This is a question that shouldn’t give you pause. But when someone recently asked me what I do for fun, I felt like I couldn’t give an honest answer. I could tell this person what I would like to do for fun, but I couldn’t name an activity that I participate in regularly that has been making me happy or at least energized. Not a great feeling.
To be honest, I’ve spent most of my free time in the last couple of weeks worrying about losing my job or, alternatively, worrying that I should leave my job. There hasn’t been any client-billable work. So one day I’m questioning how long the higher-ups can justify doling out my paycheck and the next day I’m wondering how long I should be willing to hang around without the opportunity to actually practice law.
This worry has been so overwhelming that I’ve felt nauseous for the past few weeks and all I want to do when I get home is sleep. Clearly, I’m consumed. I think this is a function of the student debt hanging over my head and the fact that I eliminated all of my other commitments/activities so that I could focus, really focus, on my job for this first year. It now looks like that was a mistake.
As a senior associate recently pointed out to me, this ebb and flow of work is the hallmark of this practice group at this particular office. I’m overwrought because my experience (so far) has been void of legitimate work, but–really–it’s only been a few weeks. I need to give it a chance and, in the meanwhile, I should enjoy my free time while I have it. It’s a good time to rediscover what I like to do for fun. And, you know, just do it.
Read the full article: What do you do for fun?