As the co-author of ‘How to make partner and still have a life‘, you would have thought that I would be all for work/life balance. I’m not, and I will tell you why. work/life balance is a myth There is no such thing as work/life balance. You only have one life. Therefore, you owe it to yourself to live the life you want to lead. Most of us were not fortunate to born into money or win the lottery, so work is going to feature in our lives. Only you can take responsibility for building a life which makes you happy. This means it is up to you to decide how work is going to feature in your life. Let’s look at this in more detail. If we are going to discard going for “work/life balance” (as this is a myth), then we need to strive to be happy in all areas of our life. After all, let’s emphasise this again, all of us only have one life to live. There are a couple of pointers to be happy in all areas of your life:
1. Surround yourself with people who you like and respect.
This makes ‘work’ far more enjoyable and fun. If you are in a firm whose environment, people or culture doesn’t gel with who you are, then take responsibility and make some changes – ultimately this probably means moving your firm.
2. Choose a specialism and client base which you are passionate about.
I probably work far more hours than I ever did when employed – but am far happier and more satisfied than ever before with my lot in life. The difference is that now I work on what I am passionate about, and with client’s I want to work with. If you are going to spend potentially 20-30 years working in your specialism, does this sound positive or negative? If it sounds negative, what changes can you make over the next couple of years to change this to doing something you are truly passionate about? The more passionate and fulfilled you are by your work, the easier it becomes to satisfied with your lot in life.
