Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program- OLAP

Paint this picture in your mind. You have just returned to your office from a consuming, tiring meeting or an intense court hearing or worse, a day of waiting at court to get something simple done that has taken many unproductive hours. You are running a bit late. From the end of your previous commitment all along the way back to your business, your mind has been processing the things you need to get done – the telephone calls to return, the instructions on the file(s) in your briefcase to your assistant, the papers you left for later front and centre on your desk.

You walk in expecting to get right at the things you planned on when it happens. Everything goes out the window. Your assistant has been waiting for you and is so glad you are back. There are emergency phone calls to make to clients about things related perhaps or perhaps not to their file. Some documents have arrived by hand or on your email that require immediate attention. You have clients waiting in the waiting room who need “just a few minutes” of your time. In an hour, you are chairing a board meeting of the charitable not-for-profit board you sit on.

AAAGGGHHH!

What do you do?

First of all, you feel overwhelmed. Your breath becomes shallow. You are puffing. Your blood circulation slows so you may feel a bit chilled or flushed as the warmth flows out of your body. Blood rushes to your vital organs in response to the flight or fight syndrome as adrenaline pumps in your body. Your mind races trying to process and prioritize all the stimuli that are hitting you at the same time. You may feel a bit lightheaded and irritable. It feels like there is too much all at once. And you are right!

So, what do you do? Most of us just put our heads down, bark orders to our assistants, make the clients wait because they did not have an appointment anyway and madly try to placate whomever is, at that moment, yelling the loudest and getting our attention.

We have some tips to give you a fighting chance to get out of this kind of situation without a headache or heartburn or pique of anger.

1. Shut your office door and sit down - Stop the input that is already overwhelming. It is time to take care of yourself first so that you can address all the emergencies that have landed on your plate at the same time.

2. Close your eyes and take three (3) deep breaths – You are breathing in short puffs cutting down the supply of oxygen going to your brain at the exact moment when you require that organ to work at its peak efficiency. Your shoulders have tightened up and your forehead is creased into a frown. You are spring-like tense.

Take three deep breaths by inhaling for three (3) seconds through your nose and five seconds to expel the air through an “O” that you make with your lips. Feel your shoulders rise and then fall into a more relaxed position. Some of the tension you are carrying will just breathe itself away. Oxygen will be flowing to your brain calming your racing mind. Closing your eyes has removed you from the tactile stimuli – the papers, computer screen and pink telephone slips. You may have lowered the volume level on the sounds assailing you. You will actually step out of the stress for a few seconds. And that half-minute of breathing and detaching will set you up for dealing with the situation – unless you choose to flee (as in flight) rather than fight (as in dealing with the reality of what is happening right now).

3. Drink eight (8) ounces of water right away – Your body and mind need to be refreshed and hydrated because stress drains water from your system. When you take a drink, you will actually feel the coolness spread down your throat and into your chest and stomach. Your extremities will feel better. Your body is getting ready for the challenge.

4. Stretch your neck, arms, back and legs – Get the blood flowing. Release some of the tension knotted in your body and loosen up.

5. Sit at your desk and place your feet flat on the floor – This is called “grounding”. You are putting yourself in a balanced and safe position to maximize blood flow and psychologically focus on what is before you. Crossing your legs restricts blood flow to your legs. If you do that long enough, you will cut off enough blood so that your leg goes to sleep. Then, you will be squeezing your toes and tapping your foot on the floor to get rid of the pins and needles which distracts your attention from the tasks at hand.

6. Prioritize and time manage – You will have read or heard numerous presentations on time management especially in crisis or stressful situations. Here is our take on how to manage this set of circumstances :

Prioritize what must be done first. Assess all the claims on your time and attention before you decide which order to deal with them. In other words, know the parameters of the box you are in.

In our opinion, deal with the clients first. As the clients have arrived without an appointment, you are time starved and you have other pressing things, arrange that they will come back at an appointed time and agree to call them later that evening just to touch base. Even though this breaches time boundaries for out-of-office time, investing five to ten minutes giving these clients individual attention will confirm their opinion that you are one lawyer in a million.

Also, with only an hour before your meeting, being under stress with your mind occupied with a thousand other things and not having had time to eat, consider getting someone else to chair the meeting in your place. Showing up late, tired and hungry will not help you give your best. You are also your own worst critic so you will feel that it may not go well even though others may not expect your higher standards of perfection.

Delegate – Whatever your assistant or another lawyer, associate or junior can deal with, assign it whether it be rearranging appointments or dealing with whatever is assignable. Actually stop or slow down enough to get your assistant’s read on what is the highest priority item. Bounce your immediate “schedule” off someone who knows your business, your abilities and your pressures better than anyone else. This is not being assessed as to your capabilities. It is getting an honest appraisal of what you can do in the time you have available from someone who knows you.

Focus on what you need to focus on – If you decide that a phone call is the first thing you must do, give all your attention to that call. Talking on the phone while shuffling papers, looking at your computer screen or reading other notes makes the phone call longer and means that you may miss something important or sound “distant” to whomever you are talking to. Sounding busy or otherwise occupied and giving one word or “um” or “uh huh” answers does not engender a great deal of confidence in the other person that the conversation is prodective. As the song goes – “Love the One You’re With”.

Set a schedule as to when the rest of the emergencies will be handled – tomorrow sometime, in a few days, whatever. Have a plan that you put in your day book or tickler system to remind yourself when appropriate. Stress can make us forgetful compounding an already stressful situation if we forget to handle that emergency in a timely manner.

7. Accept your limits – you will only have so much time and energy to deal with the calls on your time and mind power. Know when you are counter-productive and making more work for yourself by soldiering on. Finishing things for the sake of finishing them may appeal to your sense of accomplishment or perfection but may be deficient in terms of quality and client satisfaction.

8. Turn the computer off, shut of your cel phone and leave your palm pilot on autofly. Take some time for yourself to refresh, rest and nourish your body, mind and soul. Being consumed with your work does actually consume your essence. Take the time to nurture what you need to function ion all aspects of your life as a whole person. If you believe that life is a rat race, remember that, even if you take a break from the race, you are still a rat. However, if life is an adventure, even the stresses and challenges are experiences worth having.

9. Evaluate your life priorities, your work habits, your needs financially and emotionally and make life decisions. You do not do this in an afternoon or over one night. Talk to a confidant or a trusted friend who will listen to you without judgment, not tell you what to do and who will support you in your decisions. Don’t rush the process. Constantly evaluate, assess, reassess and experiment. There are no right answers – just different ones for every question.

10. Finally, embrace who you are. Know yourself, love yourself and experience life in all its goodness and challenges. Everything that happens to you or that you make happen is a lesson.

A final parting thought and prayer – May your arms be long enough to wrap around your problems and embrace them while at the same time being able to spread wide

OLAP understands lawyers. OLAP reaches out to lawyers.
5025 Orbitor Drive, Building 2, Suite 220, Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 4Y5 Toll Free: 1-877-576-6227 GTA: 905-238-1740 Fax: 905-238-2732

Legal Profession Assistance Conference (LPAC) |Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) | Lawyers Assistance Program of British Columbia (BCLAP) | Nova Scotia Lawyers Assistance Program (NSLAP) | Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) | The Lawyers Assistance Program (LINK) | The Alberta Lawyers Assistance Program | Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (Saskatchewan) | The Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO) | Law Practice Consulting