{"id":6694,"date":"2009-08-19T14:03:20","date_gmt":"2009-08-19T19:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=6694"},"modified":"2009-08-19T14:03:20","modified_gmt":"2009-08-19T19:03:20","slug":"the-balancing-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2009\/08\/the-balancing-act\/","title":{"rendered":"The Balancing Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rabideaux\"<\/a>When discussing my participation as a law student blogger with Professor Jessica Slavin<\/a>, she suggested readers might find the variety of responsibilities and challenges a part-time student faces interesting.\u00a0 I balked at the idea of writing about my own attempt at work-life-school\u00a0 balance.\u00a0 For starters, it\u2019s been done before<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0Further, I want to avoid portraying my burden as heavier than those around me, as everyone is busy and dealing with pressures of their own.\u00a0 The lawyers, law professors and law students who read this blog are all active people pulled in different directions and I didn\u2019t suspect they would have much sympathy for the schedule I keep.<\/p>\n

Then it dawned on me that the challenge of work-life balance is probably one of the few things all the readers of this blog have in common.\u00a0 Full-time students have different pressures than part-time students, litigators face different challenges than estate planning attorneys, who are all under different professional pressures than Law School faculty or administrators.\u00a0 However, we all know what it is like be put in a position to prioritize between professional and family or personal obligations.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the birth of my son, Callan, in June brought new weight to the \u201clife\u201d side of the balancing act and makes the topic of work-life-school balance particularly timely and relevant for me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always known time to be precious, but the stakes are indeed higher with a child in the house.\u00a0 Perhaps it is my Catholic guilt, but the weeknights in the classroom or on the road for work, and the all-weekend study sessions now feel a bit like time I\u2019ve stolen from my family.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have any advice in this regard, just the observation that achieving true balance does not seem realistic for someone in this position, particularly on a daily or even weekly basis.\u00a0 That is not to say a law student with a family can\u2019t have a productive career, do well in school, and have a happy home life.\u00a0 Rather, I just suggest the term \u201cbalance\u201d doesn\u2019t seem to accurately capture my reality in managing these dynamic priorities.<\/p>\n

I tend to agree with current Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz<\/a>, who acknowledges the impossibility of true work-life balance in her life.\u00a0 Ms. Bartz instead focuses on keeping all the balls\u2014representing the main areas of responsibilities in her life\u2014in the air.\u00a0 The thought conjures an image of a creative and agile juggler, not a symmetrical and faultless gymnast on a beam.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a belief that life isn’t about balance, because balance is perfection,” Bartz says<\/a>. \u00a0“Rather, it’s about catching the ball before it hits the floor.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t think Ms. Bartz suggests completely neglecting certain parts of her life until crisis occurs.\u00a0 Rather, she seems to simply acknowledge that most people can only do one thing really well at any given time.\u00a0 And, as painful as it may be, putting work or school before family, at least occasionally, is a necessary compromise for someone in my shoes.\u00a0 Conversely, I acknowledge that I\u2019ll most likely forgo certain professional or academic opportunities for the sake of maintaining harmony on the home front.<\/p>\n

My life is in a constant state of imbalance.\u00a0 I suspect this is the same for many of us.\u00a0 On any given day, I can be a great husband\/father, employee or law student, but rarely all of the above.\u00a0 I can work with this reality.\u00a0 I\u2019m getting the hang of it.\u00a0 I guess I\u2019ll just worry about what I can accomplish today, and keep my eye on the ball that\u2019s closest to the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When discussing my participation as a law student blogger with Professor Jessica Slavin, she suggested readers might find the variety of responsibilities and challenges a part-time student faces interesting.\u00a0 I balked at the idea of writing about my own attempt at work-life-school\u00a0 balance.\u00a0 For starters, it\u2019s been done before.\u00a0 \u00a0Further, I want to avoid portraying 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