THE ONTARIO LAWYERS’ ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Tips for Wellness and Balance for the Sole Practitioner

The life of a sole practitioner is lonely at times. When we are overwhelmed with a high volume of work, we have no one to turn to, to share the load. When work is slow, we alone determine marketing plans and try to get our names “out there”. When we are going to court, we have no one to discuss strategy with. After court, we could use someone to debrief with to learn from what we did right and try to avoid what we did wrong. Family pressures, both good and bad, affect our practice; happiness and pride seem shallow when we have no one of note to share with. Likewise, sharing troubles or sorrows make them seem more manageable.

Here are five tips for sole practitioners to have a modicum of wellness and balance in their lives:

• Look for support - Find a colleague and close friend to share your successes and failures with; someone who will give you a friendly, non-judgmental ear; someone who will be there to bounce things off; someone you can reciprocate with; someone who is a friend. When we feel like we are over our heads or that we just need to get a quick opinion, have someone who will welcome our voice with kindness and wisdom.
  
•  Look within – Know what your values are. Know who you are, what you believe and how you intend to live those beliefs. Write it down. Congratulations! You have a mission statement. Put it in your waiting room and on the wall in your office. It helps you to keep focused on your ideals every day and impresses your clients that you are such a principled person.
  
• Time Manage – The Franklin-Covey Time Management System talks about prioritizing what matters most first. If your priorities are family, friends, charity work, or spirituality, mark them in your calendar first and fit the rest of your obligations around them. If you do not do this, you will find that work dominates your priorities and that those other things become fill-ins to non-work time.
  
• Get Free Help – There is a wonderful resource through the PracticePRO section of LawPRO. It is called The Coaching Clinic – “Getting Stress Hardy”. There are over 150 free modules from time management to wellness and balance in 15 minute to half-hour workshops. You can use them at your own pace and for the topics you want to study. The website is www.lawPRO.ca under the PracticePRO area.
  
• Call For Help – The Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program has over 100 peer support volunteers who donate their time to assist other members of the legal profession to deal with issues of stress, burnout, addictions and mental wellness challenges. By offering ongoing support, a caller can feel that they are not alone with an issue that they need to talk to someone about. To contact the Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program, please call the Program Manager, Leota Embleton, at 1-877-576-6227. To contact the Volunteer Executive Director, John Starzynski, please call 1-877-584-6227.

Being a sole practitioner can be tough. But the legal profession is also a kind and nurturing community that offers much help to all who need or ask for assistance.

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