Tag: wellness

Categories : WellnessTags :

Mindful Minute: How My Day Planner Became a Journal of the Unplanned

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By Heidi Weaver

I’ve understood my whole life that there are many wellness benefits to writing in a journal. Self-reflection, stress relief, and recording good ideas are a few that come to mind. I realized these benefits in my teen and early adult years, when I regularly poured my deepest (and not so deep) thoughts out in page after page of my diary. But as my obligations increased over the years with working full time and a busy family life, I started to see journaling every evening as yet another pressure-filled, time-consuming chore rather than a healing opportunity, and abandoned the practice. Read More

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Dealing with the Grind

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By Kevin Hambly

So you studied diligently for the bar, passed, and now you are a new lawyer.  Now, you find yourself experiencing more anxiety and stress in the practice of law.  From a fellow new lawyer to another, here are a few of tips for managing stress.  While these tips are not exhaustive (as simple things like adequate sleep, eating, and proper exercise can also help), hopefully these tips will give you some insight on how at least one lawyer, me, manages stress. Read More

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Burnout: A Necessary Part of Lawyers’ Lives?

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By Randall Christison

Talking to a lawyer-friend recently, one in practice for many years, I asked how he was.  “Working harder; enjoying it less.”  Far from flippant, he was deadly serious.  Everything in his voice and body language suggested he was at the end of his rope.  I asked what he does after he leaves his office each day: “home to my networked computer.”  In essence he’s in the office many hours and telecommutes the rest.  I asked about his résumé, down at the bottom, where we put hobbies and personal information, what did he have there?  With a mirthless laugh he responded, “You mean those things I haven’t done in decades?  That was a different lifetime.”  Maybe more accurately, that “was when I had a life, before the law sucked it out of me.” Read More

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The Crisis of Purpose in the Legal Profession

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By Marta Manus

Purposeful engagement is directly linked to a person’s overall well-being and quality of life. At the Yale School of Management, every MBA student takes a class on purpose at work. Unfortunately, my law school didn’t offer such a class. In fact, law school was primarily focused on creating individuals who “think like lawyers.” How do lawyers think? What are lawyers taught about the legal profession in law school and how is it serving lawyers, the profession, and the world at large? Read More

Categories : Law Practice ManagementTags :

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” (aka Why Finding a Hobby is Good For Your Health)

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By Jeffrey Chinn

At Comic Con 2018, I sat through a panel titled “Judges on the Law of the Last Jedi and Solo” including with Judge John B. Owens of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman, and (San Diego’s own) Magistrate Judge Mitch Dembin. Each showed pictures of their chambers with displays of Star Wars-related memorabilia.1 It was refreshing for each judge to show their fandom of Star Wars. I thought that this makes sense as every lawyer needs some activity to take their mind off of the everyday briefs, motions, research, etc.

I. Finding a hobby (or I want to be like Stu Rees)

What form can these activities take? At one end is Stu Rees, San Diego attorney/cartoonist, who got his start while talking to a client. “One day I was one the phone with a very well-known syndicated newspaper client who had an idea for a new creation. I advised him that he had a stranglehold on his very specialized and lucrative topical niche, so he should leverage his millions of readers by creating something using his existing beloved work. He was undeterred (and ultimately failed on that new, unrelated project). I, however, was inspired to take my own advice. I decided that law cartoons by a lawyer FOR lawyers (rather than non-lawyers attacking lawyers) was a good market niche. I taught myself to draw and incorporated elements from successful cartoons into my drawing style — big eyes are not an accident! I was also funnier after being in the industry for many years.” Today, “Stu’s Views” has had over 2,200 of its cartoons published nationwide.2

Rees also told me why he believes younger attorneys need creative outlets. “Younger attorneys need something outside of their job to provide a mental break. Drawing is a nice choice because it uses the right side of the brain, so is a full transition from lawyerly left-side thinking. But any hobby or interest will do. Or an active sport — I like running on my treadmill while watching stupid sci-fi.”

