Your Professional Advantage This Summer? Rest and Rejuvenation
As summer approaches, lawyers’ schedules might start to look a bit different. Clients turn on their out-of-office messages before going on vacation, deadlines shift and project intake slows down. Ambitious professionals—particularly those early in their careers—sometimes wonder how to maintain their high standards and make the most of these summer lulls. One often-overlooked strategy can help you excel this season and beyond: rest.
Quiet times give us a chance to recharge, reflect and reimagine how we can approach our work when things get busy again. These pauses allow us to prioritize self-care and reinforce healthy behaviors that will serve us later in challenging, high-stress circumstances. We have a right to rest, and many of us need that reminder.
Breaks and relaxation are so important, we held a panel at this year’s NextGen Summit entitled You Don’t Need to Earn Rest—Boundaries and Well-Being for Ambitious Lawyers. The panel reinforced the truth that rest is not optional: it’s an essential part of managing one’s career and learning to lead with intention.
This summer, I encourage you to put rest on the agenda. Find balance in nature by taking hikes or visiting a park. Go out to dinner with friends or make new connections at a ChIPs networking event in a city near you. Investing in well-being today will pay off for many seasons to come.
Warm regards,
Joan Toth
