Heading Towards Burnout? Forum

[nickofdime]

I'm a first year doing 200+ every month since January. Am I going to burn out at this rate? Definitely starting to feel a lack of excitement. Dreading waking up in the morning just to sit at my desk and then go to bed. Saying no is not working anymore. Is anyone else feeling this?

[Anonymous User]

Everyone's burn out threshold is different, but that feeling you've described is definitely one sign of it beginning. Mine came in spells like that (several weeks of IDGAF) and usually what helped was taking time off, even if it was just a long weekend.

If you can, take a vacation or just do a staycation and take a 3-day weekend free of all work. If you need to, lie and say you will be traveling somewhere without service like camping somewhere in the woods.

Sometimes taking vacation is easier than turning work down. If people don't respect you when you tell them you don't have bandwidth, perhaps you need to reach out to your firm's workflow coordinator or a mentor there for insight on how to best handle.

But either way, take time off.

[LittleRedCorvette]

I'm a first year doing 200+ every month since January. Am I going to burn out at this rate? Definitely starting to feel a lack of excitement. Dreading waking up in the morning just to sit at my desk and then go to bed. Saying no is not working anymore. Is anyone else feeling this?

I think you will improve your stamina -- 200/month is pretty sweet, I'd say -- enough to be busy but not so much as to be working around the clock.

[Excellent117]

I'm a first year doing 200+ every month since January. Am I going to burn out at this rate? Definitely starting to feel a lack of excitement. Dreading waking up in the morning just to sit at my desk and then go to bed. Saying no is not working anymore. Is anyone else feeling this?

I think you will improve your stamina -- 200/month is pretty sweet, I'd say -- enough to be busy but not so much as to be working around the clock.

Nothing about 200+ hours/month (a 2,400+ hour year) is sweet.

[Dcc617]

Yeah, 200/month every month is not normal or sustainable. Like, totally normal to have a few 200+ months in a row and then a couple 140 hour months, but 200/month is not the standard.

[LittleRedCorvette]

I'm a first year doing 200+ every month since January. Am I going to burn out at this rate? Definitely starting to feel a lack of excitement. Dreading waking up in the morning just to sit at my desk and then go to bed. Saying no is not working anymore. Is anyone else feeling this?

I think you will improve your stamina -- 200/month is pretty sweet, I'd say -- enough to be busy but not so much as to be working around the clock.

Nothing about 200+ hours/month (a 2,400+ hour year) is sweet.

It is compared to many corp. folks pace this year. I'd be very happy with 200/month and think that is definitely sustainable.

[LittleRedCorvette]

Yeah, 200/month every month is not normal or sustainable. Like, totally normal to have a few 200+ months in a row and then a couple 140 hour months, but 200/month is not the standard.

I think 200/month is normal this year in a top corporate shop. And I also don't think 200/month is that crazy.

[Wubbles]

While I'm averaging 200 per month this year, I still don't think I can do it for the full year. It's amazing how much better a 175/month pace feels

[Definitely Not North]

I'm a first year doing 200+ every month since January. Am I going to burn out at this rate? Definitely starting to feel a lack of excitement. Dreading waking up in the morning just to sit at my desk and then go to bed. Saying no is not working anymore. Is anyone else feeling this?

I think you will improve your stamina -- 200/month is pretty sweet, I'd say -- enough to be busy but not so much as to be working around the clock.

Nothing about 200+ hours/month (a 2,400+ hour year) is sweet.

It is compared to many corp. folks pace this year. I'd be very happy with 200/month and think that is definitely sustainable.

Congrats, you’re in first place in the race to the bottom

[Big Red]

200+ being put on a first year month after month is truly awful, considering all the other stuff that makes being a first year rough. What I will say is that you're coming in at a truly awful stretch in biglaw (that will most likely run through the rest of the year), but that what's going on now is abnormal. Hopefully that's some consolation, the further you get the more you'll realize that even a good weekend can recharge you.

[Anonymous User]

I wake up with a huge knot of anxiety everyday, looking at my emails.

I fantasize often of quitting and doing solo practice and being master of my own schedule. Anyone have any experience with that?

[Right2BearArms]

I wake up with a huge knot of anxiety everyday, looking at my emails.

I fantasize often of quitting and doing solo practice and being master of my own schedule. Anyone have any experience with that?

If you have that reaction every morning, I would look to take a leave of absence or move to a different job. No job is worth that level of mental fatigue and anxiety.

From friends and a family member that have hung their own shingle, it is stressful in a whole different way, and a constant hustle at first to find enough/good work to pay the bills. Also, I hate to tell you, you will never truly be master of your own schedule as a lawyer. Law is a service industry and you will always be beholden to deadlines/expectations outside of your control.

[Anonymous User]

Take a vacation. Associates have a lot of leverage now. I’m a litigator who’s been thrown on transactional work lately. Client’s inability to get documents in is pushing up against an off the grid vacation. I told the partner if the client doesn’t get the docs in, you’ll have to find someone else to draft it. No pushback from partner at all. There won’t be consequences for someone billing as much as you.