You Need to Work from Home. Now What?
Ten tips for being productive while "social distancing"
During this pandemic known as Covid-19, most law firms across the U.S. have gone to working remotely, i.e., from home. At the very least, attorneys are not meeting with clients in person and are appearing telephonically for court. If you are one of the lucky few attorneys who has chosen or been asked to work from home, how can you be productive (& survive!)? Here are ten tips to help you do just that!
Establish a designated space: If you are fortunate enough to already have a home office with four walls and a door, great! If not, you need to claim a desk, table or other area that is exclusively dedicated to your work. If you have paper files, you need to protect them from non-employee eyes. If you are fully digital, make sure no one can access your client information online. If the area you must use normally functions as other space, quickly and simply clear it off. If you are like me, kids' artwork and medical records, holiday decorations, and books have found their way to your space. If possible, sort through those items now and get them to their proper homes. (This may include the shredding basket!) If you do not have time, simply pull a large box from the garage (you know, the Amazon pile waiting for recycling day!) and put everything into this box. Put it out of view!
No discounting: Just because we are in a new situation, do not discount your worth. Do not operate from a place of desperation. If a potential new client is not someone you would take on under normal circumstances, do not take him/her on now. If that client would be difficult to work with when fully staffed and going to court as usual, he/she is likely to be even more so under current conditions. DO send out invoices as usual. It is not your problem to figure out how a client will pay them. Your bills won't go away.
Boundaries: You need to establish boundaries with whomever else is in your home right now. This might include children, your spouse, or elderly family members. I recommend having a family meeting where the adults explain that things are different now and everyone needs to adjust and work together. If you have kids, come up with a system for sharing child supervision with your spouse. Most employers (incl. non-law firms) have banned all air and road travel so spouses are home more. Corporations are also being flexible with meeting times and methods. Tell your spouse the best/most crucial hours for you to work and see if s/he can accommodate. Create simple signs to place on the door or wall near your office/work space that tell family members whether you can be interrupted or not. My favorite method for kids is a happy face or sad face sign. The happy face means it is okay to knock; the sad face sign means it is not. If you put out the sad face, set a bowl of candy near it. The idea is for the child (or spouse?!) to take the candy and go away! If you are caring for an elderly relative, make sure s/he can contact you as needed. When I was growing up, our method was for the ill family member to ring a little metal bell. It sure beat yelling back and forth from different rooms. Nowadays, many homes have intercoms or Amazon Echos. Even calling from a cell phone inside the house works. You could also check on this family member immediately before starting work and then at a designated time partway through.
Children: For children, plan on them having more screen time than ideal, but don't beat yourself up about it. Whatever will keep them (safely) occupied for now is necessary. In my family, we stocked up on new books, craft supplies, and even bought my daughter an acoustic guitar. Even though you may not want to go out to stores right now, you can still order from Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and the like. Most school aged kids will have digital learning to do each day which occupies them for a few hours. Ask your children to skip the parts they need help with until you are available.
Routines & rituals: It is important to keep up with existing routines like drinking your favorite coffee or tea each day. I also recommend showering like you are going into the office. There's no need to dress up unless you have video conferences to attend. (My favorite image of this is a man wearing a dress shirt on top, but pajama bottoms down below!) But, it is also important to come up with NEW rituals that reflect and support the "new normal" you are likely to have for the next 4-6 weeks. For example, when you go to your desk or office for the day, do something symbolic to signal to yourself (and others) that you need to work and be productive. I have a coaching client who sends her children off on the school bus each day (normally) and then prepares her favorite tea. Personally, I light a favorite Yankee Candle when I get into my office. The light and scent tells my brain it is time to work. It also can lift my mood on rainy days. What works for you may differ, of course. But take some time to find out what that is and do it.
Exercise and sunlight: In this time of social distancing, most gyms have closed and people are observing the "six feet away (from non-family members) rule." But that does not mean you cannot get exercise, fresh air, and sunshine. Take a walk or run in your neighborhood or on the local path. Studies show that simply being outside for 10 minutes drops cortisol levels by 50%. Be sure to bring your children and/or dogs with you when you get outside. Most kids are used to way more exercise than they have been getting since schools closed. If the weather is not cooperating with you getting outside, be creative! We have an indoor trampoline my kids use. They can also run up and down the stairs or throw on some fun music and have a dance party. My son will be doing soccer drills in our garage later today.
Stay connected: We humans are social beings. Evidence the many folks crowding Florida beaches and Bourbon Street bars this week! However, when we need to stay in our homes, with our families, we cannot connect with friends and colleagues like normal. Again, get creative here and reach out in other ways. A friend of mine found a way to "watch" a certain TV show with hundreds of other people at the same time. Another friend invited me to a virtual "happy hour" occurring on Facebook at the same time for thousands of people. We are planning to FaceTime my kids' cousins and other friends so they can feel connected. Text or call people you would normally see in person.
Consider meditation, breathing exercises, or yoga: In this unprecedented time, our anxiety may increase. This is an unfamiliar situation for all of us, our spouses, our kids, and our friends and family. In order to cope, you may need to try something completely new. For meditation, I recommend Calm or Headspace. These are both apps you can load on your phone. They include breathing exercises. YouTube has tons of free yoga videos. Just basic stretching and breathing does wonders.
Give yourself a break: Because this is uncharted territory for all of us, please do give yourself and those around you a break. By this, I mean, relax your expectations for yourself. If you are not as productive as normal, that's OK. Seek extensions from opposing counsel if necessary. Stay flexible on when, exactly, you get work done. If you normally only work from 9-5 each day, experiment with working earlier or later. Breathe deeply before addressing your spouse or children if you feel frustrated. Watch or read something humorous many times throughout the day. Laughter is a great (& free!) way to relieve stress.
Look for the silver lining: I believe every situation has a silver lining. Find the ones that apply in your situation. I recommend writing these down in a gratitude journal or other place you access each day. Flipping the script in our own minds is a way to change our attitude toward a situation over which we have very little control. I am personally grateful for a more relaxed schedule for my children. They do not have to get up and out the door at a certain time each day. I am thankful to spend time with my family and for the opportunities to get creative with each other. Last night, for example, we had our own St. Patrick's Day celebration at home. We wore silly green clothes and hats and took pictures with our dog. Next year, we should be able to get out to our favorite Irish pub again with friends!
I hope these tips have been helpful. Now is an excellent time to hire a practice management coach. Call or text me at (904) 994-2481 if you would like to talk. Let's get through this season of life together and get you ready to hit the ground running when things get back to normal!
