![\"Organic](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5-ways-to-practice-gratitude.jpg?resize=770%2C495&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
Table of contents<\/h2>\n\n- Gratitude for Lawyers Is About Noticing What\u2019s Already Working<\/a><\/li>\n
- Why Lawyers Miss What\u2019s Working<\/a><\/li>\n
- Why Gratitude for Lawyers Is a Professional Necessity<\/a><\/li>\n
- Five Simple Ways to Build Gratitude Into Your Busy Schedule<\/a>\n
\n- 1. End the Day by Naming What Moved Forward<\/a><\/li>\n
- 2 . Acknowledge Contributions in Real Time<\/a><\/li>\n
- 3. Track Completed Work, Not Just Pending Work<\/a><\/li>\n
- 4. Recognize the Demands of Work<\/a><\/li>\n
- 5. Notice What Actually Felt Meaningful<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Gratitude for Lawyers as a Strategic Reset<\/a><\/li>\n
- More Health and Well-being Tips on Attorney at Work<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Gratitude for Lawyers Is About Noticing What\u2019s Already Working<\/h2>\n
Gratitude is the intentional practice of recognizing what we currently have that is effective, meaningful, and sufficient. It isn\u2019t just a feeling; it\u2019s a discipline of attention. And in our legal careers, where our environment trains us to focus on what\u2019s missing and what could go wrong, the discipline of gratitude matters.<\/p>\n
Why? Because if we don\u2019t intentionally focus on what\u2019s good, our attention will default elsewhere, and often on the negative.<\/p>\n
Why Lawyers Miss What\u2019s Working<\/h2>\n
Focusing our attention on what\u2019s not<\/em> working is easy for anyone to do, given our innate negativity bias<\/a>. But the skills we need to succeed in the practice of law can make it an even bigger issue. In most professions, success is visible and explicit. In law, it often isn\u2019t. When we succeed in our legal practice, it can be more implicit. Sometimes our success is:<\/p>\n\n- The issue that never escalates.<\/li>\n
- The risk is neutralized early.<\/li>\n
- The advice that prevents a future problem.<\/li>\n
- The negotiation that avoids a bigger problem yet doesn\u2019t quite meet a client\u2019s expectation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
These are quiet wins. They don\u2019t announce themselves. They don\u2019t create closure. So, the brain may track what\u2019s not going well instead. Over time, this creates a distorted sense of reality, where problems feel constant and progress feels insufficient.<\/p>\n
Adding to our problem-heavy perception is our well-developed legal skill of identifying issues. We are trained to see risk before it materializes, anticipate what could go wrong, and stay one step ahead of potential failure. That\u2019s an important part of what makes us effective lawyers. It\u2019s also what makes sustained stress nearly inevitable.<\/p>\n
When our attention is consistently oriented toward problems, our nervous systems don\u2019t distinguish between anticipated<\/em> threat and actual<\/em> threat. The result is a steady baseline of pressure \u2013 sometimes subtle, but always cumulative.<\/p>\nWhy Gratitude for Lawyers Is a Professional Necessity<\/h2>\n
Gratitude interrupts this stress pattern. It doesn\u2019t deny the problems and pressure; instead, it widens the frame of attention so we can see more than the problems and pressure. This allows us to achieve a better balance and realize positives that our brains might otherwise ignore. In this way, gratitude brings into view what is stable, resolved and going well. In other words, the things that don\u2019t create any perceived or actual threat, which is exactly why we overlook them!<\/p>\n
This shift to gratitude is not only good for our mental well-being, it also has real, positive benefits for our work, such as:<\/p>\n
\n- More cognitive flexibility under pressure<\/li>\n
- Better emotional regulation<\/li>\n
- Stronger working relationships<\/li>\n
- Greater endurance over long stretches of demanding work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here are five ways to practice gratitude no matter how busy your schedule.<\/p>\n
Five Simple Ways to Build Gratitude<\/strong> Into Your Busy Schedule<\/h2>\nPracticing gratitude isn\u2019t about adding another obligation. It\u2019s about slightly adjusting what you are already doing.<\/p>\n
1. End the Day by Naming What Moved Forward<\/h3>\n
Not everything gets finished. But projects progress. At the end of the day, whether before you leave the office, as you walk to the train, or while you are driving, take two minutes to identify:<\/p>\n
\n- What became clearer<\/li>\n
- What advanced<\/li>\n
- What you handled well<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This trains your brain to register progress rather than focusing only on the things that didn\u2019t resolve or new problems that arose. If your law practice is anything like mine, I\u2019m never \u201cfinished\u201d with work; I just decide to end the day and pick up tomorrow where I left off today. When we don\u2019t consciously focus on our progress, our days will always feel incomplete, no matter how much we do. And that can make us feel stagnant and unsuccessful when we are not.<\/p>\n
2<\/strong>. Acknowledge Contributions in Real Time<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn fast-paced environments, appreciation can be delayed or skipped entirely. When others are helpful to you, model timely acknowledgment of their contributions. Don\u2019t wait until the project finishes, the litigation is over, or the deal closes. Instead, provide a quick note of gratitude in the moment:<\/p>\n
