Episode 229 – Learning to put ‘you’ first – Live your best Law life with Kate Christie
Podcast (the-happy-family-lawyer-podcast): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
In this week’s episode of the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast’ I had the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful Kate Christie. Kate is a former lawyer now author, ‘life curator’ and business owner. She is a time-saving superstar who helps high-powered, busy people (particularly women) to curate their time and prioritise sustainably to create their best lives both in and out of law.
Like so many of us, Kate started career in law- climbing corporate ladders and achieving all of the outward signs of a successful legal career. But add 3 kids, an unrelenting corporate position and Kate found herself burnt out and leaving the career that she had once loved. The irony of course is that by stepping away from life as a lawyer Kate has gone on to build a mini-empire for herself- a successful solo career as a consultant to busy professionals- helping them avoid the traps that she encountered.
Kate also shared her perceptions of #lawland over the past 20 years, especially on the gendered expectations of parenthood that result in women opting out of their legal careers from feelings of guilt, with the underlying expectation that there needs to be a choice. Kate’s advice? You don’t have to choose! You can curate your life and time around the things that matter to you, which is one of the biggest take-aways here for me! Kate’s advice on value prioritising the ‘big rocks’ of your time is a really important shift. If you’re looking at what you value as a first port of call in shaping your life, you’ll always have the time and space for the things and people you love.
This really is such a fascinating discussion, and Kate really exemplifies what this Podcast is about – how life can come full-circle, the pivots and changes we face over time, and how you can always find a way to harness your time to live your best life.
In this interview, Kate and I also chatted about-
- If Kate was not a lawyer she would be a time management specialist or a professional surfer (I may have taken that surfer comment on a few tangents in this interview!).
- Designing and living your best life – how you can curate this early on.
- Putting on your ‘dress of mirrors’ for critics.
- Learning that being less selfless is not the same as being selfish – it’s okay to put yourself first!
- Kate still resides close to her family in Melbourne and how valuable this was during the lockdowns.
- How Kate found her way into law – from journalism to the ‘conveyor belt’ into law.
- Looking back years later and realising that she ended up somewhere completely different, but pivoted and came full-circle in her love for writing.
- While being an in-house lawyer, she became a busy mum of three and had 3 babies in 3.5 years.
- As a new mum, Kate quickly discovered the value of lost time!
- Kate realised she needed to reframe her perception of time, and made the change she needed to by changing her relationship with time.
- Gendered expectations, the sense of failure as a woman in law and the changes we need to see for the next generations.
- Kate is the author of “Me First” and shares the importance of discovering what it is that you most value.
- To discover what we most value (different from our values) as yourself:
- If you were very sick, what would you get out of bed for?
- Think about a person you most respect – if they were to compliment you, what would they say?
- When you are with your Besties, what do you love talking about?
- She then advises us to circle all matching answers to the above questions and build your life around these things.
- Changing our language from ‘failure’ to ‘learning’. It results in growth.
- Kate’s observations of the legal profession as a whole since leaving 20 years ago.
- The catalyst for change in #lawland.
- Kate has written four books: ‘Me Time‘, ‘SMART Time Investment for Business‘ ‘SMART Time Management for Doctors‘ and most recently, ‘Me First‘
- Kate’s Happiness Tip.
Sit back and enjoy this interview with Kate Christie.
***
Learn more here about upcoming events and courses and connect with Clarissa Rayward at the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life’ knowledge centre- A community for lawyers who want to make the best out of their life in and outside of the law.
Listen to last week’s episode here
