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Strategies for Work/Life Balance

Presented by the Lawyers Assistance Program

Facilitated by Robert Bircher

Work/Life Balance

• Is such a thing possible in Law?• Good news-Absolutely yes• Bad news-Make your choices and

pay your prices• If you want to change your life

you need to change your life!• Many Lawyers want change but

are unwilling to make even small changes to their lives

• How balanced are you? Wheel of life exercise. How bumpy is your ride in life?

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Work/life Balance

• Mark where you are on the wheel in each area of life out of 10 in one color

• Mark where you would like to be in one year

• What needs to change to fill the gap? This must be something you can do without anyone else changing their way of being

• Pick an area you want to change and make suggestions on how this could be done

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Work/life Balance

• Example: if fun and recreation is a 5 and you want it to be a 9 you could take dance lessons, go kayaking, join a club or group, take a photography class etc.

• Goal setting should be S.M.A.R.T. small, modest, achievable, realistic and time bound

• If you want to run a marathon you need to start by walking a few blocks then running a short distance etc.

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Work/life Balance

• Example-reduce stress-work out or do yoga at lunch rather than wolf down some pizza and coffee at your desk

• What if my problem is my career itself? “I work 60 hours a week and have no life” How do I solve that?

• There are 3 choices-change the situation-accept the situation or leave the situation

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Work/Life Balance

• Changing means changing the area of practice, where you practice, who you practice with, how much you practice how you practice etc.

• A massive change of career is not usually necessary or desirable - for many lawyers, a small change can work i.e. reducing hours

• Often setting boundaries or limits is very effective-saying no to clients and bosses is difficult but necessary if you want to survive

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Work/Life Balance

• Often you can get caught in a core value conflict-valuing prestige and money and also balance

• Some lawyers need to move to another situation or type of law that is less stressful, some can set boundaries and reduce stress that way

• Roughly 10% make a major move to something outside of law that is to say they leave it altogether

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Work/Life Balance

• Before you move to something else it works to know exactly what it is about your present circumstance that will be different in the new situation otherwise you will simply be in another crappy job in a different building

• Acceptance: this means 100% acceptance of your present situation-all jobs have a downside and no one is happy all the time, it is possible your expectations are unrealistic

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Work/Life Balance

• How would I know if I should accept the situation? If you are happy and/or enthusiastic most of the time you are in the right place

• If you would rate your life as a 3 out 10 on a happiness scale something needs to change

• If you are chronically depressed or anxious (stressed) is this the life you envisioned for yourself?

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Balance Wheel-Areas I am willing to change

• The way it is now • The way I would like it to be

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Balance Wheel-Areas I am willing to change

• The way it is now • The way I would like it to be

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Balance Wheel-What changes am I making?

• What steps am I going to take and exactly when am I going to do it?

• Example-I will register for a painting class by this Friday at 5pm

• Don’t “should on yourself”-do it or don’t do it and accept that.

• Remember to be SMART-a small change you actually do is better than a grandiose change you don't

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