I’m Not A McDonald’s Drive Thru

Recently something amazing happened, something that rarely happens to me… I was able to go to bed before midnight. Yes, that’s right, I was able to stop working and get into bed before midnight, 11:47 pm to be exact. A miracle I know. Most attorneys can relate to working all hours of the day (and night). And on those rare occasions when we can actually get some actual rest we cherish that. So there I was, in my bed drifting off into a lovely slumber, (I was at that point of falling into a deep sleep) when I heard it…the Law & Order theme ringtone of my work cell from the next room.

At first I thought I was dreaming, no one would be calling me this late or early depending on how you look at it. I just laid there in disbelief and waited for the ringing to stop so I could return to my near sleep. It stopped and I closed my eyes only to be awoken by that theme song again. Seriously!?! They are calling back. I was not getting out bed. I waited for the ringing to stop again and listened to hear if they left voicemail. No voicemail so I decided to again try to sleep.

In the morning when I woke up I wanted to know who called and more importantly what time did they call. My phone showed 2 missed calls from a family law client at 12:37am and 12:38am. When I finally spoke with the client later that day I asked if there was something they needed that late, turns out there wasn’t. They just had a question I figured they would call just in case I was around to answer. Oh boy.

This was not a first for me. I seem to attract clients that call after 10pm. That demand emails returned on Christmas Eve. And who want to discuss their cases on a Sunday morning. The old me, before I learned about boundaries, would have gotten out of bed to answer that phone. But I have set boundaries for myself.

Now there may be attorneys who need to be on call 24/7, criminal defense for instance, since most debauchery seems to happen in the twilight hours and on weekends. With one of my main practice areas being family law I know that holidays can stressful for my clients. So that is why I try to clear up any potential issues before they holidays hit and to also let them know, short of an emergency they won’t be getting a hold of me. This is one way I set some boundaries.

I think attorneys are under the impression that you must work constantly and anything less makes you a bad lawyer. Working 24/7 does not make you a better lawyer it just makes you miserable as a person. Having boundaries with your clients is important and it does not mean you don’t care or that you aren’t working hard for them.

Here are 4 ways to set some boundaries and have some you time:

1. I know some attorneys who do not work when the courts are closed. Some take it as far as only court hours during the weekdays as well as weekends and Holidays. Some only don’t work on court holidays. The latter may be a little easier for some attorneys to implement.
2. Separate your personal life from your business life. A simple way I do this is by carrying 2 cellphones, see my previous post .
3. Set your boundaries from the beginning, let your clients know in your representation agreement that you won’t answer phone calls/emails after 7pm and on weekends, or whatever your off time is.
4. I have an auto reply on my email that goes out on Sundays letting people know that I will not be answering emails on Sundays. Sunday is after all the day of rest.

Boundaries are not just for your clients they are for you too; to give you the much needed downtime that you are not taking.