In the latest episode of Thriving Lawyer podcast, I interview Megan Dyson.  Megan is an environmental lawyer and policy consultant. She has more than 25 years experience advising federal and state agencies across Australia on management of water and natural resources. In 2020, Megan decided to finally pursue her long held passion for health and nutrition.  By 2022, she had written and public '5 for life' a on health eating habits and completed a certificate 4 in nutrition.  

Megan's story is a great example of a lawyer pursing a portfolio career, which is a career that encompasses two or more unrelated jobs.  Traditionally, it's been relatively uncommon in the legal profession, due to its often all consuming nature.  However, particularly since the pandemic, I am meeting more and more lawyers who are pursuing, or would like to pursue, this framework (including myself!).  I asked Megan why she had pursued this route and how she managed the competing priorities.  She noted that our skills as lawyers, in particular our critical thinking, writing and communication skills can provide a solid foundation and flow into other areas.  Also, healthy nutrition makes a person healthy, and that makes for a better lawyer. Megan also noted that pursuing her interest in nutrition had provided her to be creative: 

"So there's, there's a great deal of crossover, but pursuing this side is has really helped me embrace and really get to enjoy the creative side of my, my personality, which previously was really unexpressed in gardening, which I love, going to teaching my children, that sort of thing. That's a creative endeavor. But, you know, after 30 years or more of writing legal advice, which of course I always, you know, it's pragmatic, it's helpful, it's well focused, but it's, you know, it has to be said it's dry, to be able to write creative way for a completely different audience about something that I'm really very passionate about was just a wonderful, a joyful, creative, exciting time it was, it was great. And that the only difficulty really, in marrying up with my legal work was that I do tend to get completely immersed in what I'm doing, whether that's a legal job, or researching and writing about nutrition. So I had to really, when I was writing the book, segregate my days very clearly right now, seven till 11 In the morning, so that's nutrition after 11 Until you know, however long it takes. That's my sort of my day job. So yes, the two things are synergistic, in a sense, but I can't, I can't contain those two completely different topics in my brain, same time, so I've had to segregate my day. But from a personal perspective, yeah, it's brought me a great deal of joy"

Megan further noted the challenges that she faced, given the pressures of legal work and the perfectionism that can come alongside it.  Her view is that it is really important to carve the time out for yourself, to give yourself some grace, not expecting perfection in all things.  Ultimately, it is important to have the confidence that it really is worth cultivating the non legal side of yourself.  To me this gets to the very heart of the idea of a thriving lawyer - a lawyer who thrives in all aspects of their lives.  

Megan also discussed how the idea for 5 for Life came about: she wanted to cut through the noise in a way that got to the point. A book that avoids all the misinformation and the fantasy of 'single solutions and celery detox juicing thing'.  She says that she wanted 'actually help people and be science based.  She outlined the five key principles that underpin 5 to life: 

1.  The right mindset - which means a healthy relationship with food; 

2.  The right time:  Aligning eating habits with circadian rhythms

3. The Right food: This is actually simple! It means a lot more vegetables, the right amount of good quality protein for your own body weight. 

4. The Right Drink: Water! 

5. The Right way: Eating mindfuly! 

For lawyers, it is so easy to get busy and forget about looking after yourself - Megan had some really practical tips for lawyers to get this right - but you'll need to listen to podcast to find out more!! 

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