundaries between the two have become increasingly blurred and many are working longer hours than ever before.
It is likely you might be experiencing significant stress at the moment. Our stress response is designed to be used in short bursts of up to 30 minutes, to escape a threat to survival. A boost of cortisol, adrenalin and noradrenalin gets our heart racing and blood pumping, enabling us to escape an animal chasing us, for example.
It is tempting when we are stressed to bury our heads in the sand and do even more work to try and assuage the feeling of panic
In modern life, a wild animal has been replaced by a difficult client, a deadline or an overflowing inbox, but our stress response is the same. Because these threats can often be ongoing, combined with the stresses presented by Covid-19, many are existing in a near-constant state of stress, which can lead to an increased risk of burn-out.
As a legal professional, your greatest asset is your brain and it is essential you look after and protect your wellbeing in order to do your best work and stay well. It is tempting when we are stressed to bury our heads in the sand and do even more work to try and assuage the feeling of panic.
In fact, we need to do the opposite – take a break, set in place healthy boundaries between work and life outside work, and teach ourselves how to switch off.
Here are some tips to help you regain some balance.
Managing healthy boundaries
- Have two phones and email addresses, one for work, one for private use. Never give a client your private details.
- Take regular breaks, including a lunch break, and try and get out for a walk every day. This may seem impossible but you will do better work if you do this.
- To avoid being overwhelmed, do one thing at a time and break complex tasks down into manageable chunks. Disable notifications so you can focus.
- Breathe – if you can feel yourself getting anxious, try taking ten deep breaths, inhaling for five seconds and exhaling for ten seconds. It can make you feel calmer.
- Work sensible hours – you are not doing your best work at 11pm at night. Working longer hours is often counter-productive.
On finishing work for the day
- Write a list of the must-dos for tomorrow each day and leave it where you will see it on return to your desk.
- Put your work phone and laptop in a drawer and lock it in the evenings and at weekends.
- Pause, reflect for a minute or so and mark the moment you are ending your working day and transitioning to life outside work.
- If you have an office at home, get a black-out blind, pull it down and shut the ‘office’ door when the day is over. If you have an area in a room to work in, consider a screen, curtains or something to cover the space. You want to literally block work out.
- Announce to yourself: ‘The office is now closed.’
- Have a shower/bath, put on some music, go for a walk – do something to mark the end of the working day and the start of your evening.
If you are still struggling, you might want to look at other options to help tackle your situation. It’s easy to let healthy habits slip when we are at stressed, but make sure that you eat well, get to bed at a reasonable time and find time to do some exercise. These are essential basic requirements of staying mentally healthy.
Consider taking some time off work. Most of us are exhausted from carrying the emotional load of the last year or so – we all need time to rest, relax, recuperate and reset, as well as something to look forward to.
It can help to talk to someone. Talking your problems through makes a real difference and provides reassurance you are not alone. You can contact the free, independent and confidential LawCare support service on 0800 279 6888, email support@lawcare.org.uk or visit www.lawcare.org.uk and/or make an appointment with your GP.
Elizabeth Rimmer is the chief executive of LawCare