Balance

Balance in the professional practice of law is the subject of Steven Keeva’s excellent book, Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life. Keeva, senior editor for the ABA Journal (the most widely read legal publication in the world) speaks to groups of lawyers and law students around the country about finding harmony and balance in their lives. I have suggested to my students that they begin to practice some of the concepts in Keeva’s book during law school as they approach the professional practice of law. The balance law students should strive for starts with a recognition that you don’t give up your life when you enter law school – rather, you begin your life – as a lawyer. Students need to recognize that a 14-credit law class load can be easily balanced, using a one-third, one-third, one-third formula: the 168 hours of the week can be divided rather neatly into sleep, law, and the rest of life. How does that work? Do the math:

    * 56 hours of sleep (8 hours each night for 7 nights).
    * 56 hours of law (14 in class, 3 times that [42 hours] outside of class).
    * 56 hours of the rest of life (eating, socializing, exercising, shopping, and attending to the score of weekly chores we all have to take care of).

If you need more than 42 hours outside of class, borrow a few of the “rest of life” hours. The real question then becomes one of scheduling, and of efficient use of each of the 56 hours of law. Lawyers work on rigid schedules, imposed by client appointments, court hearings, trials, tax deadlines, and other necessities over which they seldom have control.  In law school, except for about 15 hours of your 168 hours per week, you have nearly total control over your time.  Take control of your time and your life.

If you need assistance with how to go about this, you'll find step-by-step suggestions, including construction of a personal Flexible Time Resource Allocation Chart (“Flex-TRAC”™), in 1000 Days to the Bar – But the Practice of Law Begins Now.