Page 15 - CCCA Magazine Fall 2018

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The search for balance in our work-life often seems like a winding, never-

ending maze to an elusive destination. in search of a better equilibrium, the
author took her biggest career leap yet—opting to travel the world for a year

as a professional nomad in pursuit of ways to happily work and live as a lawyer.

We are all familiar with scales as a universal symbol It began with my decision to attend Canada’s newest uni-
for our profession, often seen in logos for law schools versity, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, as
and societies. They are also used as a symbol for bal- a member of the frst class, despite my mentors’ concerns that
ance and equilibrium within our personal lives (especially for no law school would accept an application from a “no name”
Libras like me!). university. Then I made an early transition from an exciting
We have also heard of the tipping point, the subject of Mal- start at a top Bay Street frm to a new-model law frm as their
colm Gladwell’s bestseller of the same name, which recognizes frst Start-Up Associate (going against the warnings that I was
that little things can make a big difference in tipping the scales leaving traditional practice too soon). Finally, I landed in my
in favour of widespread change or impact. “dream job” as in-house counsel to a fast-paced, global tech-
The pursuit of change has not traditionally been encouraged nology company, Vision Critical.
or sought regarding “how” we practice law. Yet, within the last These external shifts seemed to satisfy me professionally and
decade, change has become impossible to resist. Globalization, intellectually, but about six years in, despite my dynamic jour-
customer experience, technology and (in)access to justice are ney, something was not working.
driving macro-level forces with no signs of slowing. Meanwhile, Although I was extremely good at working, I didn’t feel
many of us are struggling to keep up, suffering greater rates of good at working. I felt depleted, exhausted and stuck. I felt
burnout and exhaustion, and experiencing an overall inability trapped working where my value was measured in hours and
to balance our work lives. KPIs, and I was consumed by a voluminous, often routine and
redundant workload—where the
The Way I’m Working Isn’t Working reward for great work was
always more work. life
Growing up, I often listened to my dad’s audiobooks (cassettes I was left wonder-
at the time) during our long car rides together. As a young ing—and wanderlust-
adult, Tony Schwartz’s book, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Work- ing. Was it possible
ing: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance, to have a work-life
was my frst audio CD. Schwartz’s title and text resonated then, split where the life
but its signifcance—and impact on my efforts to achieve work- slice was more than
life balance—were more poignantly felt a few years later, at a a mere fraction of the
pivotal moment in 2016. work one?
Leading up to this moment, I had an atypical history of mak- work
ing shifts as a young corporate lawyer.

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