Blurring the lines between home and work: How to keep your productivity level up during COVID-19

Approximately four weeks ago, we had to make an unexpected transition from working full-time at the office to working full-time from home. If you also find it difficult to stay motivated when working from home, I offer these tips that have assisted me in keeping my productivity up and distractions down during this time.

Set up a workstation outside of your bedroom

It can be extremely difficult to be productive when working in a room that you naturally associate with sleeping. Therefore, if you don't have a dedicated home office, create a workstation in a bright area of your living room or kitchen where it will help you stay motivated and focused on completing your work. You don’t have to commit to this space all day – I usually start my day by working in the living room and then I move over to the kitchen island when I start to get too comfortable. Changing your scenery, no matter how minimal the change, can help alleviate any boredom and refresh your concentration.

Continue to manage expectations and foster relationships

Regardless of whether or not you are in the office, ensure you keep your principals and clients updated on any new developments that arise on your files. Re-evaluate and advise the supervising lawyers of any new timelines for completing tasks. Ensure lawyers are made aware of the work you complete and that you’re continuing to take the initiative with new tasks. Revisit your list of deadlines and tasks every Friday – this will assist you in prioritizing your workload for the following week instead of delaying your Monday morning whilst trying to figure out a game plan.

Minimize your distractions and plan breaks

Schedule your workday in blocks of 60 to 90 minutes with a 10 to 15-minute break between each block. During a break, perhaps take a walk around the apartment (maybe squeeze in a few lunges or jumping jacks), play with your pet, or use your phone before getting right back to work in order to hold yourself accountable and reduce having your workday stretched out by distracting yourself for hours at a time with the TV or midday chores. If your phone serves as a distraction, try leaving it in another room.

Stay in contact with your colleagues

Try to replicate the schedule you’re used to having in the office by continuing to organize a time to catch up with your friends from work. All of your co-workers are experiencing the same unknown circumstances you are. By being able to relate to one another, you’ll know you’re not alone and that you have their full support and understanding. This is especially important if you’re "social distancing" on your own and don’t have daily human interaction that may help alleviate your anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak and your work tasks in general. I am fortunate to be working with a group of students that have meshed perfectly together and offer daily support to one another. We have boosted each other’s morale over the past few weeks through FaceTime calls, sharing memes and videos, and by exchanging show recommendations and new hobbies we’ve taken up.

Stay Active

Staying active can help structure your day, boost your productivity, and keep you sane. Several Instagram fitness accounts are currently offering free live workouts, where hundreds of viewers tune in daily to workout at the same time. Personally, a group of friends and I have kept each other motivated to work out 3-4 times a week by streaming the live workout videos whilst video calling one another over the House Party App. Try to set goals and rewards for yourself (i.e. one snack for every second workout).

Stay home, stay safe, and stay sane!

Alyona K.

All Work and No Play? Think Again…

Here at MB, articling students are invited to most client events hosted by the firm so we really do get to know the clients. Some examples of events I have already attended include: “Lunch & Learn” seminars, the glamourous “Christmas in January” cocktail party, the epic "Winterfest Ski Day”, as well, there is a “Bowling Night” coming up right around the corner. These events should not be underestimated as they provide an environment to build personal relationships and gain insight into our clients’ world.

It is crucial to build relationships and maintain a good rapport with clients.

Naturally, as articling students, at first, we are more concerned about producing good work product and being thorough in our research and analysis of the law, than about client contact. It is easy to keep your head down and focus on tackling a problem by yourself, especially in this day and age where people communicate via email which is a more constricted and impersonal manner. Therefore, it is important to also remember that client interaction comprises a large part of our roles as lawyers whether it is to report on the status of a file, seek instructions, or attend meetings, mediations and settlement conferences with clients in attendance. As such, it is crucial to build relationships and maintain a good rapport with clients. Personally, I believe having the opportunity to practice this skill early on in our careers is vital to building our future practice. It is also important that this is done in a stress-free environment where the clients and the lawyers can interact with each other face-to-face and not just over the phone, or by email, discussing only work-related matters.

