DF Thread Forum

[Anonymous User]

The free food aspect is great in theory, but if you aren't getting enough sleep, enjoying recreation or seeing other human beings outside of work, food becomes what you look forward to all day so it's harder to get that salad and easier to get that hamburger and french fries. It becomes harder to focus because you feel like crap after, and just want to throw it in and say "maybe tomorrow." My experience this rather than the hours is why people's health goes down the drain in big law.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Yeah, "food as reward" is a big issue when you feel pressured and anxious and are putting off work.

[Desert Fox]

putting out for 30 bucks of luke warm delivery is a terrible way to live.

[jbagelboy]

putting out for 30 bucks of luke warm delivery is a terrible way to live.

tell me it's going to be okay

[Desert Fox]

putting out for 30 bucks of luke warm delivery is a terrible way to live.

tell me it's going to be okay

just coast two years while saving up all your money for a tax bomb and then YOLO PAYE your pain away.

[Toodle-loo]

money without free time is useless.

The converse is also true, though ... sitting in an apartment watching netflix reruns because I don't have money to do anything fun similarly sucks

(edit: this is in no way a commentary on biglaw or a value judgment on which situation is better/worse)

[Glasseyes]

biglaw is perfect for the type A planners who like working ahead and getting things off their plate. If you're type B, but smart/good at taking tests, you're not going to go that far.

...so, uh, any good jobs out there for type B?

[zot1]

money without free time is useless.

The converse is also true, though ... sitting in an apartment watching netflix reruns because I don't have money to do anything fun similarly sucks

(edit: this is in no way a commentary on biglaw or a value judgment on which situation is better/worse)

I don't know, bro. I guess it depends on your lifestyle. I go biking, hiking, running near my place all the time and it don't cost me a thing. I also go play tennis at some public courts nearby.

But to be honest, nothing beats chilling in my backyard with a drink, enjoying the nice weather. Sure I spend some money on the alcohol, but not a lot.

Anyway, I'm derailing.

[NotMyRealName09]

Why?

cause I can turn 30 billable hours into a whole week in the office til 11pm.

Have you thought about changing up your routine? I find that getting in early (7:30ish) helps me. I think it's half that I feel like shit, so I don't have an interest in fun things like surfing the web. The other half is that I hate waking up, so if I went through that, I really ought to get some work done.

You know, as a chronic procraster myself, and as a person who fucking hates waking up and will, whenever possible, come in as late as possible, there is truth in the assertion that the 1.5 hours between 7:30 am and 9:00 am can be super productive. No distractions, no phone calls, no boss following up on all the shit you haven't done yet. And as a bonus, I then feel justified to procrastinate later seeing as its only 9 am and I've already got 1.5 in the books. On a normal day, if I've got an hour billed before 11, that's great, so, something to consider.

[NotMyRealName09]

The thing that's the worst about "wait till deadline, kill self to crank out product" is that you're so wiped out from the process that 1) you associate working with utter misery (as opposed to moderate drudgery) and 2) you can't bring yourself to do more serious work until you've had a recovery period. Both of these things make normal work patterns really really hard.

(i am familiar with this behavior even outside biglaw.)

And I'll add that you're super fucked when, just after burning yourself out and getting that massive thing done in the nick of time, a massive fire pops up that needs to put out over the next 48 hours, and that time with which you were planning to recover is now unavailable, and it just suucccckkkkkks so bad.

God I love unexpected adjournments by the court sua sponte though - just like a snow day.

[Desert Fox]

Why?

cause I can turn 30 billable hours into a whole week in the office til 11pm.

Have you thought about changing up your routine? I find that getting in early (7:30ish) helps me. I think it's half that I feel like shit, so I don't have an interest in fun things like surfing the web. The other half is that I hate waking up, so if I went through that, I really ought to get some work done.

You know, as a chronic procraster myself, and as a person who fucking hates waking up and will, whenever possible, come in as late as possible, there is truth in the assertion that the 1.5 hours between 7:30 am and 9:00 am can be super productive. No distractions, no phone calls, no boss following up on all the shit you haven't done yet. And as a bonus, I then feel justified to procrastinate later seeing as its only 9 am and I've already got 1.5 in the books. On a normal day, if I've got an hour billed before 11, that's great, so, something to consider.

If you get up early to avoid distractions and get work done you are not a procrastinator. A procrastinator might get up early but then reads a bunch of articles on like til 10:30 am.

[NotMyRealName09]

This actually worries me more than anything. I am really good at buckling down for a couple weeks at a time, i.e., for finals, and then doing next to nothing the rest of the semester. I've realized I go either like 20% or 200%.

I was the same way. The transition to working at a law firm—where you have to bill all your time—is brutal.

I mean, the ability to go at 200% for a couple of weeks is still valuable. The problem is learning to "coast" at 75% instead of 20%. I'm four years in, and I still haven't shed all of my bad procrastination habits. Procrastinating is massively self-destructive when you're at a law firm.

Ugh. This is going to fuck me more than anything. Even during my summers after getting an assignment I'd test the waters, then dick around for a few days, and then crack down and butcher something decent out in advance of the deadline. But I can't work at a consistently strong pace. Both my senior thesis and law school note were completed in a series of all nighters.

Fuckkkkkk my life.

There is an additional issue to it just being consistent strong pace. When you've procrastinated, and then something important and unexpected comes up, you can be in a real squeeze. For me, this generally induces enough fear to get started on things early. But, then again, even those efforts can be derailed by unexpected events.

