what's the one thing practically EVERY happy lawyer said?
One of the things that's surprised me most through 63 interviews (of lawyers for my book The Happy Lawyer) is the importance of schedule autonomy. 📆 Almost every lawyer who was happy cited the flexibility in their schedule or the control they had over their schedule, as something that was really working for them in their life.
I wouldn't have been surprised to see it frequently, but practically every happy lawyer volunteered it (rather than me specifically asking about it).
Wow. 😲
What is it about setting your own hours and determining when you want to work that really works for people? And how does it work? Does it make them feel more fulfilled? Is it self-determination? 🤔
I've certainly heard about this before. There was some study where some janitors were given cleaning products they had to use, and others were given cleaning products they could pick from. Those that got to pick felt much more satisfaction in their work.
HOWEVER, we're missing a really important point. 👀
What I want to know is this: HOW do we start getting more schedule autonomy in our lives? Is it a question of becoming more senior? Of switching jobs? Of just setting kind (but ruthless) boundaries?
My personal theory (informed highly by Cal Newport's book So Good They Can't Ignore You) is that schedule autonomy is a privilege that you earn by being excellent at what you do (in other words, so good that they can't ignore you). This also tends to come as you become more senior.
Two other points come to mind:
Setting boundaries is very important (but that that can't come too soon before excellence), and
Sometimes it may be a question of tradeoffs (forgoing lucrative opportunities etc).
What do you think? How does one get schedule autonomy? How have YOU increased your schedule autonomy?
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