Forget your personal life if you want a career.
Working in the legal profession such as family law often involves long hours. This is especially true if you are ambitious and keen to reach the top of your chosen career. Leaving home early in the morning, skipping lunch and working late into the evening are often seen as prerequisites for a successful and lucrative career. Having a personal and family life is seen as a weakness that needs to be overcome in order to reach the top. Your career has to take priority above all else: those deadlines must be met; that research must be done; those meetings and presentations should become your life blood. Law firms can often be viewed as lacking in understanding when it comes to the demands of our partners and families. Your performance at work should be blemish free and unaffected by any aspect of your personal life. Is it your partner's birthday? That case must take priority. Does your child have a part in the school play? Your boss doesn't want to know. Is your mother ill? She'll have to wait for your attention.
Achieve a work/life balance in a driven manner
You shouldn't have to become a loner at risk of losing your family to have a career in the legal profession. It is possible to achieve a healthy work/life balance and to be successful. What can you do to make sure you don't have to choose your career over a 'life'?
You know how to research a case, how to find out all the salient facts and figures to ensure it stands up in court: apply this to your personal life. Research the best means of managing your time so that you can still meet the expectations of your partner, family and friends.
You know how to negotiate a great deal for a client, using carefully constructed, fact based arguments: do this for yourself. When you need time out to spend with your children, show your boss what you have done and how you're going to do to make sure you continue to meet the requirements of the job.
It is easy to become so absorbed in your work that personal time loses its value, as you lose the ability to 'switch off'. Research the best means of detaching yourself from work when you need to focus on your family. That could mean learning to meditate; engaging in sport or physical activity; or teaching yourself to become distracted with cooking, reading a novel or taking up crafts.
It is possible to achieve a healthy work/life balance, even if you are at the top of your game in the legal profession. All you need to do is to apply the same principles of planning, prioritizing and research to your personal life. You don't gain career success without being proactive, and the same applies to personal success and happiness. It is arguable that career success will be that much more difficult to attain if your personal life is falling down around you. Looking after yourself physically and mentally will equip you with the tools you need to be the best you can be, and who can argue with that?!
Yes, family, friends and work are all important. It is not good to just focus and devote all our time in our chosen job. Time management is the only solution...
ReplyDeleteTime management is the key to success ib life!
ReplyDeleteIt is often difficult, especially in todays economy to have a family life--bosses will generally just say-"fine--either do it my way or get another job!" These are good suggestions to getting your boss to your way of thinking!
ReplyDeleteI agree with prioritizing your life I think it works no matter what your profession is.
ReplyDeleteI have worked in law firms where it was cut throat, but not all of them. I have worked in two offices where they told me to get my priorities straight or quit - one told me that right after my son had heart surgery and I stopped in to grab files to work on at home while he was recovering. I told them they were right and I was so stupid for leaving my son to put work first, walked out and never looked back. Try it, it is so liberating to get your priorities straight.
ReplyDeleteGetting work and home life mixed is what most women fear. I know it is for me. I hate taking my children to a babysitter. I feel like I should be with them and not paying someone else to watch them so I can go work for a company. It is something that tugs at me a lot.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you feel, that is the main reason why I chose to leave my career and be with my two kids. I do some online job, the pay isn't much but I am okay with that because I get to take care of my kids and hubby.
DeleteIt is best to learn more about life. we have to make sure we as mother be the one to look for our children and do some career sacrifices in order to give them the attention and guide them properly
ReplyDeleteGood work etiquette always works. But we know how lawyers defend their clients.
ReplyDeleteBalance is tough. And rather than work/life balance, I'm hearing people talking about work/life integration.
ReplyDelete