Wednesday 17 March 2010

Boring Tasks

The printing firm LawCare uses to print LawCare News recently sent me their newsletter which included the information that they can also manage our mailing list. So whereas, at the moment, they print 1,500 copies of LawCare News and deliver them to me, and I spend about two full working days putting them in envelopes, sticking on address labels and stamps, and traipsing to the post office with them in three large boxes, I could simply email our mailing list to the printers and they’d deal with all that. For a fee, naturally.

Appealing? It would remove one of the duller, more menial and repetitive aspects of my job, admittedly, but I’m not tempted for a moment. I actually rather enjoy those hours of stuff, seal, stick and stamp, over and over and over again. I generally do it in my comfortable lounge rather than my office because there is more space to spread out. Sometimes I put the TV on, but daytime television is extraordinarily bad so mostly I stick to the radio. Phone calls and other, more urgent, work are often, but not always, a welcome interruption. Sometimes I continue with the task in the evening as I watch House or America’s Next Top Model (my guilty pleasure) and sometimes I even have help from the rest of the family. The photo above shows clear evidence that LawCare is employing child labour!

Even those boring and mindless tasks have their place. I’m not saying that I would like to stuff envelopes for a living every day, as opposed to for a couple of days every four months, but it is a chance to relax, take some at-work “down time”.

I worked for Argos one summer when I was a student. Since it was Welsh Wales and I was English, I was in the stock room where there was no danger of my having to interact with a customer whose language I was unable to speak. For eight hours a day I ran around the warehouse, up and down ladders, collecting items customers had bought and delivering them to the collection point. At this point I had nine O levels (and was studying for my tenth, in Welsh), four A levels and had completed the first two years of my English degree so I was somewhat overqualified for the job. But I loved it. There was almost zero stress and I got fitter than I have ever been before or since.

Almost all jobs – even within the legal profession – involve aspects which are dull, repetitive, and could just as easily be done by someone with no qualifications at all, and yet you still have to do them. Rather than putting it off indefinitely, or being frustrated by the mindlessness of it, why not try to see it as a chance to relax, give your brain a break, and enjoy some stress-free time?

LawCare’s free and confidential helpline is available 9-7.30 Monday-Friday, 10-4 weekends, on:
0800 279 6888 (Solicitors, Law Students and Legal Executives in England and Wales)
0800 279 6869 (Solicitors, Advocates and Law Students in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man)
0800 018 4299 (Barristers, Clerks and Judges in England and Wales)
1800 991801 (Solicitors in the Republic of Ireland)
1800 303145 (Barristers in the Republic of Ireland)

Friday 5 March 2010

Do or Die Deadlines

On 14th April I am going to Salt Lake City, Utah, and will be visiting a company there called Leatherwood Press. I am supposed to be delivering them the final manuscript of my fourth novel, the one they asked for around this time last year. Unfortunately I haven’t finished it yet. That deadline is looming pretty large at the moment.

Douglas Adams once said “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
Sadly, not all of us can have the enlightened attitude to deadlines that the late lamented comic genius did. In the legal profession, a missed deadline or time limit can result in being unable to pursue a claim, major problems for your client, the potential for a costs award against you and a possible negligence claim. For all lawyers, and particularly those working in litigation, deadlines are crucial, and a fact of everyday life. They can also be a tremendous source of stress.

It’s a sad fact of life that prolonged stress can lead to clinical depression. Depression is exhibited in symptoms that include an inability to concentrate, a lack of motivation or interest in anything, sleeplessness, overwhelming apathy and hopelessness. The depressed lawyer may make it in to work, but he will not open the post – he may even hide it, hoping that if he ignores it, it will go away. He will shuffle papers around, may even tap at the computer for a while, but he will not get any productive work done. (I’ve been saying “he”, but of course women suffer from depression too.)

Depression and deadlines don’t mix. If you, or a colleague, seem to be suffering from any of these symptoms – including indifference to matters which might be regarded as urgent – get help. Call LawCare, and see your GP as soon as possible. Right away. Some things are even more important than deadlines.

LawCare’s free and confidential helpline is available 9-7.30 Monday-Friday, 10-4 weekends, on:
0800 279 6888 (Solicitors, Law Students and Legal Executives in England and Wales)
0800 279 6869 (Solicitors, Advocates and Law Students in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle
of Man)
0800 018 4299 (Barristers, Clerks and Judges in England and Wales)
1800 991801 (Solicitors in the Republic of Ireland)
1800 303145 (Barristers in the Republic of Ireland)