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There is nothing quite like a pandemic when it comes to turning the world upside down and now that we are a few weeks in and I feel less like this is ‘ground hog day’ and more like this is my new normal, I am sharing with you my musings on law, life, business and importantly, finding happiness in all of this sadness.  So it is #soloshow time!

I have certainly seen the best and worst in business and people this last few weeks and like all of you have experienced the ups and downs and personal challenges that have come from the changes being made around us.  But me being me, I can’t stay in that negativity for too long and so it has been the silver linings that I have focused on and that I think now are really pulling me through.

This week I am sharing 5 ‘tips’ that are in part tips, in part my learnings and in part what I have been doing both in my business but also in my daily life to manage this crisis.  And I am sharing some of the things that have inspired me-  lawyers building and launching new products, great collaborations and small businesses tackling big pivots that in any other time would be seen as incredible innovations- right now all of this is survival!  But I love that when backs are to the wall some of the best ideas come and so this week I am sharing what I think we lawyers can be doing right now to survive this strange time from leadership to innovation, humanity, rituals and of course happiness!

So here is the summary!

Leadership – showing up for your team and communicating openly

It is not easy running a business and it is really not easy in moments like these and so I share what I have done at my firm these past few weeks to keep the wheels turning and our team working and why I think it is so important for those of us leading to be honest and authentic right now.

• Why I spent the first weeks of the pandemic knee-deep in business numbers
• The changes that I made at BFLC to create quick simple solutions to support my staff in working from home
• Why communication has been the key

Pivot – using these moments to think and work differently and those that have inspired me this past few weeks

• What we can all learn from 1 simple email from my daughters Gymnastics school,  Delta gymnastics
• By local craft brewery, Fonzie and Abbot goes from spirits to sanitiser- a pivot at its best!
• Rethinking Redundancy- is this an opportunity to re-think the future
• A great collaboration between 3 lawyers Jo Alilovic, Cara Austen, and Daniel Taborsky  shows just how powerful working together, joining forces and trying something new can be! (Their Facebook group – Coronavirus Support for Employers I mention is here)

Humanity – how it took a pandemic to get a bit of ‘the human’ back in law!

• This past few weeks I have so enjoyed the sense of realness that has hit law- as kids run around phone conferences, pets appear in zoom calls and we all juggle our many new hats, I have seen an increase in kindness, understanding and what I am calling ‘the human’ in law.
• I share why I hope this sticks and how this could be the beginning of something very different for the future of law

Happiness – finding the silver linings

• Coming to grips with our new normal and the 5 stages of grief we should all be aware of
• The mindset of flipping a hard situation into something positive
• The beauty of being able to spend more time with children and family
• The silver linings of this Pandemic

Rituals – building joy into your day the Corona way!

• Building new daily and weekly rituals, like going for a family run (ok so perhaps there has been more of a walk/run/run/walk going on but I am getting there!)
• Weekend Virtual Zoom discos with friends (you need to try this!)
• Connecting with others to just check-in and ask ‘how are you?’
• Ensuring we create a routine when it comes to working at home

My Bonus Happiness Tip for surviving life during a pandemic.

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Learn more here about upcoming events and courses and connect with Clarissa Rayward at the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life’ knowledge centre-  A community for lawyers who want to make the best out of their life in and outside of the law.   

Listen to last week’s episode here