\n- \u201cThat was insightful.\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cThat made this easier to navigate.\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cI appreciate the quick turnaround.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Taking one minute to express gratitude for others\u2019 contributions can have a disproportionate impact, not only on your and their well-being, but also on their motivation and willingness to step up when work gets challenging. Your gratitude for others\u2019 work reinforces effective communication, improves working relationships, and makes collaboration smoother. This is why intentional gratitude for lawyers is so critical\u2014it forces the brain to look past the \u2018issue spotting\u2019 and see the wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Track Completed Work, Not Just Pending Work<\/h3>\n
If your only system is a to-do list, your experience of work will always skew negative. If you have a running case or task list, especially a digital one, keep your completed tasks on the list rather than deleting them. I keep a task list for all my matters. While the matter is open, I strike through the completed tasks rather than deleting them so I can look back at the completed tasks. Once the matter is resolved or otherwise closes, I delete the completed tasks, but keep the matter on the task list and denote it as \u201cclosed.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can also create a \u201ccompleted\u201d list if that works better for you, where you can track tasks finished, problems resolved, conversations handled, and the like.<\/p>\n
At the very least, if you keep billable hours, you can look back at your timesheets to see what work has been completed.<\/p>\n
Any of these methods creates a visible record of output that provides a more accurate estimate of what we\u2019ve accomplished. This record can be used to counterbalance the common way that many lawyers underestimate output since we immediately move on to the next task as soon as the last task is complete.<\/p>\n
4. Recognize the Demands of Work<\/h3>\n
Rather than feeling guilty because we don\u2019t express gratitude as often as we \u201cshould,\u201d take a moment to explicitly acknowledge that it\u2019s challenging to do so when our work asks so much of us. Recognize that practicing law requires:<\/p>\n
\n- Managing high-stakes outcomes<\/li>\n
- Navigating conflict and uncertainty<\/li>\n
- Sustaining focus under pressure<\/li>\n
- Spending long hours analyzing and problem-solving<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
When we simply recognize that our work is demanding, we experience a form of grounded gratitude. Without the acknowledgment, we normalize the challenges, overlook the effort required to handle them, and make gratitude for what\u2019s working harder to experience.<\/p>\n
5. Notice What Actually Felt Meaningful<\/h3>\n
Not every valuable moment shows up in a billable entry, so it\u2019s important to take time to notice meaningful moments in our work. And by \u201cmeaningful,\u201d I mean meaningful to you<\/em>, not to your managing partner or supervisor or higher-up. Meaningful moments could be moments when:<\/p>\n\n- A client felt heard or reassured<\/li>\n
- A complex problem or solution clicked<\/li>\n
- A conversation felt human, not just transactional<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Recognizing and acknowledging these moments when they happen help us focus on what\u2019s working and how our work can help us feel grateful.<\/p>\n
Gratitude for Lawyers as a Strategic Reset<\/h2>\n
Use these gratitude tools to help you calibrate your attention away from deficiency to change what you notice, how you interpret your work, and why you continue your law practice. These shifts can positively affect your well-being and your performance.<\/p>\n
More Health and Well-being Tips on Attorney at Work<\/h2>\n
Why Lawyers Need Boredom<\/a><\/p>\nIndoor Fitness Tips for Attorneys With Busy Schedules<\/a><\/p>\nWhy Are You at the Office Until 10 p.m.?<\/a><\/p>\nFive Ways to Stay Energized<\/a><\/p>\nFive Ways to Leave Your Lawyer at Work<\/a><\/p>\nTop-Rated Mindfulness and Meditation Apps<\/a><\/p>\nHealthy Habits for Deskbound Lawyers<\/a><\/p>\nHow to Be Productive When You\u2019re Depressed<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/The-Lawyer-the-Lion-and-the-Laundry.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\nThree Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos <\/h2>\n
BESTSELLER! THE LAWYER, THE LION & THE LAUNDRY<\/p>\n
Join lawyer and certified health coach Jamie Jackson Spannhake in an enlightening journey. Read her bestselling book and learn how to \u201cchoose, act and think\u201d in ways that will clarify your desires and set priorities so you can reclaim your time and enjoy your life. Includes exercises.<\/p>\n
\nORDER YOUR COPY N<\/strong>OW<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nImage \u00a9 iStockPhoto.com. <\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/AttorneyatWork-Logo-%C2%AE-2021-1.jpg?resize=372%2C106&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\nSign up for Attorney at Work\u2019s daily practice tips newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to our podcast<\/a>, Attorney at Work Today.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jamie Spannhake | As spring arrives, there\u2019s a natural pull toward resetting and thinking about what we want to add or improve. But it\u2019s equally important to consider what we have and what’s working. Here are five ways to build gratitude into your busy schedule. The post Five Ways to Use Gratitude to Improve Your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148985\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- \n
