Is there really such a thing as 'work-life balance' for lawyers?

Yesterday I talked about how we define return on investment, or ROI. Today, I'm interested in work-life balance. I recently read somewhere (unfortunately, I don't remember where) that there's no such thing as work-life balance for lawyers. Once again, I wonder whether the problem is in defining what 'balance' really means.

I think that when we talk about work-life balance, many people think about a balanced scale, like the scales of justice - determine how much weight needs to go on each side of the scale in order to make the scale balance. Once you've figured it out, the scale stays balanced, unless you add or remove weight to one side.

I think about balance more like a tightrope walker - even when the tightrope walker is standing still, 'balanced' on the tightrope, he or she is constantly making adjustments to keep from falling off of the tightrope. The tightrope walker is never really still; there's no one magical point at which the tightrope walker is completely balanced.

Achieving work-life balance as a lawyer means constantly making adjustments or corrections so you don't fall off of the tightrope. Your life won't constantly be in balance. In fact, it can be said that your life is constantly off balance - but it's your job to keep making those adjustments so that you don't burn out or joepardize your relationships or lose an important client.

Sometimes being in 'balance' means you've got to over-correct, like the tightrope walker who makes a big movement to counteract a slip. Perhaps that means spending some extra time at work on a particularly important client or trial or transaction one day (or week or month). Or it might mean spending extra time with your family one week because you've been swamped with work. Or perhaps it means taking a 'mental health' day for yourself.

Staying in balance means recognizing the outside forces that can throw you off - like a stiff wind for the tightrope walker, or someone else jumping on to the tightrope - and making those constant corrections so you don't come tumbling down.

Comments

[Allison Shields]

Fergus-

Thanks for the reference, but, looking at Dan's post, I don't believe this is what I was thinking of when I wrote mine. It appears that there are many out there who think that there's no such thing as work-life balance for lawyers.

Allison

[FERGUS O'ROURKE]

I do believe that "Dashing Dan" Hull is the "someone" you were trying to remember:

http://www.whataboutclients.com/archives/2006/10/worklife_balanc_1.html