Three days off… and the profession punished her for it.

A family lawyer posted this recently:
Lawyer: "I took three days off to spend time with my kids. No laptop. No emails."
Me (reading it): Three days. That's not long.

Then she described the fallout:
"100+ emails.
 Aggressive correspondence.
 Chasing, despite my out-of-office on.
 An offer changed because I didn't reply within 48 hours."

Me: This isn't unusual.
This is what happens in a profession that treats time off as impractical and expects 24/7 availability.

So the real question becomes: what keeps you in charge?

All lawyers and barristers need to come to terms with three things:

🚀CLARITY: Decide the life, career and practice you're building based on your values, not pressure.

If you don't decide what matters most, the profession + others will.

My values? Freedom, courage, authenticity, and making a difference.

So, even when I was running litigation briefs, I booked time off just as I did for hearings, non-negotiable.

Freedom doesn't come from a calendar that feels like a prison.

🚀EXPECTATIONS: Communicate clearly with people before you go.
Me: The issue isn't time off; it's often that people don't know what to expect.

Communicate clearly on:
– What will be finished before you go
 – What's still in progress
 – What's "on" while you're away
 – What to expect from you when you're back
 – Who handles anything urgent or unexpected (with their details)?

Clear expectations reduce pressure for everyone.

🚀OWN: what YOU control.
Others aggression, urgency, and chasing, along with 100+ emails? Not in your control.

What is:
– your values and priorities
 – your return plan
 – your focus before, during the break and on your return
 – how you approach and work through what's waiting
 – your perspective on the "workload"

Own what's yours; leave the rest where it belongs.

As a barrister and mediator, I see the cost of 'always on' thinking up close.
As a high-performance coach and advisor, I help lawyers replace it with systems, habits, and decisions that withstand pressure.

Part of that is seeing the work waiting for you:
 ✅not as a crisis (not allowing others to run you or your focus)
 ✅not as "it's not worth taking a break!"
 ✅but rather work to complete methodically and aligned to your priorities.

High-performing "CEOs" operate from clarity and intentional action - not others' pressure.

🔥A reminder
You're not built to live or work in a way that feels like a 'prison'.
Start with the CEO steps above. 
It starts with one step.
Those steps compound.
You'll end up exactly where you want to be when you take that first step.

🌟If you're a lawyer or barrister and want more free high-performance guidance, join my newsletter: High Performance Lawyers (www.louisemathias.com.au) and get "Break Mediation Deadlocks In 30 minutes as a gift.


🚀🚀PS. If you'd like to join me in a consulting partnership - not coaching... just you, me and Zoom, working through whatever challenges or opportunities are in front of you to simplify, improve and find new leverage in your practice, mediations or day-to-day operations. Reply with "YES" in the subject line and Ill send the details.