So far, I have found that each person I have connected with has interesting stories to share about their career paths, as well as their experiences with lawyers and in legal matters. At the end of the day, the client is another individual and communication is key to any good working relationship. Besides, everyone could use a well-deserved (and excused!) break from work, especially when it is a gorgeous day and you’re skiing alongside the Georgian Bay!

Leona K.

Life is a Marathon

Have you heard of the saying, life is a marathon, not a sprint? Well, articling is like a series of sprints within a marathon. It demands your focus, respect and humility. It requires your very best work. And it places on your shoulders the responsibility to do the best job you can for your client, your firm, and your principal.

As an articling student, you are on call to do great work at any time.

Articling represents a level of intensity that I never saw in law school. Yes, there were moot and exams and final papers and Socratic classes. But you could pace yourself and spread tasks across weeks or months. As an articling student, you are on call to do great work at any time. This means you are operating at peak efficiency, often for long stretches of time.

So, how do you avoid burning yourself out? 

First, develop relationships with your peers.  Depending on your outlook, these individuals are your competitors or your compatriots. One of the reasons I chose to article at McCague Borlack was because they make an effort to foster collegiality and tend to attract people who thrive in that environment.

Second, take breaks. I mean real breaks, not “go outside and stare at your cell phone for 10 minutes” breaks. It’s easy to get wrapped up in a case or assignment, but you have to be cognizant of your time as well. Sitting for three hours straight may seem productive at first, but it can hurt you in the long run. This seems obvious, but when you are under pressure or deeply engaged in a task, sometimes you forget.

And third, get a life. Your family and friends are important. They have been with you since the beginning. Let them be there for you during articles.

Articling is a truly challenging process, but the quality of your experience will depend on the quality of your personal and professional relationships at home and at work.

Ben C.

Flies and honey...

If you’ve been following our blog, you’ve noticed that my colleagues’ posts have been full of helpful articling tips. So much so that I wondered what else I could possibly provide in terms of tricks of the trade. As I reflected on my experience in the last ten months, I remembered something a mentor of mine told me at the outset of the articling term - a good reputation is more valuable than money.

"...we have one thing that sets us apart from one another: our reputations."

Any lawyer (in Toronto especially), will tell you that the legal profession is a small community. The six degrees of separation are arguably most evident in our world. You probably went to the same law school as your principal’s wife’s sister, and she is probably dating that guy you knew from 1L Contracts. The bottom line is…we’re all connected. We are all educated, skilled and trained in the same laws but we have one thing that sets us apart from one another: our reputations.

First impressions are important but the lasting impression you leave with opposing counsel, is the one you want to be concerned about. The Law Society imposes on all of us a good character requirement but independent of a formal requirement, it’s probably a good business decision to conduct yourself with integrity and grace. Advocate vigorously but kindly; fight for your client not with opposing counsel; exchange pleasantries; grant reasonable indulgences. There’s a difference between advocating for your position and being unnecessarily aggressive. I’m throwing in a cliché here, but you really do catch more flies with honey….

The legal profession is hardly “Law and Order-esque”. We are all colleagues. We might not all know each other’s names but we remember when someone was reasonable and pleasant. We will also remember those who give us a hard time…

And these sentiments aren’t just applicable to our interactions with the profession at large. I’ve learned that your relationships with your colleagues are of the utmost importance – especially as a litigator. There are deadlines, upon deadlines and constant unpredictability. Who knows when you’ll need a helping hand and if you’re good to your colleagues, you shouldn’t have trouble finding one. At MB, there are no name plates on the doors. Most people know each other and when they don’t, they introduce themselves. Although we started as a small firm, as we grow, the air of collegiality among colleagues is ever-present.

Everyone is busy but no one is too busy to smile at a colleague, to build a relationship, to make a friend and grant an indulgence here and there. We all want our clients to like us so why wouldn’t we want our colleagues to as well – both inside and outside of the firm. I guess what I’m really trying to say is - it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice!

VS