Many publications reflect Rees’ thoughts. Psychology Today has cited several benefits to finding a hobby. The benefits included improved time management, making new social connections, coping with stress, making yourself more interesting, maintaining active and not passive (TV/web surfing) leisure time.3

So how to do you choose what to do? It’s important for attorneys to relax, and many do via yoga, mindfulness, physical fitness, and other activities. But while those are fine pursuits, there are other activities and creative escapes available as well.

II. Crossword puzzles/Trivia Nights

The USA Today online puzzles are fairly easy and can take only 20 minutes out of your day.4The New York Times and Los Angeles Times tend to be more difficult. Plenty of researchers have discovered the positive effects that crossword puzzles can have on one’s brain if played regularly (this can be weekly if you want).5 A connected activity is participating in trivia nights. Usually lasting two hours, this is an enjoyable and competitive evening of socializing and testing your knowledge. Check out sunsettrivia.com for locations and form your own team!

III. Being the next John Grisham    

Like rappers want to be NBA players, lawyers want to be authors. Of course, everyone dreams of becoming the next John Grisham. And many attorneys have done so.6 A good start is entering local short story contests such as the one sponsored by the San Diego Public Library.7 And the topic does not have to be law-related either. Whether you enter a contest or submit a manuscript to a publisher, the idea is to exercise those creative juices. For the bold ones, try writing a TV show (current or past) or movie script. There are also community college classes on book and scriptwriting as well.

IV. Beer/Wine

Become expert on a certain type of wine or beer (in moderation, of course). For example, learn what makes a quality Cabernet Sauvignon and only drink that type each time you go out. Ask the waiter or bartender what is the newest or best Cabernet Sauvignon they have. The same goes for beer tasting. Instead of simply trying every sample at a beer festival, be discriminating, only try certain styles (e.g., Belgian style) and keep track of what you like with the phone app Untapped. Start to pay attention to which breweries and wineries you like.8

V. Nerd Alert!

Be nerdy and proud of it. Is there a TV show or movie from your childhood that you can start collecting? There is a growing fandom of the 80s TV show Golden Girls. If you are a fan … embrace it, buy your own Golden Girls action figure or skateboard deck and display it prominently. 9 I have a line of Star Wars Pop figures across my desk spanning all the movies (no Jar Jar Binks … ).

VI. Take an annual trip.

Think of taking and planning an annual trip. This can be to a specific gathering (e.g., Comic Con) or planned together with friends. I know a group of attorneys that plan a college football road trip every year. Maybe there is an annual convention devoted to your interest. Another attorney I know plans her schedule around the band Phish and their annual festival. There is less planning involved with repeat visits. Go. Every year.

VII.  Final thoughts

Everyone needs a hobby at least to take your mind off of work a few hours a week and keep your brain active. Set aside a consistent time every week to devote to your hobby. Make sure your hobby time is uninterrupted time (put that phone away!).  Most importantly, never wait until you “have time” — make the time. Your inner happiness will thank you later.

Jeffrey Chinn is the Director of Career Services at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of For the Record, the SDCBA’s publication for new lawyers.

1 http://thelegalgeeks.com/2018/07/27/sdcc-2018-after-action-report/
2 http://www.stus.com/about.htm
3 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-trails/201509/six-reasons-get-hobby
4 https://puzzles.usatoday.com/
5 https://teenkidsnews.com/tkn-news/careers/science-explains-why-crossword-puzzles-are-good-for-your-mental-health/
6 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/08/17/these-attorneys-practiced-law-by-day-and-wove-stories-of-seduction-by-night/?utm_term=.0403abef0d2f
https://www.online-paralegal-degree.org/posts/10-novelists-who-started-their-careers-as-lawyers/
7 https://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/short-story-contest
8 https://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/915-best-apps-for-wine-lovers.html;
https://untappd.com/
9 https://www.funko.com/blog/article/2018-sdcc-exclusive-reveals-funko-miscellaneous;
https://www.previewsworld.com/Article/216603-Seen-at-SDCC-NECAs-The-Golden-Girls-Action-Figures Read More