- 1. End the Day by Naming What Moved Forward<\/a><\/li>\n
- 2 . Acknowledge Contributions in Real Time<\/a><\/li>\n
- 3. Track Completed Work, Not Just Pending Work<\/a><\/li>\n
- 4. Recognize the Demands of Work<\/a><\/li>\n
- 5. Notice What Actually Felt Meaningful<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Gratitude for Lawyers as a Strategic Reset<\/a><\/li>\n
- More Health and Well-being Tips on Attorney at Work<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Gratitude for Lawyers Is About Noticing What\u2019s Already Working<\/h2>\n
Gratitude is the intentional practice of recognizing what we currently have that is effective, meaningful, and sufficient. It isn\u2019t just a feeling; it\u2019s a discipline of attention. And in our legal careers, where our environment trains us to focus on what\u2019s missing and what could go wrong, the discipline of gratitude matters.<\/p>\n
Why? Because if we don\u2019t intentionally focus on what\u2019s good, our attention will default elsewhere, and often on the negative.<\/p>\n
Why Lawyers Miss What\u2019s Working<\/h2>\n
Focusing our attention on what\u2019s not<\/em> working is easy for anyone to do, given our innate negativity bias<\/a>. But the skills we need to succeed in the practice of law can make it an even bigger issue. In most professions, success is visible and explicit. In law, it often isn\u2019t. When we succeed in our legal practice, it can be more implicit. Sometimes our success is:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The issue that never escalates.<\/li>\n
- The risk is neutralized early.<\/li>\n
- The advice that prevents a future problem.<\/li>\n
- The negotiation that avoids a bigger problem yet doesn\u2019t quite meet a client\u2019s expectation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
These are quiet wins. They don\u2019t announce themselves. They don\u2019t create closure. So, the brain may track what\u2019s not going well instead. Over time, this creates a distorted sense of reality, where problems feel constant and progress feels insufficient.<\/p>\n
Adding to our problem-heavy perception is our well-developed legal skill of identifying issues. We are trained to see risk before it materializes, anticipate what could go wrong, and stay one step ahead of potential failure. That\u2019s an important part of what makes us effective lawyers. It\u2019s also what makes sustained stress nearly inevitable.<\/p>\n
When our attention is consistently oriented toward problems, our nervous systems don\u2019t distinguish between anticipated<\/em> threat and actual<\/em> threat. The result is a steady baseline of pressure \u2013 sometimes subtle, but always cumulative.<\/p>\n
Why Gratitude for Lawyers Is a Professional Necessity<\/h2>\n
Gratitude interrupts this stress pattern. It doesn\u2019t deny the problems and pressure; instead, it widens the frame of attention so we can see more than the problems and pressure. This allows us to achieve a better balance and realize positives that our brains might otherwise ignore. In this way, gratitude brings into view what is stable, resolved and going well. In other words, the things that don\u2019t create any perceived or actual threat, which is exactly why we overlook them!<\/p>\n
This shift to gratitude is not only good for our mental well-being, it also has real, positive benefits for our work, such as:<\/p>\n
- \n
- More cognitive flexibility under pressure<\/li>\n
- Better emotional regulation<\/li>\n
- Stronger working relationships<\/li>\n
- Greater endurance over long stretches of demanding work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here are five ways to practice gratitude no matter how busy your schedule.<\/p>\n
Five Simple Ways to Build Gratitude<\/strong> Into Your Busy Schedule<\/h2>\n
Practicing gratitude isn\u2019t about adding another obligation. It\u2019s about slightly adjusting what you are already doing.<\/p>\n
1. End the Day by Naming What Moved Forward<\/h3>\n
Not everything gets finished. But projects progress. At the end of the day, whether before you leave the office, as you walk to the train, or while you are driving, take two minutes to identify:<\/p>\n
- \n
- What became clearer<\/li>\n
- What advanced<\/li>\n
- What you handled well<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This trains your brain to register progress rather than focusing only on the things that didn\u2019t resolve or new problems that arose. If your law practice is anything like mine, I\u2019m never \u201cfinished\u201d with work; I just decide to end the day and pick up tomorrow where I left off today. When we don\u2019t consciously focus on our progress, our days will always feel incomplete, no matter how much we do. And that can make us feel stagnant and unsuccessful when we are not.<\/p>\n
