Well all, we made it to another year, and I’m sure I am not the only one who is exhausted. Two years of a pandemic, and another surge in COVID cases has left us all drained. Normally, I like to use this column as an opportunity to discuss career-based New Year’s resolutions. However, after everything we have all been through, I think now is the time to discuss how best to survive and thrive during another pandemic year.

Probably the best thing to come out of this pandemic was the opportunity to slow down. As young lawyers and newer associates, we constantly feel the need to put in the billable hours and work at all hours of the day and night. As this pandemic made clear, that is not a healthy lifestyle. In fact, our obsession with constant productivity has resulted in us missing many meaningful life experiences. The lockdown that came from the pandemic forced us to slow down and start taking in the small, meaningful experiences that we had missed, such as family dinners, family movie nights, and actually taking the time to check-in with your parents (which, according to my parents, is something none of us do enough). With pandemic restrictions lifting and many of us going back to the workplace, now is not the time to forget those experiences and go back to our prior work practices. Instead, it is the perfect opportunity to recalibrate your work practices and create a healthier work/life balance. Remember, you do not have to work on the weekends. Remember, you do not have to necessarily work past 5 p.m. Will there be times where you may have to work late or check in on work during the weekend? Absolutely. But you now know what you are missing when you do this consistently, so make sure you only do it when necessary. If you work for a firm that insists on working past 5 p.m. and on the weekends, then it is time to have a frank conversation with your employer about the balance you need.  Most importantly, when you have a healthier work/life balance, you are actually more productive during the day.