How to Be Productive When You’re a Depressed Lawyer

by | Feb 11, 2025 | legal matters

The demands of work don’t stop when you are depressed. Dan Lukasik, of LawyersWithDepression.com, on the struggle to get things done when you’re a depressed lawyer.
The post How to Be Productive When You’re a Depressed Lawyer appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.

Dan Lukasik, the lawyer-educator behind LawyersWithDepression.com, discusses what it takes to get things done when you’re depressed.

how to get things done as a depressed lawyer - depression doesnt' want to do anything and never will
How to Be Productive When You’re a Depressed Lawyer 2

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Getting things done when you are depressed or have depression symptoms is tough. You have difficulty getting going in the morning. Your concentration is less than optimal. You may feel worn out or be sleep-deprived. Your motivation is low.

Does this sound familiar? If you’re struggling with these symptoms, you’re not alone.

In 2016, the Hazelton study of nearly 13,000 practicing lawyers from 19 states found that approximately 28% struggle with some form of depression — a rate several times higher than for the general population. Since the pandemic, the mental health crisis in the U.S. and among lawyers has only worsened. In the 2023 report on Lawyer Well-Being in Massachusetts, researchers with the Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and NORC at the University of Chicago found that lawyers across the state, 77% reported feeling burned out, 26% reported high rates of anxiety, 21% reported depression and 7% reported suicidal thoughts.

The Demands of Work Don’t Stop When You’re Depressed

So how do you go about getting things done when you are depressed?

Because depression affects the brain, depressed lawyers need to go about getting things done differently when slumping.

In the book “Get It Done When You’re Depressed, Second Edition: 50 Strategies to Get Your Life Back on Track,” the authors spell out the maladaptive things depressives tell themselves when trying to get things done — and how this actually leads to things not getting done:

  • You decide there’s no use in starting if you don’t have the desire for the project.
  • You search for the feeling of wanting to get something done even when you know that lack of motivation is a normal symptom of depression.
  • You wait so long to get a good feeling about what you need to do that you never even get started.

The takeaway is that you cannot wait around until you feel motivated enough to be productive.

Mornings Are the Worst

Ideally, this is how things normally work: You are inspired, move forward, and get things done.

That is not how the mind of a depressed person works. And it’s even more so in the morning, the time when many depressed folks have difficulty with drive and focus.

So, after you get up and have your coffee, recognize that to get things done you will have to actually start doing things. Only then will the motivation follow.

You Can’t Wait Until You ‘Feel Like It’

Remember, depression doesn’t want to do anything and never will. It’s an inert illness, not an active illness. If you wait until you “feel like it” to start something, you’ll wait forever.

If your depression is mild to moderate, push until you feel even a small sense of accomplishment, and hold on to that.

In the process, be practical and realistic about what you want to get done that day. Take it slow. Start with the “low-hanging fruit” — return some simple emails or clean and organize your desktop.

Build some momentum.

Keep Your Day in Perspective

Years ago, when I first started struggling with depression as a lawyer, I would wake up feeling depressed and conclude that the whole day was shot. “What’s the point?” I would tell myself. “I’m just going to feel like crap anyway.”

I have learned over the years that a better approach is to think of my depression as subject to change in intensity throughout the day. Just because I had a crummy morning does not mean the afternoon will play out that way.

If you pay attention, you’ll notice how your depression ebbs and flows.

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