Podcast Ep. 12: Systems That Hold Everything (So Your Brain Doesn’t Have To)

Yesterday I had lunch with a five year PQE, and something she said stayed with me. She told me that a good weekend for her was when she managed to have two half days off. The rest of the time she was working late into the night and through the weekend.

And she is not alone.

So many of the women lawyers I speak to are looking ahead to partnership and wondering how on earth they are meant to do it all. Build a practice, bring in clients, deliver excellent work, and at the same time manage a personal life that may include children or caring responsibilities. And increasingly, many are also asking a deeper question: do I even want this?

In this episode, I want to take a slightly different angle. There is a broader conversation to be had about how law firms structure work and how different career models might offer more flexibility. But for now, I want to focus on something more immediate and practical. What can you do if you simply have too much on your plate?

Because I know exactly what that feels like.

I am interested in many things. When I have an idea, I want to act on it straight away. For a long time, I believed that if I was just more efficient, I could fit everything in. But the truth is, I cannot. At least not all at once.

And the same is true for my clients.

They want to do everything. Build their practice, be present for their families, stay healthy, grow their network, attend events, post online, take on more work, and still have time for themselves. Just listing it all is exhausting. And yet many believe that better productivity will somehow make it all possible.

It will not.

What I see happening instead is that they keep adding more to their lists. At best, they become frustrated and start dropping things. At worst, they burn out.

And burnout in the legal profession is not rare. It is widespread. A significant proportion of lawyers report having been close to burnout or already experiencing it. This is not about a small minority. This is about the person next door to you at work. It may well be about you.

So we need to approach this differently.

One of the biggest issues I see is the absence of proper systems. Many lawyers are operating reactively. They write endless to do lists, respond to emails as they come in, and focus on whatever feels most urgent in the moment. There is very little prioritisation and very little structure.

So in this episode, I share three simple techniques that I use myself and with my clients to regain control.

The first is the four D’s: do, delay, delegate, or drop.

Take everything that is currently on your list and force yourself to put it into one of those categories. This is a powerful exercise because it confronts you with reality. You cannot do everything. Some things will have to be delayed, some delegated, and some dropped entirely. It is far better to make those decisions consciously than to carry unrealistic expectations and risk becoming unreliable.

The second tool builds on this. I call it ICEE: impact, cost, energy, and enjoyment.

Once you have narrowed your list, you then evaluate what remains. How much impact will each task have on your overall goal? What will it cost you financially? How much energy will it require? And importantly, how much will you actually enjoy it?

This process forces you to think strategically. Two tasks might both contribute to your goals, but one may drain you while the other energises you. That matters. When you start comparing tasks in this way, it becomes much clearer what is worth your time and what is not.

The third technique is the one that has made the biggest difference for me personally.

Every Friday afternoon, I block out time in my calendar to plan the week ahead. During that session, I review my projects, check my commitments, and think about what needs to happen in the coming days. And then I schedule everything directly into my calendar.

Not just the big tasks, but also the small ones.

There is a saying that if something is not in your diary, it is not in your life. I have found that to be absolutely true. When I rely only on a to do list, things get postponed again and again. When I put them in my calendar, they get done.

This approach also separates planning from execution. Instead of constantly deciding what to do next, you make those decisions in advance. When the week begins, you simply follow the plan.

So if I were to summarise the message of this episode, it is this.

You do not need to become infinitely more efficient. You need to become more selective.

You need to accept that you cannot do everything, at least not all at once. You need systems that help you prioritise what truly matters. And you need to give yourself permission to let some things go.

Because success in law is not about doing more and more until you reach breaking point. It is about making deliberate choices about where your time and energy go.

And that is what ultimately allows you not just to succeed, but to build a career and a life that you actually want.