The key to a successful career and a happy life is to prioritize your personal wellbeing as an Attorney. Here are 5 tips to maximize your wellbeing through a proper work-life balance:

1. Time Blocking. As attorneys, we can have a tendency to be reactive instead of proactive. Take control of your time management by scheduling uninterrupted time to focus on longer term projects and allow yourself to respond to emails and phone calls outside of these blocked hours. Consider when during the day your focus is the highest and block that time. Both you and your clients will appreciate the increase in your efficiency by enabling yourself to better focus on important tasks.

2. Night and Weekend Boundaries. To maintain balance, you need to treat your time off as time off unless there is an emergency. We recommend turning off work alerts while you are off the clock. When you feel you must respond to a client or employer on off hours when it is not an emergency, try replying that you’ve received their email and will address it first thing during your next scheduled work hours. These boundaries will create appropriate expectations for clients and employers and enable you to fully relax before your next workday.

3. Learn to Say No. It’s okay to say no (or yes, but not right now)! This is especially important for people pleasers, who tend to feel the burden of the office, and take it on. You are looking out for everyone else. Who is looking out for you? While you may feel compelled to say yes to please others, remember that in order to effectively perform your job and to stay healthy, you need to keep a manageable workload.

4. Maintain Relationships and Outside Interests. Stay interested and interesting by prioritizing having an identity outside of your legal career. Keep your hobbies and remember to carve out time to spend with your family and friends. Not only will you feel better balanced, but you will also incidentally help your legal career by better connecting with others on a deeper level through common interests.

5. Don’t Wait Until You Are Miserable. Often, people sense they are off balance and unsatisfied but try to push through in hopes that things will eventually get better. However, balance cannot be regained unless you incorporate changes to your current work life. While this may be daunting, you are not alone! Reach out to Law Life Coach today for a consultation to take control of your happiness and career.

Chelsea Ramel, with Law Life Coach.