The Strategic Power of Stepping Away: How One Law Firm Leader Found Clarity Through Journaling and Space

There’s a lie that too many leaders tell themselves: if I’m not at my desk, I’m not leading. For lawyers especially, presence often gets equated with productivity. But in reality, the opposite is true. Sometimes the most strategic move you can make is to step away—physically and mentally—and create the space to think.

This truth came to life in a recent coaching conversation with a law firm owner who has been carrying the weight of high-stakes client matters and the relentless pressure of firm leadership. In our session, he shared a breakthrough that perfectly illustrates why absence—when used with intention—is one of a leader’s greatest tools.

Creating Space to Think Differently

My client had talked about taking time away from the office on Friday mornings to do strategic thinking. He put it off and put it off. He let slip during a coaching session and I challenged him: That week, do the thing he had talked about doing. The result was stunning. 

By taking time away from his usual environment, he was able to carve out a few hours for focused journaling and deep work. Instead of getting buried in emails or reacting to client fires, he dedicated that time to reflection and a simple but powerful exercise we’ve been building together: “Drop and Give Me 50.”

The “Drop and Give Me 50” exercise forces him to brainstorm 50 different ways he helps his clients. On the surface, it’s straightforward. But when you’re in the weeds of casework, it’s surprisingly difficult to step back and see the breadth of your own value. By creating physical and mental space away from the office, he found the clarity to advance the exercise past the halfway point—and, more importantly, to recognize that journaling itself had become a lever for strategy.

When Stepping Back Unlocks Breakthroughs

Not long after, he faced a frustrating case. A client had hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up because a a financial institution wasn’t doing what it ought to do. He’d already done multiple “one more things” for this client, and the idea of yet another call to the governmental agency, again, to work with the financial institution, again, felt like wasted effort. His first instinct was, I don’t want to do this; it won’t make any difference. (This is an assumption that was ultimately proven wrong, by the way.)

Instead of forcing himself to grind it out in frustration, he did something different: he paused. He literally stepped away, took a short walk, and let the emotion drain off. When he returned, he picked up the phone. To his surprise, the governmental agent not only did as he requested, but actively facilitated a resolution. By the end of that same day, the client’s money was released.

What changed wasn’t the government. What changed was the my client’s mindset. By creating just enough space to reset, he interrupted his assumptions, re-engaged with curiosity, and unlocked a result that once seemed impossible.

Morning Pages as a Strategic Platform

This is why, earlier this month, I sent every one of my clients a journal—an invitation to begin practicing Morning Pages. It’s a deceptively simple exercise: three handwritten pages, stream of consciousness, first thing in the morning.

Morning Pages aren’t about building a to-do list or recording yesterday’s tasks. They’re about clearing mental clutter, surfacing the hidden assumptions that shape your choices, and giving yourself the space to think beyond the urgent. They are a daily, intentional absence—a micro-retreat before the world intrudes.

For this client, journaling has already become both a strategic thinking platform and an internal growth trigger. By writing freely, he’s spotting patterns, naming frustrations before they hijack his energy, and imagining possibilities for his firm’s future.

From Vision to Strategy

In our session, we also explored his Vivid Vision—a three-year picture of what he wants his firm to look like. The challenge was not to get caught in budgets or spreadsheets, but to step into big thinking: What will his team look like? What technology will he leverage? What kind of clients will he serve?

Carving out Friday or Sunday mornings—protected time away from client demands—became the prescription. Again, it wasn’t about being in the office. It was about being fully present with his own vision.

This is the essence of strategic absence: creating intentional space, whether for a weekend retreat, a midday walk, or 30 minutes with a journal. The absence isn’t an escape. It’s where clarity, direction, and growth emerge.

The Leadership Lesson

This story is proof that leadership isn’t found in non-stop presence. It’s found in the courage to pause.

When you step away:

• You break free from assumptions.

• You create room for clarity.

• You allow your team—and yourself—to rise.

That’s what happened when this law firm leader paused before making that IRS call. That’s what happened when he took days away to journal. And that’s what continues to happen as he integrates Morning Pages and his Vivid Vision into his leadership practice.

An Invitation

If you’re a managing partner or firm owner, I challenge you: where do you need to step away? Maybe it’s taking a Friday morning to write your Vivid Vision. Maybe it’s starting Morning Pages tomorrow. Maybe it’s simply giving yourself permission to pause before making the next “impossible” call.

Strategic absence isn’t neglect. It’s leadership at its highest level.