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"How
do you manage it all? How do you find the time?"
I get asked this a lot.
And, yes, I have a lot going on, but so do most young
lawyers. We have families and careers and we strive
to find the balance in our lives every day. On top
of trying to juggle what we already have, there are
those annoying people like me who are constantly asking
people like you to do more. "Join YLS...Join
Mock Trial...do this...do that..." Enough already-right?
Wrong, I'm not going to let you off that easy.
In my last column I
wrote about the unique opportunity we as lawyers have
to make a difference in other people's lives. In response
to that article, I received several e-mails and phone
calls from people in various parts of the state wanting
to get involved in our service projects. As a result,
we were able to gather new volunteers for our Mock
Trial program, our Law Day program, and our Statute
of Limitations Handbook. So, you must bear with me
now that I see my begging and pleading has worked
so well!
There are a lot of service
projects on our horizon that need more volunteers.
The Mock Trial Committee is always in need of presiding
judges and scoring judges for their regional and state
competition. This takes only a few hours out of your
day, and the students remember these experiences for
years. Some of our other projects, such as Law Day,
may require a little more time and preparation, but,
again, the impact your presence makes on these impressionable
young minds is invaluable.
If all this sounds good,
but you are still teetering on the fence and not sure
you can commit to another volunteer project, I'm going
to let you in on a little secret. I recently discovered
a way to help balance some of the more chaotic moments
of my life, that may work for you as well. It's called
10-10-10. This stands for a series of three questions
you ask yourself anytime you have a situation where
there appears to be no reasonable solution in sight.
Ask yourself what are the consequences of my actions
in 10 minutes? In 10 months? And, in 10 years? The
clarity the answers to these questions will give you
in almost any situation may surprise you.
For example, earlier
in the year I was asked by our Association President
to accept an appointment to a new committee of the
Association, the Law Related Education Committee.
At the time, I was juggling a lot of Association activities,
and it was really taking a toll on my work hours,
billable hours, and personal hours. All I could think
was "Geez!!! How can I possibly fit in another
committee?" At the same time, the purpose of
this committee was so honorable and inspiring it was
hard to pass up the opportunity to get involved.
I asked myself what
the consequences of accepting this appointment would
be in the next 10 minutes. I figured in the next 10
minutes I would probably experience a little more
anxiety over taking on another commitment, but otherwise,
there would be no immediate fall-out. I then asked
myself how I would feel in the next 10 months if I
accepted this appointment? When I thought about it,
I realized that in 10 months I would be almost finished
with my year as Chair of the YLS and things would
be slowing down. In all likelihood, by this time I
wouldn't be giving up any more of my time than I already
was at the present-and I could live with the current
status quo. Then, the final question, how would this
affect me in 10 years? I thought a little harder about
this one. It was possible that in 10 years I would
no longer remember this committee appointment or the
time it took away from my billable hours. It was also
possible that by participating in this committee I
may have had a part in influencing a child to go to
college or law school. I may have participated in
educating adults about the legal system, and helped
someone to understand their rights and the tools available
to them to defend their rights. The possibilities
as to how many people I may indirectly affect over
the next 10 years was endless. When I weighed this
with the only real negative I discovered (the immediate
anxiety over another commitment) my choice was easy.
The point in all this
is, we make time for what is important to us. My discovery
of 10-10-10 has helped me to sort through what is
important and what is not so important in the big
scheme of things. Billable hours and work is important-no
doubt, but affecting lives and bettering our community
is also important. Finding the balance between these
two forces and parceling out time for yourself and
family can sometimes feel as impossible as balancing
Jell-O on a toothpick. But it can be done, when you
know your priorities and keep your focus.
If you are interested
in learning more about the YLS service projects, please
contact me at MCauley@mwsgw.com.•
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