I’m in the middle of a bad streak of 12 hour work days. You know the type — you wake up tired after dreaming all night about the things you still need to accomplish from the day before as well as the items you did so quickly that you’re scared you screwed up.
You hustle to work earlier than normal feeling like you just left.
You log on to your computer to find 20 unread e-mails that appeared between midnight and 8 a.m.
You work the phones, endure countless meetings (some even necessary) and scramble to court or depositions.
You skip lunch or hit the vending machines.
You fight the clock all day, constantly misleading yourself that you can, in fact, accomplish all of the tasks you’ve been assigned.
You call home and tell your spouse that you are unfortunately going to be later than you thought (again), then arrive half an hour later than your revised promised.
You miss dinner with the kids or rush through without really listening to them because you need to finish up a few things before the next day’s deluge swamps you again.
And you truly need a good night’s sleep but toss and turn all night because your mind is trying to figure out the meaning of your life and questioning your choice of careers.
So when did the 60-hour work week become standard in the legal profession?
Though I certainly don’t profess to have all (or any) of the answers, I keep in mind several tidbits I picked up over the years:
• It doesn’t matter how hard you work, the phone will keep ringing and the e-mails will keep coming.
• Don’t expect your boss to tell you to slow down or go home early.
• No one dies thinking they should have spent more time at work.
• There IS something wrong with sacrificing your health and your family’s love for your work.
• If you don’t want to be your boss when you grow up, you are probably in the wrong job.
• You are certainly NOT indispensable to the continuing viability of your firm or company.
The other side of the coin reads something like this:
• Say I love you, please and thank you.
• Call your Mother.
• Turn the cell phone off once in a while.
• Go to your kids Saturday soccer game instead of the office – there’s no greater feeling for a kid than having Mon and Dad in the stands.
• Stop and pet the dog and remember that he doesn’t care what kind of day you had, he’s just happy you’re home.
• Do a little yard work.
• Make time for religion even if you don’t regularly attend services.
• Watch the sunset (preferable not from your office).
• Eat a piece of fruit.
• Exercise.
• Take a walk by the ocean.
• Develop a hobby.
• Listen to music.
• Vote.
• Go to the doctor if you’re sick.
Volunteer and help the less fortunate
And most importantly, be thankful for what you have and accept the fact that someone will always have more.
Give some thought to the following analogy: each day in your life is like an apple pie. The problem is that the size of the pie, just like the number of hours in the day, will never change. Are you giving a big enough slice to your family and to your own personal well being?