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When you settle into an aircraft seat, the safety briefing reminds you to fit your own oxygen mask first in the event of an emergency before helping others. The same principle applies throughout your career as a law professional and indeed your life generally. Care for yourself first, so you can better care for your clients, colleagues, family and friends.

As legendary actress Audrey Hepburn put it: “Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” There is no single ‘right’ way to do self-care. Find an approach that works for you. Here are five self-care practices for you to consider.

  1. ‘The Making of a Corporate Athlete’ – the authors of this classic Harvard Business Review article, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, originally coached world-class athletes to help them achieve their ‘ideal performance state’. Then they realised that the principles they employed with athletes were just as applicable in the business world. Their key insight is the need for ‘rituals’ to help you oscillate between periods of stress and high workload, and recovery time. A ritual is a meaningful habit, done deliberately to achieve a certain outcome, such as vigorous exercise, meditation, mindfulness and spending time in nature.
  1. Self-compassion – as renowned global expert Dr Kristin Neff says, without self-compassion, when things aren’t going well, we may say things to ourselves we would never say to someone we cared about. With self-compassion we reverse this pattern and start treating ourselves as we treat our good friends. This is the baseline practice for self-compassion. We include ourselves in the circle of people we care about and to whom we offer kindness, care and concern. We offer encouragement, understanding, empathy, patience and gentleness to ourselves. Yes even, or especially, if you are a tax lawyer who is having a really bad day with an obnoxious client who thinks your charge-out rate is too high.
  2. Resilience – resilience is highly prized, especially by employers, because the more resilient someone is, the lower the perceived risk of burnout. Even better, research has found that people with higher levels of mental resilience can live as much as ten years longer than those not so blessed. A recent survey in the UK found that the biggest single drain on the resilience of both women and men is not work–life balance, as the researchers had expected, but the challenge of managing difficult relationships and workplace politics. Ask yourself these questions. How do I ensure that I do not detract from, and ideally enhance, the resilience of my colleagues? How can I help my team leader to strengthen resilience at a team level?
  3. Sleep – good sleep patterns seem to be eluding many people in the 21st century, not least busy law professionals. At the same time, there has been an explosion in sleep-related research, much of which is both depressing and inspiring at the same time. Nine in ten people do not enjoy a good night’s sleep, while suboptimal sleep is associated with a higher likelihood of heart disease and stroke. At the same time, research estimates that seven cardiovascular conditions could be prevented by improved sleep. Inadequate sleep negatively impacts alertness and attention and is the largest preventable cause of motor vehicle accidents. Sleep experts typically say that adults need a minimum of seven hours’ sleep every night and that people, such as M&A lawyers, who say they can get by on less are kidding themselves.
  4. Breathing – yes, we all breathe all the time, from the moment we are born until the moment we die. Many people don’t give a lot of thought to how they breathe and whether some methods are better than others. Even the idea of there being different methods of breathing may seem odd. But anyone with any training in meditation, mindfulness and/or yoga will know just how important breathing is to achieving a desired state of mind. Eastern religions, philosophies and medical practice have emphasised the importance of correct breathing for thousands of years, and Western science and culture have been slow to catch up. Slow, deep, diaphragmatic breathing has many evidenced-based health benefits including: lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, increased energy levels, decreased muscle tension and pain, improved sleep, and a more focused mind. What’s not to like?

Regardless of how busy you are, at the end of the day, self-care is really up to you. Every law professional has the right to look after themselves, and indeed a duty to do so. Only by looking after yourself will you be optimally placed to serve your clients, family and the wider community.

Tony Frost, author of The Professional: A Playbook to Unleash Your Potential and Futureproof Your Success is a highly sought-after speaker, executive coach, trainer and author who helps individuals and teams thrive in the age of complexity and artificial intelligence. For more information visit www.frostleadership.com.au.