Episode 58: Take The Break

Ever feel like stepping away for even a day will make everything crash? We’ve been there. This conversation tackles the tension between high-stakes legal work and real rest, and lays out a repeatable plan to take a vacation you actually enjoy—without sabotaging your matters or your peace of mind.

We start with the cultural script that keeps lawyers always on: the grind, the guilt, and the fear that time off equals lost control. Then we get tactical. You’ll hear how to plant vacation dates early, align expectations across cases, and communicate clearly so no one is surprised. We dig into practical delegation with a tight handoff memo, naming point people, listing key deadlines, and sketching decision trees for predictable scenarios. We also talk about writing an out-of-office that means something, setting specific check-in windows if you need them, and telling clients exactly who to contact so the work keeps moving.

From there, we focus on what most firms ignore: re-entry. Protect your first morning back, make it a no-meeting block, and triage your inbox by urgency instead of chronology. Consider a buffer day before your official return to clear luggage, reset your mind, and preview the week. Along the way, we call out the real payoff of rest—better judgment, sharper creativity, more resilient relationships—and why even having a trip on the calendar can lift motivation and work quality.

If you’re ready to trade anxiety pings for a plan that honors both your ambition and your well-being, this one’s for you. Subscribe for more candid strategies on sustainable success in law, share this episode with a colleague who needs permission to unplug, and leave a review to tell us what boundary you’ll hold on your next break.

Find out more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilystedman/.

Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

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Welcome to the Grace Period, where we get real about attorney mental health and well-being and pull back the veil on the high-stakes world of big law. I'm your host, Emily Logan Steadman, a commercial litigator, partner, and someone who believes that there's always room for a little more grace, even in a high-stakes profession. Here, I share real stories and tips from my own journey in big law and invite you beyond the behind the scenes, beyond the billable hour to talk about what it means to stay human in a demanding field. Whether you're a lawyer, a legal professional, or someone trying to find your footing, this space is for you. Let's pull back the curtain, start the conversation, and find our grace period together. Disclaimer, the views and opinions shared on this podcast are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those in my firm or any organization. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. Here on episode 58 of the Grace Period, I'm revisiting a topic from an earlier season, and that is taking vacation. This lesson is as much for you, um, vice versa, is as much for me as it is for you. I'm not a vacation taker. I don't do it very often. I deeply relate to associates who come to me and say, Emily, don't I have to work more before and after I take a vacation? Answer yes. And overall, vacation can feel like an impossibility. But there are ways to do it, to do it well, to do it with a real break and to come back scene. And vacations are important. Yes, they feel impossible because our culture, generally in the United States, says grind away, be available, be responsive, always be on. And I, even when I step away to go to the doctor or take a lunch for myself, feel guilt and anxiety when I step away, when I'm not available, because I've trained myself and others that I will always be available. We worry that the world or our case will fall apart if we're offline for an afternoon, let alone a whole week. Or we are worried that it'll take so much time to prepare and we'll come back to a tidal wave of work. All of these are real fears. But skipping time off is a recipe for burnout and mistakes and eventually resentment and deep unhappiness with your career and job. The benefits of a real break are also very real: mental reset, more creativity, better decision making, and a healthier perspective. Science also shows that you should have something on your calendar that you're looking forward to. That improves work quality and work satisfaction. So you want to take a vacation, how do you actually do it? First, plan ahead. Plan up far ahead. Block your calendar as early as possible and communicate your plans to your teams and to your clients. Whenever that date comes up in any call or is relevant to any discussion you're having with someone important, remind them you're going to be out that day or days or week. The earlier everyone knows, the easier it is to coordinate. Second, delegate and document. Prepare a handoff memo with key deadlines, contact info, and open issues. Assign a point person for urgent matters. Tell your clients and your supervising attorneys who they can go to if you're unavailable. The more you prep, the less you'll worry. Third, set boundaries and stick to them. I am the queen of putting up an out of office message that says, I'm traveling today and won't be responding to emails. And then, you know, I respond to emails the whole time. That trains those around me that my boundaries are not real, that my out of office message doesn't mean a thing. Encourage you to do the opposite. Turn on your out of office message. Be explicit in that message about when and whether you'll check in or check your email. Let clients and other teammates know who to contact in your absence and that they can trust in your team. Fourth, stick to the plan and actually unplug. Put your work phone and laptop away. Resist the urge to check in just in case. Trust your team and your process. Remember, you did the work to prepare. And what I'll add about that is be intentional. Sometimes you can take a full unplugged no email vacation. Some people don't like to do that. I don't like to do that. The last time I took a real vacation, I spent some time every morning and every evening checking my email. Why? So that I didn't come back and have to spend hours in my inbox going through everything so that I knew what to expect when I came back to work. But everyone around me knew that I would only be checking my email at those times and they knew who to contact if they couldn't get me. Also, trust that people know how to get in touch with you if there's a real emergency. They can call you. Maybe a select few of people select group of people know what hotel or Airbnb you're staying at and have the phone number and how to reach you that way if it's a true emergency. Most people won't take those steps because most things aren't real emergencies. But if there is, there's ways for them to get in touch. Lastly, plan your re-entry. Block your first morning back for catch up. Make it a no-meeting day if you can help it. Triage your inbox and to-dos, prioritize what truly matters, and let the rest wait. I'm a huge fan of planning vacations for a buffer with a buffer day. If I'm going on a vacation, I won't come back late on Sunday. I'll come back late on Saturday and use Sunday to unpack, get my bearings straight, do a little work and check in for the week so I know what's ahead. No matter when that day falls, having that buffer time prevents some of that anxiety in the, you know, quote unquote Sunday scaries, which can happen any day of the week. When I take a real vacation, I come back more relaxed, more focused, more energized, and honestly more grateful for my work. When I don't take a vacation, I pay the price in lower work satisfaction, lower satisfaction in my marriage, and just generally resentful that I've set up my life where I can't take real time off. So whether it's an afternoon, a long weekend, or a week or two long vacation, take it. Prep for it, prepare your clients and supervising attorneys for it. Communicate, communicate, communicate, and then unplug. Your clients, your team, and your future self will thank you for it. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Grace Period. Remember, you don't have to choose between your well-being and your ambition. By setting boundaries, building supportive habits, and giving yourself permission to pause, you can thrive in law and in life. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. That is the path to our grace period. Disclaimer The views expressed here are solely my own and do not represent the official policy or position of my firm or any organization. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only, not professional or legal advice. It does not create an attorney client relationship.