Working Out

The Milwaukee Bar Association put on its first Associates Roundtable today.

I helped moderate.

I love talking to associates.

Today's chat allowed me to practice what I preach.

The very first question was, "How do you fit in workouts?"

I loved all the suggestions.

I also got to talk about how this was once a big struggle for me.

I used to workout in the morning, religiously.

Then: that stopped serving me.

When I wake up, my brain automatically starts running through the day ahead.

Adding a workout to that became stressful--I stopped looking forward to it.

It then took a long, long time to realize, understand, and believe that I could workout during the day.

You know, the good ole, "What about my billable hours?" mentality.

But, then I started giving myself permission to workout at or after 2 PM.

When assignments lull, when the day comes to a natural stopping point, I go workout.

I often come back for more work after (but, sometimes, on lucky days, I don't have to).

I see two benefits to this new and strong habit:

💪 It helps me process the stress of the day and break the stress cycle (something key to preventing burnout); and

💪 It feels rebellious and that brings me joy. It shows me that I can and do have more autonomy and control over my day than I once thought possible.

So, today, after the roundtable, when a 3 PM meeting fell off my calendar, I went and worked out.

I didn't regret it--I never do.

What would you tell a new attorney looking to keep up or create a workout routine?

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