Late last year, our Digital and Social Media Manager Marin McCall asked members of the Commission’s staff to share one professionalism-related goal they are concentrating on in 2025.
While the responses were meant for our social media, we wanted to share them with you as well, as they touch on important foundational lessons for our personal and professional lives.
Though we are more than one month into 2025, we hope these suggestions will help reconnect you with the goals you set in January.
1. Be present and focus on what you can control
Transitions, whether they are positive or negative, can be uncomfortable and overwhelming. During times of change, it’s important to remain present in our daily tasks and to focus on the parts of our lives that we can control.
Our Deputy Director Stephanie Villinski is doing so this year by adopting Mel Robbins’s “Let Them Theory.”
Mel Robbins, an author and podcast host, describes the Let Them Theory as a way to control what you can control, release what you can’t, and prioritize what truly matters to you. Stephanie hopes to use the approach “to remind myself what is in my control and what is not.”
Mel Robbins discusses the theory in the video below.
Our Communications Director Laura Bagby is focusing on being present in 2025, using the “Stop, Breathe, And Be” method when she is feeling stressed or anxious. This looks like:
- Stop: Pause before starting an everyday activity
- Breathe: Take a deep breath in and out
- Be: Ground yourself in the present moment
2. Try something creative
Research has shown the positive impact creativity can have on stress and well-being. In fact, a survey from the American Psychiatric Association found that Americans who often engage in creative activities tend to rate their mental health as higher than those who don’t.
Creativity and the legal profession don’t always go hand-in-hand, but prioritizing creativity in workplaces can lead to better problem-solving, increased efficiency, and stronger resilience.
Our Instructional Design Manager Becky Harris and our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager Julia Roundtree Livingston are focusing on cultivating their creativity this year.
Becky is doing so by incorporating meditation into her walks, which she said supports her well-being and creativity. Julia is prioritizing collaboration and innovative ways of approaching tasks as opportunities to foster her creativity.
Julia and Michele Jochner, Partner at Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLP
3. Rethink how you prioritize tasks
Our Chief Counsel Mark Palmer recently wrote that time is one of our most valuable – but also most limited – resources.
“Between client meetings, court appearances, research, drafting, and managing your practice, the demands on your work schedule can feel overwhelming,” he wrote. “These struggles raise two questions: (1) How should you best prioritize your tasks and (2) How should you best utilize the time allocated to your tasks?”
Karen McCabe, our CLE and Accounting Manager, identified better prioritizing her to-do list as a professionalism goal she is concentrating on in 2025.
“This would include re-evaluating my task list at the end of every day to reprioritize tasks if needed. My daily task list should always include time for my daily walk, on both in-office and work-from-home days,” she said.
Chelsea Woodmansee, our Office Manager and Executive Assistant, is focusing on breaking “large-scale projects into manageable pieces as opposed to treating projects as one giant task that needs to be accomplished masterfully and flawlessly all at once.” That’s good advice for us all.
4. Nourish yourself from the inside out
The American Psychological Association reports that “psychologists are seeing an increase in news-related stress.” Whether it’s the latest political conflict, a study on the negative health impacts of the food we consume, or a weather emergency, it’s easy to feel exhausted by all the information we receive.
How can we combat this? For one, focusing on going back to the basics.
For example, Marin McCall, our Digital and Social Media Manager, has resolved “to pack a nutritious lunch for in-office days” to help her focus in the afternoon.
Mark Palmer, our Chief Counsel, said he will concentrate his social media time on productive and positive engagement with friends and colleagues.
And finally, our Executive Director Erika Harold is focusing on continuing to cultivate a growth mindset by learning from others, embracing new experiences, and pushing herself beyond her comfort zone.
Now it’s your turn. What are your professionalism goals for 2025?
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