2<\/strong>. Acknowledge Contributions in Real Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In fast-paced environments, appreciation can be delayed or skipped entirely. When others are helpful to you, model timely acknowledgment of their contributions. Don\u2019t wait until the project finishes, the litigation is over, or the deal closes. Instead, provide a quick note of gratitude in the moment:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u201cThat was insightful.\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cThat made this easier to navigate.\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cI appreciate the quick turnaround.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Taking one minute to express gratitude for others\u2019 contributions can have a disproportionate impact, not only on your and their well-being, but also on their motivation and willingness to step up when work gets challenging. Your gratitude for others\u2019 work reinforces effective communication, improves working relationships, and makes collaboration smoother. This is why intentional gratitude for lawyers is so critical\u2014it forces the brain to look past the \u2018issue spotting\u2019 and see the wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Track Completed Work, Not Just Pending Work<\/h3>\n
If your only system is a to-do list, your experience of work will always skew negative. If you have a running case or task list, especially a digital one, keep your completed tasks on the list rather than deleting them. I keep a task list for all my matters. While the matter is open, I strike through the completed tasks rather than deleting them so I can look back at the completed tasks. Once the matter is resolved or otherwise closes, I delete the completed tasks, but keep the matter on the task list and denote it as \u201cclosed.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can also create a \u201ccompleted\u201d list if that works better for you, where you can track tasks finished, problems resolved, conversations handled, and the like.<\/p>\n
At the very least, if you keep billable hours, you can look back at your timesheets to see what work has been completed.<\/p>\n
Any of these methods creates a visible record of output that provides a more accurate estimate of what we\u2019ve accomplished. This record can be used to counterbalance the common way that many lawyers underestimate output since we immediately move on to the next task as soon as the last task is complete.<\/p>\n
4. Recognize the Demands of Work<\/h3>\n
Rather than feeling guilty because we don\u2019t express gratitude as often as we \u201cshould,\u201d take a moment to explicitly acknowledge that it\u2019s challenging to do so when our work asks so much of us. Recognize that practicing law requires:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Managing high-stakes outcomes<\/li>\n
- Navigating conflict and uncertainty<\/li>\n
- Sustaining focus under pressure<\/li>\n
- Spending long hours analyzing and problem-solving<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
When we simply recognize that our work is demanding, we experience a form of grounded gratitude. Without the acknowledgment, we normalize the challenges, overlook the effort required to handle them, and make gratitude for what\u2019s working harder to experience.<\/p>\n
5. Notice What Actually Felt Meaningful<\/h3>\n
Not every valuable moment shows up in a billable entry, so it\u2019s important to take time to notice meaningful moments in our work. And by \u201cmeaningful,\u201d I mean meaningful to you<\/em>, not to your managing partner or supervisor or higher-up. Meaningful moments could be moments when:<\/p>\n
- \n
- A client felt heard or reassured<\/li>\n
- A complex problem or solution clicked<\/li>\n
- A conversation felt human, not just transactional<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Recognizing and acknowledging these moments when they happen help us focus on what\u2019s working and how our work can help us feel grateful.<\/p>\n
Gratitude for Lawyers as a Strategic Reset<\/h2>\n
Use these gratitude tools to help you calibrate your attention away from deficiency to change what you notice, how you interpret your work, and why you continue your law practice. These shifts can positively affect your well-being and your performance.<\/p>\n
More Health and Well-being Tips on Attorney at Work<\/h2>\n
Why Lawyers Need Boredom<\/a><\/p>\n
Indoor Fitness Tips for Attorneys With Busy Schedules<\/a><\/p>\n
Why Are You at the Office Until 10 p.m.?<\/a><\/p>\n
Five Ways to Stay Energized<\/a><\/p>\n
Five Ways to Leave Your Lawyer at Work<\/a><\/p>\n
Top-Rated Mindfulness and Meditation Apps<\/a><\/p>\n
Healthy Habits for Deskbound Lawyers<\/a><\/p>\n
How to Be Productive When You\u2019re Depressed<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\nThree Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos <\/h2>\n
BESTSELLER! THE LAWYER, THE LION & THE LAUNDRY<\/p>\n
Join lawyer and certified health coach Jamie Jackson Spannhake in an enlightening journey. Read her bestselling book and learn how to \u201cchoose, act and think\u201d in ways that will clarify your desires and set priorities so you can reclaim your time and enjoy your life. Includes exercises.<\/p>\n
\nORDER YOUR COPY N<\/strong>OW<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nImage \u00a9 iStockPhoto.com. <\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\nSign up for Attorney at Work\u2019s daily practice tips newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to our podcast<\/a>, Attorney at Work Today.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jamie Spannhake | As spring arrives, there\u2019s a natural pull toward resetting and thinking about what we want to add or improve. But it\u2019s equally important to consider what we have and what’s working. Here are five ways to build gratitude into your busy schedule. The post Five Ways to Use Gratitude to Improve Your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148985\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- 2 . Acknowledge Contributions in Real Time<\/a><\/li>\n