In this vlog, Linda Artesani of Artesani Accounting and The Proper Trust discusses the prevalence of burnout among lawyers and accountants, especially those early in their careers or handling high‑stress practice areas. She outlines how over‑working—such as attempting to work seven days a week—leads to emotional and physical exhaustion, cluttered workspaces, and health issues like inflammation. Artesani shares a range of practical coping strategies: meditation, breath‑work, yoga, regular exercise, nature walks, and taking full days off. She emphasizes setting clear boundaries (e.g., turning off email notifications on off‑days, scheduling specific times for client messages via tools like Lissio), decluttering the physical environment, and using technology mindfully. She also recommends reflective practices such as logging daily activities on a lined pad to identify time‑wasting habits and reorganize the day. Additional self‑care ideas include spa or massage days, reading, beach or pool relaxation, and spending quality time with family. Throughout, she stresses that recognizing burnout early, implementing these habits, and honoring personal well‑being ultimately boost productivity and overall happiness.
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Hi there, Linda Artesani, Artesani Accounting and The Proper Trust. This week I'm gonna talk a little bit about lawyer burnout. Burnout. And I think accountants could fall into this bucket as well. I like to say the struggle is real. A lot of us get into this world of trying to do too much. And I think that sometimes we think we're gonna be able to accomplish more if we work 7 days a week, for example. And then it really— yes, you might get a little bit more done, but probably not efficiently, not in your mind's eye what you think you can. So lawyers definitely face some stressors, uh, which can cause burnout. And this doesn't just necessarily have to be the partners. This could also be, um, lawyers in the firm, especially maybe if they're just starting in the firm, or staff attorneys. And a lot of times, depending on the, the practice area, They have to juggle multiple deadlines, and they have to meet their clients' needs. I can only imagine what it's like working with a family lawyer that's dealing with child custody or a divorce situation, how much stress can be involved in doing that kind of work. It's important, really, for burnout. It's important. You don't want to get to the point where you're just so burnt out that you can't even work. It's important to notice when this is happening and in figuring out how you can cope with it. I can tell you from my experience, my meditation practice has guided me through a bunch of times where I've been very stressed out and struggle with overwork and trying just to manage the feeling of stress and overwhelm in our body. It's really not good. You get a lot of inflammation, which is bad for our health. So how do you know when you're overworked? I think you can if you feel like you're overwhelmed by your workflow. If your desk is a mess, you've got a ton of, a ton of papers on your desk, and you're just Even coming into your office can make you feel overwhelmed. I think sometimes if you take time, and I know you're probably looking at, okay, it's not billable time. I'm actually gonna sit down and go through everything that's on my desk. But that time could be well served. And if you take the time, if you're emotionally exhausted or physically drained, I, I think taking the time to maybe exercise, go for that walk in the morning, making that time in the morning so you don't kind of I know myself. I will— I'll— I just don't have time. I've got too many things to do. I'm gonna work, and then I'm gonna do the walk later on the day. That never happens. So if you fall into that place like I do, you're gonna see that it's gonna be not happening. And then if it's not happening, you're not getting the exercise. Going for a lot— a long walk in Mother Nature and getting out with the birds and the sunlight is just cathartic. It feels good in the system. You get some of those endorphins going. You feel some Release maybe of a little bit of cortisol, just that feel-good. And that's really important for your body and for your health. If you feel the effects of burnout, it's, it's, it's really essential that you realize that it's happening. Take a step back. Maybe just sit and breathe. And if you're not into meditation, just sit and breathe. Count your breath. See if you can enhance the breath or extend the breath and get it to be a little bit longer. If you do have a yoga practice, take a yoga class. Just get away and just take a yoga class and, and just start to look at where your boundaries are. Are you going home from your office, for example, and then working after, after you finish your dinner? Those are the things that start to add up in your life, and it might probably will shorten your lifespan at some point if you start to do this on a regular basis. And yes, I'm speaking to myself. So I think one of the ironies of overwork is, if you take a day off or 2, you return back to work more productive. So that's my quote. The work will still get done. Think about that for a moment. The work will still be done. So take some time to take some time off. If you are in this habit or this loop where you're working 7 days a week, take one of those days off, Saturday or Sunday, and put boundaries around them. We just got new, um, Mac computers, and there's a button that turns off the noise of email or messages. Because if you've been living in this world of working all the time, you're probably letting clients send you messages on the off days, and you don't want to do that. So you can let them send it, but if you shut it down, you won't see it. And, and as odd as it seems, even though it's still there, it feels better in your system. So take that time off. Maybe take a spa day. I just had this conversation with my business partner, Sarah. Like, a bit of a spa day can do wonders. And sometimes, yes, it costs money. So you kind of go, I'll push that massage to another day. And then when you finally do take the massage, you're like, why did I do that? I'm worth this. I work really hard. Like I mentioned earlier, meditate, do yoga, exercise, take a hike. Hikes are really good, being out in that fresh air. Take a day of no technology. You don't— you leave your phone turned off, plugged in, or something like that, and just stay away from all technology. Or maybe you turn on music, put your earbuds on, and clean your house and declutter. That feels so good. After you've— maybe you clean your office, dig through the desk, throw the music on, dance to your heart's— you know, you're just happy to be dancing and your heart's content, and then you've got a clean office. Think about that for a minute. Wouldn't that feel good? So sometimes, if you're going to start down this path of de-stressing, maybe take a moment to evaluate your day. And I've mentioned this in past, past videos and past blog posts. I did a practice, and I think it came from Entrepreneurs on Fire, or it was Kate's take. where she said, write a lined paper to see what you do in a day. How much of that time is spent on Facebook or doing something that's not really beneficial to your day that's causing you to have a clog in that day, that workflow? Take a day, put a pad, lined pad down. Really high technology here. A lined pen and a lined pad and a pen, and start to write down what you do all day long. Every single thing you do, right up to going to the bathroom. Just get up, write it down. I was gone for 3 minutes to go to the bathroom. I walked out to the mailbox, those things, and then evaluate your day. Take a look and see, hmm, I didn't realize I spent time doing this, or I was distracted by that. How can you reorganize your day? I love one of the things that Lissio does, and we talked about it with the folks over there. They actually schedule time to go on their email, and not really their email, but just schedule your time to go in your messages, right? Lissio messages. You go in, don't be on it all the time. Schedule time to take care of client matters. We can hop into Lissio at this time, and you're retraining your clients to not have you instantly answer like a text message. You want them to know that you are, you are working and that you're not gonna instantly answer. And I think that's important. Making that time for yourself is very important, and taking that time to relax, maybe go to the beach or just lay out in a lounge chair, go to the pool. And just lay and just kind of absorb the sun, feel good. And then just making that time to yourself, read a book, take some time to read a book. I've got like 5 books out there that I have had next to my seat in the living room and not picked them up. Make that time to read a book, even if it's 10 pages. That's nothing. Anybody can read 10 pages. I kind of prefer to read a little bit more. So I think if you look at it from that perspective, and I know this is a little bit different than all the other blog post, but this is important. Your health is important. Lawyer burnout is a thing. Accountant burnout is a thing. So if you can take the time, make the time for yourself, you're worth it. And make your life a little bit happier. Your family will be happier. Take time to be with them. You know, if you have to schedule it, schedule it. Do time blocking. These are all great tips to have you lead a happier, healthier life. And you know what? Guarantee you'll be more productive. So I hope to see you next week on the next blog post. I hope you enjoyed this video. And until then, bye now.
