Gosh it’s been a little nuts hasn’t it.  I spoke about the relentless nature of this year in Ep 3: of the Life Law & Leadership podcast Joy. I released a “mini pod” while having some time out at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival in September.  In that podcast I talked about the response to Ep 2 (Burnout) and the relentless nature of this year and in that context how important it is, especially when you are in the midst of that, to find things that bring us joy.

Things have rolled from one thing to the next and really have been rolling since about July (and before that, but that’s my recent memory).  The Family Court upped the trial listings in an effort to clear out what are called “Legacy Matters” (matters which commenced before 1 September 2021), client work was consistent, expectations of others and myself were pretty high.  As I round out 2022 I’ll reflect on the cool things I’ve done, conferences I’ve been to, things I’ve learned and things in the pipeline from those learnings.

For now though, I want to tell you about this:

Next year I’m taking 3 days off

Now context is everything and I promise I’ll take my quota of annual leave and rest but this is some specific leave for a specific purpose.

Have you heard of the Retreat, run by Happy Lawyer Happy Life Clarissa Rayward and her fabulous team?  The Retreat is an awesome 2 day event bringing together #lawland people to exchange insights into the latest developments and solutions for running law firms in the most sustainable way – from tech to staff wellness and everywhere in between.

So what’s that mean – it is not your usual #lawland conference.  No practice area updates, no cases to note down and hope one day you become a lawyer that has time to read more cases.  This is better.  If you are a lawyer who runs a law practice or a lawyer looking for a different way to do law then this is your conference.

This was my second Retreat.  Last year I attended as a sponsor, this year as a speaker. We covered topics about what it means to be successful, getting a plan in motion, culture, how to hire strategically (and not desperately!), new law, tech, understanding key metrics, and so so much more. I spoke about a topic close to my heart – leadership in law and shared the Acumen ethos and 7 key lessons for law practice leaders.

There was learning, collaborating, conversations, fun, earrings (yes earrings), and the brain ticked away with ideas buzzing.On the Saturday afternoon I headed off home from Kingscliff to the Sunshine Coast and straight into a 5 day trial. On the Monday night I sat down at dinner at my hotel in Brisbane and tried to write some thoughts about my learnings and my to dos but my brain was full.  The more I thought about the Retreat the more I thought about what needs to happen differently next year and then I decided – next year I’m taking 3 days off.

Why 3?

Day 1: rest, reset, reflect.  You don’t realise how much you use your brain at conferences like these.  Your brain buzzes with learning and connection for 2 days then you drive home, organise your house for the week and then go back to work.  The moment can be lost.  Scheduling time to rest, reset and reflect is the first step.  Write some notes, think, sleep, rest.  Think about what resonated for you.  Make a note of key learnings. That’s the best day 1.

Day 2: plan.  Often you can head off to business conferences, make all the notes, think about how you can do those things in your business, come away with a really long “should do that” list and not do one thing.  Pick up your reflection notes.  Think about what you could actually implement from what you have learned.  You don’t have to do it all – some of it might not be relevant for you.  Take up those points which you could implement, improvements you could make, and make a plan.

Day 3: do.  Actually do some things.  If it is marketing – do some writing, plan, create, schedule some socials. If it’s a new hire – write out the job description, think about the new hire, write the job advert. If it’s tech – write out the plan of what you want to achieve, schedule a meeting with your IT person, if you need an IT consultant – get in touch with them, make the meeting.  If it’s those policies you’ve been putting of – get started – pick up one and start writing, or google – someone has probably written one before you.

Three days might not be possible for you and that’s okay but try to take at least 1 day. Split your day into these three sessions and end the day with some learnings actioned.

So today’s lesson: When book into an important learning conference, something you are really interested in, book in an extra day (or days) of leave immediately after the event.  Take the time out to:

·       Rest, reset, reflect

·       Plan

·       Do

If we don’t do that and we just roll into the next thing the learnings can be lost, and then weeks past or you open your notebook months later and recall the conference and the notes you made and think “really must do that”. Your best chance of learning, retaining and actioning is taking that time.

Stay curious, keep learning

Elizabeth