Carpe diem: the post articling recollection.

The scowl has become one of the most common reactions from friends when they hear about the hours I worked during my articling year. People would ask me how I managed to survive the grueling hours. My short answer is always one of the following: "the files are interesting", "I like my coworkers", "I need it for my license".

I figured that no one ever has time to hear my long answer. I figured that I didn't have time to craft a long answer eloquent enough to describe how I felt over the past year. But I also figured that I should document my thoughts while they are still fresh. So here is how I managed to survive my articling year.

I always remembered that there was an end. When you know you only have 10 months to impress, you excel. When you know you only have 10 months to learn, you endure.

Articling was my biggest fear after graduation. I feared the anxiety, the stress, the symbolic end to my youth. The reality was that articling made me live my life like a terminal patient. The more I feared that I was running out of time, the more I strove to live my life to the fullest.

During my hectic and irregular schedules, I treasured my personal time. I ran a marathon. I went to Hong Kong for a week to meet my nephews. I went to see Cherry Blossoms at High Park before drafting a factum. I always took my Friday nights off.

That's not to say that it had been an easy year. Living life to the fullest took a lot of effort. With finite time and infinite possibilities, some things had to give. As a wise man once said: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. If I have the energy and time, I will go see a friend, or go proofread that memo, or do that mount of dishes.

The billable system audits not only your bills to your clients, but whether you have wasted precious minutes at the office. At the end of my day if I don't meet my own expected billable target, I would reflect on my day and try to account for my inefficiencies. When every minute of your time spent at work is tracked, you realize how much more time you would have if you avoid sporcle (or the internet in general), or the vending machine (aka the calories corner).

Imagine if there were an audit at the end of your life.

This is how I survived articling. This is how I will survive anything from here on. Work hard. Play harder. Carpe diem.