I have a stack of half-finished case files on my desk. Each one feels insurmountable. It's not laziness, it's like a mental block. How do you break through that?

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It seems like you might be feeling overwhelmed. I just went through this, and I found that spending around 20 minutes to make a list of tasks for each case can be helpful. Nothing fancy or complex - a pen and paper or an email to yourself would work just fine. Once you have your list, prioritize the tasks based on their level of urgency. Seeing the individual steps written down might make you feel less overwhelmed.

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Is there anyone else working on the files with you? If so, I like to schedule a meeting to go through outstanding items. Having a meeting with someone imposes a deadline on my brain and will finally force me to deal with it. If there’s not anyone else working on the file with you, you could try doing the same thing with your assistant instead. The mental block happens to me constantly with certain tasks or clients I don’t want to deal with and without some sort of meeting or hard deadline, my brain keeps avoiding it until it “blows up” and becomes urgent because I have an angry client or partner. It can be a vicious cycle of knowing I need to do something, constantly thinking about the thing I need to do, feeling overwhelmed and defeated by my inability to do what is usually an easy task, having someone mad at me for not doing doing said task and then beating myself up even more about it.

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My dog has unwillingly been on the receiving end of many practice oral arguments. She definitely thinks I’m crazy haha.

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Following for ppl tips cuz same

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To do lists, breaking it down step by step. Working on something else your brain will actually allow you to do, so you can still be productive. Giving yourself deadlines.

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