Crazy deadlines, client demands, and the work-from-home reality that removed the end
from the workday make it difficult to know when you can make time to exercise as a lawyer.
In a profession where responding emails at 10pm is normal, when is ‘your’ time to exercise?
Here are five tips I’ve developed to ensur
e I exercise at least three times every week.
1) Get a streak going.
Since September 2020, I’ve been tracking which days I exercise. My minimum goal is three times per week. I’ve only missed that goal one week, in October of 2020, and never missed since. If you are the kind of person who is motivated by looking at your monthly billable hours, crossing off dates on a calendar, or journaling, tracking which days you exercise may be very motivating to you. Now, I primarily rely on my habits to ensure that I meet my exercise goals, but for a while, my streak kept me accountable. Speaking of tracking . . .
2) Leverage technology
At the end of 2021, I started wearing a FitBit fitness tracker to track my heartrate and during exercise. One of the features that I quickly liked the most, which encouraged me to wear it all the time, is its burn calculator. Even though it might not be that accurate, it’s easy to see trends, and clearly higher on days where I move a lot and lower on days when I sits still at home. Tracking your calorie burn can be very motivating to keep moving. You can also use apps to remind you to exercise, and you can schedule your workouts like you schedule other things.
3) Make movement social
League sports, fitness classes, and other recreation can serve as an effective workout. When I moved to Chicago, I joined a running group that meets weekly. Barring a serious work or personal conflict, I know that I’m going to be running at least 6 miles Thursday evenings. You might prefer a SoulCycle class with your favorite instructor, or a soccer league. As long as it involves significant movement and gets your heart rate up, it’s exercise.
4) Develop consistency
Many legal jobs require flexibility. You have a trial, a deal closing, or just too many deadlines this week. Sometimes, it’s difficult to stick to a consistent exercise schedule. But if you pick times where the conflict is truly the exception, you’re more likely to follow through. A lot of highly successful people workout first thing in the morning, before they do any work. I like to work out in the evening, often as late as 8 or 9pm, and it usually feels like a reward for a hard day’s work. I also exercise at last once each weekend—often both days—which gives me more flexibility to miss days if I’m having a busy week. For general health, when you exercise isn’t going to have a massive impact.
5) Be so bold as to block off time?
The reality is that the more junior you are, the worse it looks to make any time off limits. The more senior you become—when you’ve provided strong evidence that you’re dedicated, hard-working, and willing to put in extra time when needed—the easier it becomes be ‘unavailable’ at particular times. If you want to go to an exercise class, Judo, or just hit the gym at a reasonable hour, you can probably block time on your calendar one or two days each week. This both tells anyone looking that you’re busy and gives you a reminder that you need to follow-through.
Bringing it together
If you’re not currently happy about how often you exercise, and you want to exercise more, consider tracking the days you exercise, scheduling and blocking time to exercise, joining a social club or class that exercises together, and making a movement plan that fits your schedule.
Keep working on your LawyerBody.