Categories : WellnessTags :

Why Wellness

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We asked a few SDCBA members how and why they make wellness a priority. Here’s what they said:

Susan Hack, Runner, Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP

My dad died of a massive heart attack two weeks after my 9th birthday. He was 44. I appreciated “bad heart genes” throughout my life but it never hit me until I was approaching my 44th birthday. Around that time, I decided that I needed to take more stock in my health, surely fueled by my dad’s premature death. And like any Type A, competitive person, I embraced fitness to the extreme and still do. I started running again and found “indoor cycling.”
Our profession is stressful enough. Whether your passion is swimming, running, surfing, spinning, walking, golfing, yoga, or meditating, just do it!

Jeffrey Chine, Triathlete, Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP

Exercise is a priority because it helps me maintain a balance given the stresses of daily law practice. I find it most important at those times when I’m busiest, when, ironically, it is hardest to find the time for a swim or jog or bike ride. It takes dedication to drop work for an hour or two — but I’m always glad I made the time.

Conor Hulburt, Surfer, SDCBA Wetsuits, The McClellan Law Firm

I am active to get out of my head and into my body.  When I’m hiking down the Ho Chi Minh trail or paddling for a wave, I’m not thinking about work, responsibilities, who I am, what I did yesterday or need to do tomorrow.  I’m focused on not slipping or falling off my board. Activity helps me refocus on the present, and the more I focus on the present, the more I feel part of something bigger and the more grateful I am to be alive.
There is a great quote by Aristotle: “Happiness is a state
of activity.”

Pauline Villanueva, Yoga Instructor, Solo Practitioner

“You’re a lawyer? But you seem so mellow and not stressed!” These words from one of my yoga instructors have always stuck with me. I take an odd pride in knowing I don’t fit into the attorney stereotype, despite working as a solo practitioner in criminal defense. Much of this stems from practicing and teaching yoga. Yoga has taught me not only to feel good in my body, but to find a certain peace of mind. Thanks to yoga, I’ve learned to breathe and stay calm throughout difficult situations. It is the perfect complement to an often demanding law practice.

Joshua Bonnici, Bicyclist, Bonnici Law Group, APC

All day I deal with questions, malfunctioning printers and phone calls. My mind is constantly bouncing between managing my office, my employees, settling cases and marketing for new ones.
So in order to clear my head, I ride my bike. A lot. I’ve ridden my bike(s) just over 1,700 miles this year (including 40 miles this morning before coming into the office). On the bike, I’m able to clear my head, and just think about the upcoming hill, my pedal cadence, or when to eat my protein bar. I’m able to quiet my mind and channel all my power to my legs churning mile after mile. That way, when I get off the bike, my mind is refreshed, my body is flushed, and I’m ready to hit the office once again.

This article was originally published in the 

July/August 2017 issue of  Read More

Categories : WellnessTags :

Intermittent Fasting: The basics of intermittent fasting and how busy lawyers can make it work

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By Hali Anderson

A wise woman once told me the secret to weight loss: Move more, eat less. Four words. Simple, right?

For me, the “moving more” is the easy part. I get up early at least three times per week to hit a 5 a.m. gym class. I get in my exercise and I’m able to make it home in time to help my kids get ready for the day. I also walk my dogs once per day. Move more — check.

Now, for the eating less part … . If you are anything like me, the thought of counting calories after you have spent your whole day counting billable hours is somewhat daunting. Once I am at the office, the last thing I want to do is stress about how many calories are in the chicken Caesar wrap I just ordered or, worse yet, worrying about how little my dinner will have to be in light of said wrap. For me, counting calories is time-consuming and demoralizing. Unless you are always doing your own meal preparation or you are ordering foods with no seasoning, you never know exactly what ingredients or how many calories you are consuming. But, considering that weight loss is said to be “80 percent diet, 20 percent exercise,” does that mean all hope is lost? Is there any way to ensure I am eating less such that it can result in weight loss without having to resort to the dreaded calorie counting?

