Maintaining Wellness and Balance as a Small Firm Lawyer

The demands on a small firm lawyer’s time never stop. In addition to legal work, the small firm lawyer can be expected to spend time on any number of non-legal, firm-related tasks: bookkeeping, human resources, information technology, marketing, intake, business strategy, and taking out the trash (to name a few). Imbalance can result if the small firm lawyer does not make time for a life outside the law firm. When imbalance occurs, a person’s wellness suffers.

To restore balance in my life, I return to the basics. I develop my body. I nurture my soul. And I nourish relationships with family and friends. After those basic tasks are addressed, I use the remaining time to meet the demands of my law firm successfully and much more contentedly.

I develop my body by doing CrossFit at a local gym. I start most days with the 5:30 a.m. class and enjoy the challenge of strength training and conditioning. Any stress, workrelated or otherwise, bleeds away, and I am ready to tackle the challenges of the day. An unexpected benefit of this regular workout routine is the relationships developed with the coaches and other members of the gym. It’s like a healthier version of the old sitcom, Cheers, where everyone knows my name.

I nurture my soul through staying active in my faith. Workday problems and stressors are put in their proper perspective when viewed through this spiritual lens. When I nurture my soul, it positively impacts not just me but those around me. My wife and

I coordinate our church’s marriage preparation class for engaged couples and have done so for many years. It is a one-day retreat where married couples share their experiences with a group of engaged couples on topics like communication, finance, parenting, and more. Anonymous surveys of the engaged couples (including some members of The Houston Lawyer editorial board!) show the retreats have a positive impact on the couples’ preparation for marriage. More surprising was the positive impact teaching this course has on my own marriage. As my wife and I prepare for a topic, we share stories about our relationship that we otherwise might have never told each other. This deepened connection to my wife would be lost had I stayed at the office one or two more hours, instead of nurturing my soul by living out my faith.

I nourish my relationship with family. My family and I try to have a meal without phones together every day. These regular touchpoints regularly and happily remind me that there is more to life than the law. With three teenage girls, I also experience ancillary benefits, such as expanding my vocabulary with new phrases, including “living rent-free in my mind” (which has nothing to do with landlord/tenant law). If I only gave time to the law, my relationships would suffer, and my vocabulary would be smaller.

While my legal work is important, it is only one part of my life. I must give time to my body, soul, and relationships to live a full life. When my time is aligned properly, I come to work in the morning eager to tackle my legal (and non-legal) work and leave in the evening content with my use (and enjoyment) of my most precious resource.

Jonny Havens is the founding member of Havens & Associates, PLLC, a law firm representing personal injury and wrongful death plaintiffs. When not in the courtroom, Jonny enjoys spending time with his family, volunteering at St. Anne Catholic Community, and serving in the U.S. Army Reserves.