“Making a choice that is 1 percent better or 1 percent worse seems insignificant in the moment, but over the span of moments that make up a lifetime these choices determine the difference between who you are and who you could be. Success is the product of daily habits – not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.”
James Clear
Lawyers are very good at intensity. In practice, we work hard and when we make a decision, we tend to go all in. That mindset tends to serve us well in law.
But it can also carry over to how we approach our wellbeing. We either neglect it entirely, or we decide to overhaul everything at once. A new gym routine. A strict morning schedule. A commitment to meditate for twenty minutes every day.
And then reality intervenes. An urgent matter lands on the desk. A court appearance runs over time. A client needs advice immediately. Within days, the new routine has quietly disappeared.
Therefore, a new approach and thinking about habits is important. Rather than an overhaul of our routine, we should think about what small habits can we incorporate in our day-to-day to build consistency over time.
The idea behind habit stacking
Habit stacking is not a social media trend. The term was popularised by productivity writer S.J. Scott and later by James Clear in Atomic Habits. The underlying behavioural science draws on work by BJ Fogg and others studying how habits form in the brain.
The principle is simple. You attach a small, new behaviour to something you already do automatically.
The formula is straightforward: After (or before) I do X, I will do Y.
For example:
- Before I eat breakfast each morning, I will drink a glass of water.
- Whenever I finish working on a matter, I will stand up to stretch or take a short walk before moving on to the next matter.
- After returning to the office from court, I will sit at my desk and take ten slow breaths before opening my inbox.
- After I close my laptop for the day, I will write down tomorrow’s first task
The reason this works is neurological as much as practical. Our brains strengthen the pathways we use often and prune away those we do not. Every time we repeat a behaviour, the connection becomes more efficient.
Lawyers already have very strong neural pathways around daily routines such as logging in, checking emails, preparing files and attending court. Habit stacking uses those existing pathways as anchors for something new.
Instead of building a habit from scratch, you are borrowing strength from one that is already embedded.
Why this matters in legal practice
Legal work is cognitively heavy and emotionally demanding. We move quickly between analytical reasoning, client management and adversarial environments. Much of the day runs on autopilot, which is helpful, but it also means stress responses can become automatic.
If almost half of our daily behaviour is habitual, then the small things we repeat each day matter more than the occasional burst of motivation.
You do not need an uninterrupted hour. You need thirty seconds, attached to something that is already happening.
Practical examples for Queensland lawyers
The key is to choose anchors that genuinely occur every day.
If you appear in court regularly, the act of placing your folder on the bar table can become a cue. After I place my folder down, I will take one slow breath before standing. It takes five seconds. It reduces adrenaline before you speak.
If your mornings start with email, make that the anchor. After I open Outlook, I will write down the three most important tasks for today before replying to anything. That single pause can prevent the inbox from dictating your priorities.
If you regularly have difficult client conferences, build a buffer. After I finish a challenging conference, I will stand up and step outside for one minute before moving to the next task. That minute creates a psychological boundary so you are not carrying one client’s stress into the next file.
At the end of the day, when you shut down your computer, add a closing ritual. After I close my laptop, I will write one sentence about something I handled well today.
The importance of specificity
One common mistake is choosing cues that are too vague.
“I will exercise more” is not a habit.
“During lunch I will stretch” is still unclear.
After I close my laptop for lunch, I will walk once around the block. That is clear. You know when it happens and what it involves.
Specific cues create what behavioural psychologists call implementation intentions. The time and place are built into the habit because they are tied to something concrete. The more precise the anchor, the more likely you are to notice the moment and act.
Frequency also matters. If you want a daily habit, attach it to something that occurs daily. Stacking a new behaviour onto a weekly team meeting will not produce a daily result.
Starting small on purpose
Many of us underestimate the power of small repetitions. We overestimate what we can do in a week and underestimate what we can build in a year.
Consistency strengthens neural pathways. The more often a behaviour is repeated, the more automatic it becomes. That is synaptic pruning at work. The brain reinforces what is used and lets go of what is not.
If you attach a one-minute breathing exercise to a daily anchor and repeat it across 220 working days, that is 220 deliberate pauses in a profession that rarely pauses. Over time, that compounds.
Once a habit is automatic, it requires far less mental energy. That is why small stacks survive busy days and low-motivation periods. They are not reliant on feeling inspired.
A simple way to begin
Take a sheet of paper and write down five things you do every working day without fail. They might be mundane: logging in, making coffee, walking into chambers, driving home.
Then choose one small action that would genuinely improve your day. Keep it under two minutes.
Write it in the formula:
After I X, I will Y.
Test it for two weeks. Do not add more until the first one feels natural.
If it works, you can build a chain. After I pour my coffee, I take one slow breath. After that breath, I write my top three tasks. After I write them, I begin the first one.
Momentum grows quietly.
Final reflection
Our job is demanding. It requires sustained focus, judgement and emotional resilience.
Intensity is good but not built for long term. Instead, try improving your wellbeing but through repetition and consistency, instead of bursts of effort. This month do not redesign your entire routine. Choose one anchor and add one small behaviour. Repeat it daily. Remember, aim for 1% better every day because little by little becomes a lot over time.
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