It is 8:14 pm.
You’ve been working since 8:00 am or before.
And the thing that needed your best thinking today is still sitting there.
That is one of the real obstacles barristers and lawyers face daily, and what was behind the "Stop Working Late Because Everything Feels Urgent" Workshop, held today.
Because a lot of barristers and senior lawyers are spending the day being interrupted, they try to do the important work at night or on weekends.
An "urgent" email.
A "quick" call.
A message you're cc'd into.
A “quick check”.
Then they go back to the "real" work.
Then interrupted again, and again, and again.
Until eventually the drafting, research, and preparation happen when you are mentally exhausted and borrowing time from other important things.
One line from the workshop stayed with me:
A lot of barristers and senior lawyers have become the highest-paid responders in their practice.
That should sting a little.
Because nobody spent 10, 15 or 20 years building a reputation to spend their day reacting to interruptions.
And I know the story barristers and lawyers tell themselves:
“That’s just law.”
“Everyone’s busy.”
“My clients expect me to be responsive and to have direct access to me.”
I understand and know the culture.
And I also know that when you do it long enough, without questioning it, it starts feeling normal.
Working late feels normal.
Being interrupted all day feels normal.
Doing important work, mentally exhausted and taking time away from other important things feels normal.
And once it feels normal, you stop questioning what it’s costing you.
That’s when barristers and senior lawyers start confusing constant "responsiveness" = reactivity with high performance.
The barristers and lawyers changing this fastest aren't smarter.
They’ve just stopped accepting this as the standard they operate at under pressure.
Inside High Performance Lawyers, that’s what we work on.
I’m looking for a tiny number of barristers and senior lawyers who know they are capable of operating at a much higher standard than this.
The High Performance Lawyers program is open for a few days.
Email me privately (louise@louisemathias.com.au), and I'll send you all the details and see if it’s a fit for us both.
