Attorneys work hard. But with hard work can come burnout, anxiety, fatigue, and stress. The legal profession is a high-stress occupation due to client demands, high-value cases, the burden of billable hour requirements, and long hours.

Many attorneys spend about 40 to 80 hours a week just to try to reach their target billable hours. Unfortunately, these long hours may result in lawyers being prone to alcohol abuse and mental health issues. For these reasons, many law firms are looking into ensuring that their lawyers are taking their time off.

Attorneys can dream of a vacation but it can seem like a far-fetched reality with piles of paperwork pouring out in front of them.

You may be thinking:
“I don’t have a team to delegate to, I can’t take a vacation “
“If I leave, that means I come back to even more work”
“I don’t have the energy to work every week, let alone plan a vacation”

If you catch yourself thinking about any of these statements, it is now time to set your priorities, analyze your work-life balance, and use time management strategies to prepare for your well-deserved vacation. And by vacation, we mean – no email, no phone calls to the office, no thinking about clients, and not worrying about what can go wrong while you are gone.

Why take a vacation?
– Improve your physical health
– Improve your mental health
– Improve your creativity and productivity
– Reduce stress

Physical health:
Studies have shown that by staying in a sedentary state, you have a higher chance of developing physical symptoms such as depression. Depression can take a huge toll on your body. Depression and physical symptoms can affect your sleep, increase your blood pressure, and increase stress levels.

By taking a vacation, you are giving your body and your mind a rest so you can think clearly, breathe better, relax, and recharge.

Mental health:
Did you know that just taking the step of planning a vacation can improve your mental state? Your serotonin levels can boost just by visualizing your vacation. Most of us crave community, experiencing new cultures, and enjoying experiences so planning a vacation allows you to think about the possibilities.

According to researchers, looking ahead to your next adventure could benefit your mental health. Even if you’re not sure when that adventure will be.

Actually taking a vacation provides a boost of energy, gives your brain the opportunity to rest, is known to lower depression, and improves overall happiness.

Improve creativity and productivity:
Before and after a vacation can cause boosts in productivity. Vacations lead to recharging which allows us to have more energy, mental clarity, and being more productive when we return. Tasks at the law firm may be viewed differently after giving your brain a much needed rest. As you reset, you are able to come back to work with more creative ideas, suggestions and strategies.

Reduce stress:
Stress can lead to depression, anxiety, memory loss, brain fog, and other physical and mental health factors. Vacations allow us to step out of our daily routine and focus on yourself, your family, your friends, and alleviate stress, anxiety, and burnout.

Reducing stress improves memory and mental clarity. Client’s pay you for your problem solving skills so it’s important to be able to think on your feet, fight for your clients, and have a fresh, clear mindset.

We hope that as you read this, you realize that you do deserve a vacation for all of your hard work. If you are struggling with your work-life balance, we hope that you will join us on August 2nd for a free, 45-minute, virtual webinar where we will discuss taking a vacation and still cultivating a profitable practice.
Register here: https://atticusadvantage.com/what-we-do/attorney-work-life-balance-how-to-plan-a-family-vacation

• Author Details

Abbie Guerrero

Abbie Guerrero

Assistant Marketing Manager/Resource Advisor

Abbie joined the Atticus team in 2021 with more than a decade of digital marketing experience. She is results driven and has an extensive background in content creation, lead generation, understanding the customer development process, solving problems, and advertising. She is an expert at building relationships and sets high quality expectations. She loves to set and exceed personal and professional goals.

Abbie is currently the Resource Advisor for Atticus livestream webinars and workshops. In addition to her Resource Advisor role, she is the Assistant Marketing Manager. In this role she leads the strategy for digital marketing, creates content for weekly newsletters, all advertising campaigns and executes many ad hoc marketing projects.

Abbie has her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Utah Valley University. She is a blogger and published author and enjoys spending time with her family in both Utah and California.