Fear not. Intermittent fasting is here. Now, I’m sure some of you are already skeptical because of the word “fasting.” “I cannot starve myself,” you are thinking. But, here is the great news — intermittent fasting is much easier than you think. So, what is it?

I like to think of intermittent fasting as an “eating pattern,” not an “eating plan.” It does not say anything about which foods you should eat, but rather when you should eat them. The most popular eating pattern is called the 16:8, which means you fast for 16 hours of your day and eat during the other eight hours. “Sixteen hours without eating?!,” you gasp! Yes, but for many of those hours, you will be sleeping. So, let’s take a typical eating pattern of someone who is doing the 16:8 schedule. Many people opt for an eating window of noon to 8 p.m., which basically means you are skipping breakfast. You eat your regular lunch as well as your dinner. After 8 p.m., you stick to liquids. As a general rule of thumb, if you drink something with less than 50 calories, then your body will remain in the fasted state. So, your coffee with a splash of milk or cream is just fine. Tea should be no problem either. If you’re really hungry, try some vegetable or chicken broth.

The next question is whether you can eat whatever you want during your eight-hour window. And the answer to that is, no, not if you are trying to lose weight. You are still trying to eat less so if you end up eating more in your eight-hour window than you would otherwise eat, you’ll still end up in the same boat. The way I like to think of it is that you are really just shifting your daily food consumption into an eight-hour window, which now means you can spend less time fretting over the calorie intake of every little bite. Whereas before you may have had 600 calories by the time lunch hits, you are now at zero.

You can also choose a different time window that works for your schedule. For example, if you think you will get hungry earlier, you can eat from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Or, maybe you are a late eater or you know you have late dinner plans so you might want to eat from 2-10 p.m. Any eight-hour window works. But, aren’t you still counting calories? Perhaps. That is up to you. What you at least know is that you are taking in one meal less than you would typically consume so you are cutting out those calories, whatever that amount might be. Note, this is the key: eating less.

The 16:8 is just one eating pattern. There are also a few other popular methods:

  • The 5:2: Eat normally five days of the week, while restricting calories to 500-600 on two days of the week
  • Eat-Stop-Eat: Do a 24-hour fast, once or twice a week
  • Alternate-Day Fasting: Fast every other day
  • Spontaneous Meal Skipping: Skip meals when convenient

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    Categories : WellnessTags :

    A Daily Morning Routine Will Start Your Day Right

    On By sdcountybar

    By Monty McIntyre

    The Problem: 

    Lawyers know that the law is a “jealous mistress.” It demands lots of our time and attention and includes constant deadlines set by others. This can cause stress. The Internet and Social Media have made life even more stressful with constant input 24/7 and demands for an immediate response from our clients and others.

    Most people these days go to sleep with their phones next to their bed and are awakened throughout the night by texts, emails, etc. The first thing they do when they wake up is go to their phone to start reading and responding to their messages.

    There are two big problems with this approach. First, you let others determine how your day begins. Second, you let others and their agendas control and determine your agenda for the day.

    There is a better way. You just need to develop a daily morning routine where you determine how your day begins and you set your agenda for the day.

    My Morning Routine:

    There is no right or wrong way to set your morning routine. The key is to set it and stick to it. If you do you will be amazed by the benefits you get from it.

    To give you an example, here is my daily morning routine.

    The Night Before

    My morning routine starts the night before. Every night between 6 and 7 pm I take my phone into my home office and set it on my desk to recharge overnight. I don’t look at the phone for the rest of that night and until after I have finished my morning routine the following day.

    Wake Up, Go Outside, Look at the Sky and Give Thanks

    I’m an early riser and I wake up every day at 5 a.m. I get up, put on some clothes, and walk outside into the backyard. I look up to see what display the sky has for me that morning. Every morning is different and every morning is a masterpiece. Sometimes a clear sky with brilliant stars and the moon. Other mornings clouds with stars and the moon. Some mornings there will be low clouds covering the entire sky. The first thing I do is notice what the sky looks like.

