Written by Client Manager, Tom Desborough
Imagine, you’re at your desk in the office, there is a hum about the place, and you haven’t had a minute to breathe today. Your morning began with an urgent client email, followed by back-to-back meetings. By afternoon, you were fielding calls from a nervous associate, revising a contract under a tight deadline, and responding to a stream of “just one more thing” messages from a key client.
By evening, after resolving a mini-crisis for a colleague and placating a dissatisfied client, you’re exhausted. Yet no single catastrophe stands out. It was just another “normal” day. In the whirlwind of urgent tasks, you haven’t had time to consider the bigger questions or your own well-being.
The burden of microstress
The pressures of legal practice are nothing new; long hours, perfectionism and client demands are all familiar. But researchers now highlight a subtler, cumulative strain: microstress. In The Microstress Effect, Rob Cross and Karen Dillon describe how minor stressors like vague requests, misunderstandings and small frictions collect and compound over time. These invisible burdens pull your attention away from what matters, sapping energy and dulling thinking even when the day hasn’t seemed “bad.”
Why lawyers are vulnerable
Lawyers are especially prone to microstress. Legal work is shaped by unpredictable demands and constant multitasking. A partner might start the day with a plan but by mid-morning they’re reacting to calls, correcting errors and managing shifting priorities. Each interruption might be brief but switching focus takes effort. In days filled with quick asks and small tasks, your brain never settles.
Senior lawyers often take on more than they need to, whether to ensure quality or because delegating feels harder. But the more you keep on your plate, the more microstress you invite.
The hidden strain
Microstress is dangerous because it’s hard to see. Unlike acute stress, which triggers clear signs like a racing heart, microstress builds quietly. You don’t notice until it shows up as mental fog, forgetfulness or that sense of being constantly behind.
We downplay it, “It wasn’t that bad”, but over time it erodes performance and satisfaction. Many lawyers work later not because of large projects, but because the day’s small fires left no time for focused work.
The myth of infinite capacity
It’s tempting to think we can outwork microstress. But our brains don’t have limitless bandwidth. Small drains on attention reduce our ability for deep work, sound judgment and creative thinking. This affects productivity and well-being. Lawyers caught in microstress often feel numb or distracted at home, procrastinate on personal matters and struggle to be present for family. They may not crash, but they’re not thriving.
Reclaiming attention
Microstress can be reduced. The key is to regain control over your attention. That means identifying which demands need your expertise and which don’t. Personal financial management is a common example. Reviewing pensions, planning for retirement or optimising tax often sit on the to-do list, never urgent enough for action but always on your mind. This builds guilt and low-level anxiety.
A strategic handover
Offloading these tasks to a professional preserves your time and energy for what only you can do. You wouldn’t hesitate to bring in a specialist for a client, so why not for yourself? Delegating financial planning removes a persistent source of stress, freeing up headspace and time. The result is more clarity and less background pressure.
Letting go to move forward
Recognise that your time and attention are limited. Spending them on low-return, high-stress tasks outside your expertise reduces your impact elsewhere. Whether it’s setting boundaries, carving out time for deep work or using expert help, lightening your load enables you to focus on what matters.
In a profession where success is often measured by how much you can handle, it’s easy to think better time management is the answer. But the problem isn’t that you can’t cope, it’s that you’re coping with too much that isn’t yours to carry. The modern lawyer doesn’t just face big challenges, but countless small ones that sap focus and energy.
So ask yourself: What are you too busy to think about? And what could change if you took one persistent burden off your plate?
Get in touch to take the first step to reclaim your time and focus on what truly matters.
