How Small Actions Can Build Health and Happiness
7.12.2026
There’s a myth in the legal profession that success and personal well-being are a trade-off and that to build a thriving practice you have to sacrifice everything else.
Attorney Jennifer Gillman knows this tension firsthand. Before building her own legal recruiting and strategy business, she was an AMLaw 100 lawyer working crazy hours that left little time for anything else.
This race for perfection nearly cost her everything, she said in a recent attorney well-being event sponsored by the New York State Bar Association. While in the midst of a tense employment contract negotiation for a client, Gillman was considering skipping a routine colonoscopy.
“I almost put it off, but my mom convinced me to go ahead with the test. It was inconvenient, because I was negotiating while doing the prep, right before I was going under the anesthetic,” she recalls. “We did negotiate some terms the client liked and he accepted the offer, and I had colon cancer. If I had put off that test, it would have been six months to a year before I could get another appointment and the subsequent diagnosis.”
In Gillman’s case, her cancer was caught early enough to be cured with surgery and she reports being cancer free now for five years. The experience led her to change paths and build her own legal recruiting and strategy firm. Gillman has spent decades in that role advising successful rainmaking partners who are unhappy outside of the office.
Through this work, Gillman created the Six Pillars to Becoming a Happy Rainmaker. The foundation of the program rests on committing to small actions in 6-minute increments that can have a positive effect. They can be done while waiting for something else — perhaps in line or for a call back or for the start of a meeting.
Examples include walking a flight of stairs at the office, drinking a glass of water or stepping outside for five minutes. Mental well-being tasks could be going to sleep 10 minutes earlier or practicing deep breathing for two minutes at your desk. Gillman says these small actions of self-care will improve job performance.
“If you’re not taking care of yourself after a while of not having any sleep or movement or nutrition, or time away from the law, your critical thinking skills will deteriorate,” she warns. “You are not helping your client as much as you think you are and you’re not as good a lawyer as you want to be.”
Finding time away from work, whether it’s a long weekend or a vacation, will recharge your body and your mind. You will gain focus and creativity and give better strategic advice to your clients. Gillman encourages attorneys in a senior or supervisory role to build wellness into the firm culture and model it for others.
“Talk to others about scheduling time at the gym or leaving work to have dinner with your family,” she advises.
She also suggests taking simple steps to take ownership of your career.
“Your book of business is your independence. It can determine your leverage and compensation. Small actions in building your business compound into a thriving practice,” she said.
Examples include boosting social connections by posting insights on LinkedIn and commenting on a colleague’s post. Investigate opportunities to write a journal article or take part in a CLE.
Gillman provided several examples of building healthy habits during the one-hour seminar, which also touched on defining boundaries, planning intentionally, learning continuously and designing a legacy. The full seminar is available for free on the NYSBA YouTube Channel.
Gillman also created a short quiz, which can help lawyers understand how they are doing with work-life balance.
The NYSBA’s Attorney Well-Being Program offers a variety of programs for attorneys on many wellness topics.
