Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions: A Practical Guide for Lawyers
For many attorneys, the New Year brings renewed motivation to prioritize health, well-being, and balance. Yet between demanding caseloads, long hours, client pressures, and court deadlines, even the best intentions can quickly fall by the wayside. The key to maintaining your resolutions is not willpower alone—it is structure, strategy, and realistic planning.
Start with Resolutions That Fit Your Practice
Resolutions fail most often because they are overly ambitious or disconnected from daily realities. Rather than committing to sweeping changes, focus on specific, achievable goals that can integrate into your existing routine. For example:
- Replace “get in shape” with “walk 20 minutes during lunch three times a week.”
- Replace “reduce stress” with “block two evenings a week for personal time.”
- Replace “eat healthier” with “bring lunch from home three days a week.”
The more precisely defined your goal, the easier it is to measure progress and maintain momentum.
Build Habits Into Your Schedule
Lawyers live by their calendars. Use that to your advantage. If your resolution is important, it deserves a calendar entry just like a court appearance or client meeting.
Schedule:
- Workouts or walks
- Meal prep time
- Therapy or coaching appointments
- Personal downtime
- Family or social commitments
Treat these commitments as non-negotiable whenever possible. When your well-being is scheduled, it is far more likely to happen.
Remove Friction and Make It Easy
The easier a habit is to follow, the more likely it will stick. Prepare in advance and reduce obstacles:
- Keep workout clothes at the office or in your car
- Use grocery delivery or meal-prep services
- Choose a gym near your office or home
- Use meditation or wellness apps that require only a few minutes a day
Small conveniences can make the difference between consistency and abandonment.
Track Progress and Celebrate Wins
Progress is motivating. Whether through a fitness app, journal, or simple checklist, tracking your habits creates accountability and reinforces success. Even small victories—such as three workouts in a week or a full week of healthy lunches—deserve recognition.
Momentum builds when you acknowledge progress rather than focusing on perfection.
Expect Setbacks — and Plan for Them
Every lawyer will have weeks derailed by trial, deadlines, travel, or emergencies. The mistake is allowing one bad week to become a bad month.
Instead:
- Resume immediately after a disruption
- Avoid all-or-nothing thinking
- Adjust your goal temporarily during busy periods
Use Accountability
Accountability dramatically improves follow-through. Consider:
- A workout partner
- A wellness or business coach
- A firm-wide wellness challenge
- A shared goal with a colleague
Remember Your “Why”
Your health and well-being are not luxuries—they are professional assets. Mental clarity, emotional resilience, stamina, and focus are all essential to the effective practice of law. Taking care of yourself ultimately makes you a better advocate, colleague, and leader.
A Resolution Worth Keeping
This year, aim for progress, not perfection. Build habits that support your long-term success, protect your energy, and enhance your quality of life. A healthier lawyer is a more effective lawyer—and that is a resolution worth keeping.
Questions? Contact Jared Burke for more information.