This was one of those weeks when my work-life balance went up and down like a see-saw. A big deadline on Tuesday meant a really late night in the office on Monday but was followed by an easy work-at-home day on Wednesday. I thought of it as well-earned recovery day and relished the slow pace.
Work Life Balance
My job as a partner in a big law firm is not known for fostering a healthy-work life balance. Sometimes I feel like work is sucking the life out of me–juggling demanding clients with complex legal issues and competing deadlines is par for the course. Not to mention my roles as a mentor, supervisor, and committee chair for my firm, the organizations I have leadership roles in, and that other blog I’m responsible for.
But I love my job. I love tackling those complicated problems. I love researching the law and crafting convincing arguments. Most of my clients are reasonable and appreciative. I have a wonderful team to work with. I enjoy being with my colleagues, on the clock or off. If you watch Grey’s Anatomy (anyone?) Miranda’s “speech” about returning to work after her heart attack really resonated with me.
I also love being my own boss. While work often demands priority over my time, it doesn’t always. Once my deadline was taken case of this week, I was able to spend more time with my family. Already this year I’ve been able to spend time visiting my daughter and my son while managing work for a few hours a day from my hotel room. As much as being able to work from anywhere can lead to expectations that you will work anywhere, I enjoy the freedom it gives me.
In the week ahead, I’ve got a few deadlines on Monday and am speaking at a local conference on Thursday, but I plan to leave work early other days to spend time with my son, who will be home for Spring Break. That’s what work-life balance typically looks like for me.
[Tweet “Finding Work Life Balance #fitness #motivation”]
Weekly Wrap
This was one of those rare weeks when work interfered with my morning workout schedule, but only on one day.
Monday: Strength Training, focusing on my PT exercises.
My PF is getting quieter and quieter, and I’m committed to silencing it!
Tuesday: “Rest” day.
After getting home from work at 1:00 am on Monday night, I didn’t even try to get up for a workout on Tuesday, but I did a few PT stretches before getting ready for work.
Wednesday: 4.5 mile run + Physical Therapy
I thought I only had time for a short run because I thought I was taking a house guest to the airport, but by the time I got back, his flight had been canceled–and he was rebooked to a flight on Friday.
Thursday: Indoor Cycling
I was so proud of myself for finally getting up for a fitness class–I hadn’t been since mid-February–that I didn’t notice that my 5:30 am class was pushed to 6:00 am.
Of course, I was the only one there at 5:15, but I put the time to good use and did some of my PT exercises.
Friday: CPY2
It’s also been a while since I’ve made it to Anne’s CPY2 class. The time hasn’t changed, but I did forget to bring the towel for my yoga mat.
Saturday: 9 mile run
I was torn between the Conte’s Ride and a long run, but because Sunday promised to be a much warmer day, I opted for a run. I’m sure the ride would have been great, but this run felt awesome in every way.
Sunday: 22 mile bike ride
The Custis Trail is no Conte’s Ride, but it’s the closest I can get on the bike path. We did two laps of the Custis hills and it felt good to ride hard.
It was a gorgeous day!
I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap
I’m also participating in the Cherry Blossom Training Link Up that Heather is hosting.
How do you strike the right work-life balance?
Have you ever shown up to a fitness class at the wrong time?
Have you been re-booked on a flight days later?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
I don’t see my getting back on my bike until after CB-good for you for getting out there. I think if you did not love your job so much, you would have a much harder time balancing everything out so well! Have a great week
I think if I didn’t love my job so much I wouldn’t put up with it. 😉
I am determined to get to Contes sooner rather than later ….
Work life balance can be hard! I often take time during my work day to be active just to get a break from it all. I also don’t sweat taking time off if I’ve worked over time.
I rarely leave my chair during the day, let alone my office. I feel too time-crunched to take a break but I KNOW it’s not healthy.
Work-Life balance can be such a tricky thing. Just when I think I have it figured out, something changes and then I’m back to re-evaluating my schedule.
When the weather is nicer, I will typically try to get in a 20 minute walk outside doing my lunch time. It makes me feel better especially since I sit at a desk all day.
I really need to take more of a lunch break. I sit all day too …. last week my butt hurt from sitting so much. :-0
You are one busy lady! I’m glad you found a balance that works for you. We got stuck in Florida one year (gobs of snow in Chicago of course) and could not get a flight out for days but we drove to Atlanta and flew out from there. Still quite a delay though.
That was a long drive to get to another airport! I guess it was worth it to get home, though.
I’m struggling as we speak with that balance. Work is so busy right now for me after the purchase of a competitor. They move in this week so I hope it will settle down soon. Nice job on that long run this weekend. And, you really make me want to get my bike off its trainer. It looks like you had a wonderful ride. Thanks for linking!
I hope the transitions at work go smoothly and that your load lightens soon. We have that going on too, but it won’t impact me directly for a while.
I’m always amazed at how you get everything done with your career commitments, and STILL have time to workout most days. My job is part-time, and the past couple months have been slow…but we all know it’s the calm before the storm (I work for a signage company, and spring/summer/fall are the busiest times for us with projects and installations).
It sounds like you’ve done a great job finding balance with your very demanding job. I’m sure it helps that you enjoy your work so much. I’ve been finding it hard lately to find a good balance, but in part, I think it’s because I may be ready for a new position.
Great week of workouts! And I’m glad to hear the PF is quieting down.
Even when work is rough I know it’s what I want to be doing — at least for now. It is so hard to make a change, but people who do usually are very happy once they do.
Wow. Nice article.
This gave me lots of ideas for my work life balance blog. It is important for people to understand necessary and need to balance the life.
My employer would suck the life out of me if I let it! I dropped my hours after my diagnosis with RA and that has helped a ton to put limits on my company. It’s amazing how they talk about the importance of family blah blah blah but in real life, not so much! Glad you are able to manage your time to strike that balance. It’s tough!
My first job demanded more time than I wanted to give, and it wasn’t healthy. I vowed to have a good work life balance after that, and I’ve been lucky in my two other positions. I make sure people know I won’t be checking emails when I leave the office. It may be old fashioned, but my time away from the office is supposed to be time away from the office.
I have a hard time finding work/life balance, but I’ve recently tried to shut my phone down as far as work emails go and not look at them once I’m home. I do have a two hour commute total so that adds to my daily hours “at work.” It’s a struggle, but I definitely try to schedule at least one day a week where I can completely just do what I want with no work!
Somehow I missed that you are a lawyer. It was really nice to learn a little bit more about you this week on your blog! I’ve really been struggling lately just finding balance between all of my competing priorities. So I just do what I can!
When i was younger I would always say I never wanted to bring work home with me. But it sounds like your do enjoy your job, even there there are always ups and downs in every job. It’s all about balance!
Well, I balance it by not working. 🙂 I was just never career-driven, maybe as a reaction to my Dad, who was the head of the Patent Dept at his IBM branch — and spend a lot of time at work.
My brother is also a partner in his firm, but he definitely doesn’t have a good balance & doesn’t take enough time for himself (must be a male thing).
I think if you love what you do, that’s one of the most important things. Too many people hate what they do. It’s soul-sucking (and I’ve been there, too).
Sounds like you do a great job balancing work and life and getting in fitness, too! I’m pretty good at balancing but there are times when work gets more demanding and I end up giving it a bit more than maybe I should. Your 9+ mile run looks lovely. 🙂
It’s so hard finding the right balance. Can’t I just swim, bike, run, race, blog all day? Great job getting in some awesome miles