In the legal profession, how often do you experience true stillness? As lawyers, we are bombarded with calendar reminders, email alerts, phone calls, and text messages. Every day, we get pulled in multiple directions. Every six minute increment must be captured. And then there is the mental chatter. We lawyers are really good at that. 

As an endurance athlete and author, Rich Roll recently shared on Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s Feel Better, Live More podcast that solitude and even boredom are not liabilities. They are gateways to growth. Roll argues that discomfort sharpens resilience, while the absence of constant stimulation creates space for creativity and clarity. For lawyers who spend their days solving problems for others, embracing silence and stepping away from the constant pull of technology might feel counterintuitive, but it could be the most strategic move for long-term success and well-being.

Think back to the last time you allowed yourself to be bored, not scrolling, not scanning emails, not half-listening to a podcast on your commute but truly being present with nothing to distract you. For many lawyers, that thought is unnerving. We are trained to fill every moment with productivity or preparation. Yet it is often in the quiet, unstructured moments that our deepest insights emerge. Solutions often reveal themselves when we stop trying so hard to force them and we simply let our minds wander.

Psychological research supports this. Studies on “creative incubation” show that downtime and boredom activate the brain’s default mode network, the system linked to imagination, problem-solving, and self-reflection. Neuroscientist Jonathan Smallwood has found that when our minds wander, they don’t switch off. They reorganize information, make new connections, and surface insights we may have missed in our focused state. In the legal context, this means that allowing space for stillness can actually enhance the quality of your reasoning, sharpen your advocacy, and even reduce burnout by giving the brain necessary recovery.

But not all mind wandering is equal. In his book Mindwandering, Moshe Bar points out that mind wandering can sometimes lead to unhealthy rumination and catastrophizing. Bar recommends paying attention to your thoughts and having awareness when you start to ruminate and catastrophize. He suggests giving your mind permission to wander freely to stimulate creativity. Bar proposes engaging in mind wandering when you are in a good mood. This makes negative thinking less likely and increases the potential for creativity.

If you want to make time in your hectic schedule to shut it down, start small. Leave your phone behind during a short walk between meetings. Block ten minutes on your calendar for silent reflection, as you would any other appointment. Try driving without the radio or a podcast and notice where your thoughts drift. Experiment with “tech-free hours” at home, giving yourself the gift of undistracted presence. These micro-practices won’t derail your productivity. They will replenish it, creating more energy and clarity for the demands of your clients and cases.

We all need reminders to pause, so consider this yours. Lawyers are admired for their intellect, diligence, and ability to endure long hours under pressure. But true wisdom may come not from pushing harder, but from stepping back. As Rich Roll reminds us, discomfort and stillness are not to be avoided but embraced. In choosing to sit with silence, we invite creativity, resilience, and perspective to rise.