What You Need To Do Instead Of Trying For Work

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers What you need to do instead of trying for “work-life balance” I frequently hear young lawyers say that “work-life balance” is very important. Almost every lawyer who is seeking work-life balance wants to spend more time with his or her family. I understand that and I believe it is important. My point is you will never have work-life balance practicing law. I always argued that instead of seeking balance, seek to identify the priorities in your life and spend your time consistent with those priorities. When I was a young lawyer my top priorities were: I never put an order on them. I just tried to focus on each one. Whenever I was in town, I worked out first thing in the morning. I taught high school and college Sunday School for 20 plus years. I spent Saturday and Sunday mornings working on my own development and client development. I spent Saturday afternoons with my daughter Jill doing whatever she wanted to do (with my gentle hints) on that day. I led the Roanoke, Virginia Hokie Club for several years. I enjoyed doing all of these activities. If you haven’t read it, take a look at  Work-Life “Balance” Isn’t the Point  by Christine M. Riordan on the HBR Blog Network. I like each of these points made in the blog post and have added my own comments:   I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.