    Next, I give thanks for the new day. I say “Good morning God, good morning moon, good morning stars, good morning earth. Thank you for the gift of this new day. Thank you for the blessing of this new day. Help me make the most of this new day.” You can give thanks anyway you want to. The words are less important than truly being thankful for the gift of the new day.

    Meditate

    I then go inside the house to a quiet place and meditate for 15 minutes. There are many benefits of meditation. I won’t discuss those here, but I will outline a process you can use. I close my eyes and focus my awareness on my breathing. When I first started meditating I counted my breath. There are many ways to do this. You can count every inhale breath, or every exhale breath, etc. You can count up to 10, and then back down to 1, and back up again. When you meditate thoughts will come into your brain. When they come just release them. If you are counting breaths and you lose count, go back to 1. Don’t worry about the thoughts entering your mind. This will happen. Just start over.

    Intentions

    After I meditate I quietly say my intentions for the day. The concept of intentions is that what you focus on you will tend to attract. It is similar to goal setting but somewhat different. Here is how I start my daily intentions: “I am intending, creating and enjoying a life full of all the good things that my heart truly desires: love, joy, happiness, peace, health, balance, wholeness….”

    Read a Digital Paper

    I read the digital copy of the New York Times each morning. The benefit of reading a digital paper is that I focus on what I want to read, not on what others want to tell me. This is another way to control the start of your day.

    Plan My Day

    I next create my agenda for the day. I create a list of a few key things that I need to accomplish this day. Further down on the list I include other items that I can work on after I complete my key tasks. I also include on the list the names of any people that I need to contact that day.

    Start to Work

    I only begin to work, including looking at emails, etc., after I have finished my morning routine.

    Your Morning Routine:

    There is no right or wrong way to create your own morning routine. You just need to set it and stick to it. I hope you develop and start your own morning routine today.You will enjoy a wonderful start to each day, and will regain control of your agenda instead of letting others control it.

    There is no better time to start than now!

    Do well and be well.™

    Monty McIntyre is an Arbitrator & Referee with ADR Services, Inc. Read More

    Categories : WellnessTags :

    Up and At ‘Em: Five Expert Tips to Getting Your Workout in Before 7 a.m.

    On By sdcountybar

    By Maria Disla

    Is pressing the snooze button on that early morning alarm part of your daily routine? Perhaps you just don’t consider yourself a morning person or you make up excuses that you don’t have enough time to sweat before heading into the office.

    According to studies conducted by Appalachian State University1, there are numerous benefits of getting to the gym earlier in the morning. From sleeping longer at night and higher levels of relaxation to lowering blood pressure, research shows that the best time to exercise is first thing in the morning.

    You may not be a natural-born morning person, but with a few simple tips it can be a smooth transition to make your early morning sweat a brand new habit.

    Think you might want to try working out before sunrise? Here are five tips to help you get in your workout and start your day on the right foot.

    1. Eat an early dinner

    Try to avoid eating within three hours of your anticipated bedtime. This will allow your body more time to digest food and avoid heart burn.

    2. Limit screen time

    Avoid watching TV, using your phone or playing on any other digital devices at least one hour before bedtime. Screen time at night keeps you from falling asleep and sleeping well. Your brain’s electrical activity increases, which keeps you from calming down into a peaceful state of mind for quality sleep.

    3. Set out tomorrow’s workout clothes

    Choosing your outfit the night before will help reduce stress and save you time in your morning routine. Waking up and seeing your workout outfit laid out will be a great motivator to get you up and on that bike.

    4. Stretch

    Instead of hitting the snooze button, take the extra 10 minutes to stretch. It’s a great way to energize your day and ease away any stress or tension from the previous day or a funky sleeping position.

    5. Remember the why

    The key to finding motivation and keeping it is to think about all that you accomplish in your morning workout. The feeling you get when you pushed past a hill or were able to get in one more rep. And just remember: No one ever finishes a workout and thinks, “I wish I’d hit snooze and skipped that workout!”

    Maria Disla is founder and CEO of Pure Indoor Cycling.

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