Barristers and lawyers. If you don't reply, someone else decides.

One of the things lawyers complain about is decisions getting made by email when they're not responding fast enough.

You're on leave.
You take a day off.
You're in court or in a mediation all day.
You're just not handling emails for a few hours.

And while you're not responding, decisions are made.
Deadlines get set.
Positions get locked.
Next steps are made that you didn't agree to.

So when someone says,
"It has to be finalised by Friday."

It doesn't get negotiated.
It just becomes how it runs.

And if you question it, you're not seen as doing your job.
You're seen as the problem.

So you try to stay across everything.
Not because it's urgent.
Because it's easier than dealing with the consequences later.

That's how days off disappear.
That's how 24/7 availability becomes assumed.
That's how work starts running you instead of the other way around.

Nothing dramatic happens.
No big decisions made.
No clear moment in time when you chose it.

If you've been practising long enough, you know how this plays out.
The exact expectations continue.
The same pressure shows up.

And before long, you're complying with decisions you never agreed to, to keep things moving.

👉🏻This is exactly what the cheat sheet: "Don't Let Week One Back at Work Decide Your Whole Year" is for. 

It is a 5-page, practical guide for lawyers under time and billing pressures who don't want another year shaped by default.

⭐️You can find it HERE