End-of-day ritual that helps lawyers escape the ‘fog’ of practice

In the same episode, she unpacked why disconnecting from work has become one of the biggest challenges facing lawyers today and why it’s only getting harder.

Reflecting on the realities of the early years of legal practice, Rayward described the first two years as disorienting and all-consuming, likening the experience to “working in a constant fog”, where many junior lawyers struggle to see beyond what is directly in front of them.

“What I described to one of my newer lawyers this morning is that the first two years just feel like a fog. It’s like you’re working in a constant fog where you really just can’t see beyond 30 centimetres. I don’t know what I’m doing, and it’s just stressful,” she said.

To help cut through the “fog” of early practice and create practical ways to manage the intensity of the role, Rayward urged lawyers to build a deliberate end-of-day ritual that clearly and consciously marks the shift from work into personal time.

“Create some sort of thoughtful ritual that is yours that marks the end of today’s work. It might be as simple as saying to yourself, whether you’re physically standing up from your desk and moving to the dining table or literally leaving the office,” she said.

This moment of reflection, she stressed, should be intentional and purposeful – a conscious act of mentally letting go at the end of the day, likening the process to a “Marie Kondo moment” where individuals acknowledge the value of their experiences but deliberately choose not to carry them beyond working hours.

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“Be really purposeful about that and have a bit of a Marie Kondo moment where you say thank you so much for the feedback, my supervisor, I appreciate it. It’s what I need to grow. But I don’t need to take it home with me tonight and mull over it for the rest of the evening,” she said.

While she acknowledged the approach may sound “woo-woo”, Rayward explained that this kind of intentional practice can help lawyers become more self-aware and deliberate in how they manage the demands of their work, particularly in managing their internal dialogue.

“I think getting somewhat woo woo but somewhat purposeful, but what that inner voice is and what’s going on there, is creating a moment where you l stop and say I’m not taking that with me,” she said.

However, Rayward stressed that switching off is just one component of a much broader “peak performance regime”, which she described as a “layered”, intentional approach to managing the ongoing demands and pressures of legal practice over time.

At its foundation, she emphasised that physical and mental health are non-negotiable – the baseline that underpins a lawyer’s ability to manage stress and meaningfully withstand the sustained pressures of practice.

“I’ll start with the basics again. Health, focus on that, it’s so important. The more you physically and mentally show up just healthy, the easier any level of stress is in any given space,” she said.

Equally important, she stressed the need to intentionally build strong personal and professional support networks, encouraging lawyers to surround themselves with people they can truly rely on for guidance, encouragement, and honest, constructive feedback.

“Thinking about who’s around you, who are my supports, who are my good people in my life that lift me up, and we use the word mentors a lot. Like, who are the people that I can genuinely talk to and get helpful feedback from?” she said.