Most likely, you'll just get to a steady state of busy and things will procrastinate on their own because a partner or client expects (demands?) you do something else first. In short, procrastination tends to creep in more if you are less busy, unless you completely ignore something until it's too late to do well. In that case, your going to be in bad shape.

Yeah good point - I procrastinate more when I have down time figuring I'll have time to get to it later, then shit pops up and I've fucked myself.

[NotMyRealName09]

Why?

cause I can turn 30 billable hours into a whole week in the office til 11pm.

Have you thought about changing up your routine? I find that getting in early (7:30ish) helps me. I think it's half that I feel like shit, so I don't have an interest in fun things like surfing the web. The other half is that I hate waking up, so if I went through that, I really ought to get some work done.

You know, as a chronic procraster myself, and as a person who fucking hates waking up and will, whenever possible, come in as late as possible, there is truth in the assertion that the 1.5 hours between 7:30 am and 9:00 am can be super productive. No distractions, no phone calls, no boss following up on all the shit you haven't done yet. And as a bonus, I then feel justified to procrastinate later seeing as its only 9 am and I've already got 1.5 in the books. On a normal day, if I've got an hour billed before 11, that's great, so, something to consider.

If you get up early to avoid distractions and get work done you are not a procrastinator. A procrastinator might get up early but then reads a bunch of articles on like til 10:30 am.

I didn't mean to suggest I actually do this. I've done it, and it has great benefits, and yet, my bed so....

[NotMyRealName09]

biglaw is perfect for the type A planners who like working ahead and getting things off their plate. If you're type B, but smart/good at taking tests, you're not going to go that far.

...so, uh, any good jobs out there for type B?

Find a type A to work for and adapt / develop immunity to getting yelled at a lot and you can form a pretty effective team. Their inability to slack and inability to let you slack can form a nice symbiotic relationship that forces you to compensate for your weakness.

[krads153]

biglaw is perfect for the type A planners who like working ahead and getting things off their plate. If you're type B, but smart/good at taking tests, you're not going to go that far.

...so, uh, any good jobs out there for type B?

Find a type A to work for and adapt / develop immunity to getting yelled at a lot and you can form a pretty effective team. Their inability to slack and inability to let you slack can form a nice symbiotic relationship that forces you to compensate for your weakness.

Wouldn't the type A just want to work with another type A though?

[zot1]

BigLaw is perfect for someone?

[rpupkin]

BigLaw is perfect for someone?

It's perfect for the partner who is enjoying screaming at you for not finishing those draft rog responses yesterday.

[zot1]

BigLaw is perfect for someone?

It's perfect for the partner who is enjoying screaming at you for not finishing those draft rog responses yesterday.

Only if he's making millions though... Otherwise he's not different than many homeless men in downtown LA yelling at you for not having a dollar.

[Borhas]

biglaw is perfect for the type A planners who like working ahead and getting things off their plate. If you're type B, but smart/good at taking tests, you're not going to go that far.

...so, uh, any good jobs out there for type B?

small/"shit" law on your own\


for example: alternate defense counsel getting juvie crim law cases is pretty chill and you could make a decent living

[ze2151]

One method that worked for me was, if something had to get done and I didn't want to do it, I would email the partner and say "the client has asked for a draft of this purchase agmt by Wednesday end of day; I will have a draft to you by Monday morning."

Now the countdown is on. You waved the red cape at the bull. You either deliver or you start developing a reputation for not delivering. For me, if there isn't real pressure I just don't respond the same way.

Working in the morning is great, but if you get a quiet moment at the office, you will very likely read articles. I just can't quit you, articles...

[jbagelboy]

Why?

cause I can turn 30 billable hours into a whole week in the office til 11pm.

Have you thought about changing up your routine? I find that getting in early (7:30ish) helps me. I think it's half that I feel like shit, so I don't have an interest in fun things like surfing the web. The other half is that I hate waking up, so if I went through that, I really ought to get some work done.

You know, as a chronic procraster myself, and as a person who fucking hates waking up and will, whenever possible, come in as late as possible, there is truth in the assertion that the 1.5 hours between 7:30 am and 9:00 am can be super productive. No distractions, no phone calls, no boss following up on all the shit you haven't done yet. And as a bonus, I then feel justified to procrastinate later seeing as its only 9 am and I've already got 1.5 in the books. On a normal day, if I've got an hour billed before 11, that's great, so, something to consider.

If you get up early to avoid distractions and get work done you are not a procrastinator. A procrastinator might get up early but then reads a bunch of articles on like til 10:30 am.

^boom.

Or just until lunch. Then after lunch you need a nap till double espresso kicks in. And by post-nap there's a call waiting with some entirely different shit to do

[Johann]

One method that worked for me was, if something had to get done and I didn't want to do it, I would email the partner and say "the client has asked for a draft of this purchase agmt by Wednesday end of day; I will have a draft to you by Monday morning."

Now the countdown is on. You waved the red cape at the bull. You either deliver or you start developing a reputation for not delivering. For me, if there isn't real pressure I just don't respond the same way.

Working in the morning is great, but if you get a quiet moment at the office, you will very likely read articles. I just can't quit you, articles...

i do this occasionally and usually miss my self imposed deadline. so i stopped doing that. i only respond to hard deadlines.

[84651846190]

it must be like a never ending legal writing homework

It's like reading a dictionary, but if you lose focus and miss a word, you're fired.

[bear patrol]

I procrastinated doing work yesterday so now my sunday sucks even more. this blows

[smaug]

I procrastinated doing work yesterday so now my sunday sucks even more. this blows

this has been nearly every saturday since I started working