Remote legal work: Part 5 - downtime

When I started working from home I found I could easily spend the whole day seated at the computer (punctuated by staring hopelessly into the fridge). Without clear time barriers, work easily crept into early morning and evenings. By the end of the week I felt like I'd done nothing except work and sleep.

Scheduling some activities to break up the week really helped. Even when you can't get out, its important to schedule the end of the work day and put away the devices and the never ending news cycle. And if you want to thrive, make yourself do something that requires more than sitting on the couch.

“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).

Make something. Create something. Bake something.

Make art

Lots of artists are generously sharing how they create on Youtube. Erin Hill is adamant that anyone can sketch and has shared her simple system for creating simple watercolour sketches at home. She sells a kit of everything you need to produce a watercolour sketch online.

Maggi McDonald posts lots of videos demonstrating how to create colourful abstract art - follow her on instagram for step by step instructions.

Learn something

The silver lining of the global lockdown is some great information being offered online. Look out for software vendors offering free access to their programs. I've signed up for Australian legaltech company Josef's online Designer & Builder program. And the shift to online events offers us the chance to see global leaders present. I'm looking forward to hearing Richard Susskind and Mark Cohen debate the future of the legal industry.

Check out the free online courses from top global universities available through massive open online course platforms like EdX. Yale University has made its popular course "The Science of Wellbeing" available for free on Coursera. It covers misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change.

If you want some help to learn better ways to cope with anxiety in uncertain times one of the most useful things I have ever done is an 8 week mindfulness based stress relief course developed by Emeritus Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Daily practice of meditation made an enormous difference to my ability to cope with stressful situations. You can do the course online. If an 8 week course isn't possible you can try Ruby Wax's version "Mindfulness: a guide for the frazzled" which features a six week course designed to be fitted into busy l

Read something

Your local library will have a range of ebooks available through platforms like Libby and Borrowbox. They also offer access to magazines and streaming services through Kanopy and others. In stressful times I like a comforting tale from a favourite author, like Nevil Shute, Patrick O'Brien and D.E. Stevenson.

Try to read something that isn't scrolling through news updates. Having a book on my phone (using the Libby app) helps me to snatch some reading when I have a few spare minutes. I also find it helpful to set daily time limits using Screentime on my iPhone to prompt me when I've spent too long on Facebook.

Need some help?

I'm sharing some ideas on some easily accessible and low cost tools you can use to work remotely, based on what I've learned working as a remote litigation lawyer. If you are new to working from home let me know what you are finding a challenge and I will see if I can help.

If you are looking for more information about low cost ways you can improve how you work, I put lots more ideas in my ebook 5 ways to future proof your law firm which you can download at www.mclaylegal.com.