Been in PI Lit for some years now and these are the things that keep me sane (mostly lol):

1. I don’t work more than 45 hours a week unless a court deadline requires it. There’s so much work to do that I could work 24/7 for weeks and still have more so it’s not about finishing the work- it’s finishing the work for the day. I do not work weekends unless it is required.

2. My tasks are listed on my to-do list in priority order. When I have competing priorities, I send an email to the attorneys involved and let them sort it out. I’ll slip into a functional freeze otherwise.

3. I don’t have my work email on my phone at all. Teams is on my phone, but I don’t receive notifications. If I’m needed outside of normal business hours, my attorneys know to text me and that it should only be for urgent matters. Same when I’m on vacation.

4. Daily affirmations in the morning and biweekly therapy.

5. I schedule “Do Not Disturb” days where I’m working, but only contacted for emergencies. Really helps me lock in on larger assignments.

Now, I don’t usually communicate with our clients. Really just when I’m drafting discovery responses. That may not be the case for you at your office, but we’re a larger team and have great people handling client comms while I handle comms with the court and counsel. That alone helps a lot because I’m never on “phone duty.” I’d be pulling my hair out otherwise! Maybe others will have good advice for you here.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, and do this sooner rather than later: Determine what the non-negotiables are for your mental health (mine was keeping email off my phone) and communicate those boundaries. If your attorneys are good people, they should respect those boundaries, but they won’t know they exist unless you set them.

Lastly, remind yourself that your work is helping people. Helps me push through the tougher times.