When I give the Happy Lawyer talk, I ask people to identify one current obstacle (that is particularly frustrating) that they're wrestling with right now. Inevitably, I receive answers like:

"Not enough time."

"Not enough hours in the day."

"Too many things to do, and not enough time."

To hear these people, you'd think that giving them a few extra hours a day would solve their problems (to be clear - I'm not judging, I've thought that until recently). The reality is, it won't. They'd just spend those extra hours too. Time is not the issue, time is just the symptom of the real issue(s).

As part of the happy lawyer project, I've identified different variables that happy lawyers and unhappy lawyers approach differently. The thing is:

TIME IS NOT A VARIABLE.

We all have the same amount of time each day. It is a CONSTANT, not a variable. So this discussion around not having enough time is just distracting you from the REAL discussion you need to have.

And that discussion is going to be different for everyone:

• Do you take on too many things? Do you base your worth on what you accomplish?
• Do you feel like you need to say yes to everyone? What if you didn't?
• Do you have unrealistic expectations of what you can get done? What would it look like to be kinder to yourself?
• Do you feel stretched between different priorities that really matter to you? (e.g. doing well at work, but also making sure your child is in rep soccer/hockey) Which priority is more important?
• Do you waste time? (e.g. by doom scrolling, reddit binging, or with shitty TV) What need is the wasting time addressing?

As with pretty much everything else, the first step to your solution starts with self-awareness. The next step? Intentional action (and it doesn't need to be big).

Bon courage! You got this. 😊

-Paul

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