How to Hack Your Time
Recently in Female Lawyers’ Club, we were fortunate enough to have the wonderful Vikki Yaffe talk to us about “How to hack your time.”
I commented at the start of the session that, a lot of the time, we don’t necessarily have a time management issue – we just have too many things to do. I think this is particularly the case in the law where very often we can’t shortcut things: if we bill by the hour, we have to physically spend a fixed amount of time working on things in order for us to achieve our targets or get paid. How very 19th century!
What I Wish I’d Known When I Started Out
A couple of weeks ago, I asked this question on LinkedIn:
“If you’re a senior female lawyer, can you let me know:
What is the one thing you wished you’d known earlier in your career?”
I received replies from many women across various roles and firms, and I am enormously grateful to those of you who took the time to reply. I have kept the replies anonymous as promised.
I have added my own thoughts at the end of the blog.
Did You Ask Nicely?
Studies have shown that there are social sanctions for women who ask for more money that do not apply for men. This is because women are breaking gender norms - the norms that they should be grateful for what they are given. For women of colour, the sanctions are stronger.
The advice given by some quarters to counteract this is to “ask nicely”. To adopt a friendly social style. To lean in and smile whilst asking in a friendly tone for what you want.
Smile, but not too much.
Do YOU Work Too Much?
Do you tie your worth to your productivity?
In the world of law, it can be tricky not to do this. Many of us have targets to meet which mean that every hour of our working day must be accounted for. Is it any wonder that so many of us are feeling burnt out?
Lessons From 20 Years in Law
A career in law isn’t for the faint-hearted.
If quitting had been an option, I suspect I may well have done so at various points in my career when it became too much. Having reached this stage, I see now how lucky I have been that quitting has never been an option for me – like most people, I don’t have a financial cushion to fall back on and need to work. If I quit, what would I do instead, that paid the same salary? And so, I persevered.