Amidst the uncertainty of the past 18 months, people have paid more attention to physical and mental self-care as our bodies felt at risk of illness and our minds risked suffering from isolation and stress. For in-house counsel, the COVID-19 pandemic forced attorneys to work remotely indefinitely, causing a shift that resulted in many individuals feeling as though their work and home lives blended together overnight. Although there are benefits of working remotely, some of us struggle to balance remote work with other responsibilities such as childcare, maintaining a home office, virtual schooling, the safety of family and friends, to name a few. And what’s more—many lawyers experienced even longer working hours due to the legal challenges arising from the pandemic. 

The stressors of working from home and the fears and worries associated with the pandemic have left us seeking ways to safeguard our well-being. Popular tips to harmonize family, work and personal obligations have largely focused on setting schedules like our previous in-person routines to maintain work/life balance—such as taking a one-hour lunch break at noon and logging off in the early evening. This advice might be helpful to some but is oftentimes unrealistic for many in-house lawyers. Our jobs require us to work unconventional hours, dedicate focused energy on addressing sophisticated issues, and manage a large number tasks, so taking long lunches and ignoring late emails is unfeasible. Therefore, instead of looking to achieve a balance where work and home are equally weighted, we can identify ways to align our unique priorities in a flexible way that is tailored to fit our individualized goals and circumstances. Below is a discussion of less-talked-about methods to achieve a healthy work/life alignment for in-house lawyers:

  • Tip No. 1: Plan breaks throughout your day, week and year.