Chapter 2, Preparing for the Long Road Ahead: Redefining Balancing versus Managing and Developing a Plan for Success

Busy job, busy family, and busy mind. What is a busy female lawyer to do? Popular culture would suggest that you must become an expert in “balancing.” What are the first images that are summoned at the idea of “balancing”? A tightrope walker, someone teetering on a seesaw, a magician straining to keep spinning plates from falling off, a mom holding a baby in one hand with a computer in the other, or lady justice trying in vain to prevent the scales from tipping? With those as your goals, you are bound to feel as if you are perpetually failing—and no wonder. If one grain of sand on one side of the scale can tip the scales and one missed step can send you falling off the tightrope, you are constantly on alert to fail miserably at any moment.

The complete chapter, “Preparing for the Long Road Ahead: Redefining Balancing versus Managing and Developing a Plan for Success,” appears in the book Her Story: Lessons in Success from Lawyers Who Live It, which is available on the ABA website.