Do lawyers(either corp or litigation), get time to pursue a hobby or just do any activity other than work, like tennis or cycling, movies, travelling(even if once a year, also how many countries have you been to?), marathons or even photography? Basically, I’m asking if lawyers have 3-4 hours every week to give to a hobby when they work 80-hour weeks? Do I need to prepare myself for doing nothing except work for 4-5 years when I start?

Picking up or cultivating a hobby or sport isn't the tough part - it's consistency. For example, with a 14 hour workday, one hour of working out isn't unachievable. 16 hour workday - tough, but if you put yourself strongly at it, can do. 18 hour workday - no chance. You'll be too famished and exhausted to work out. Have two weeks where you pull 18 hour workdays (weekends included), and your gym routine is out of the window. Same goes for anything you're trying to learn externally (languages, non-work related skills, gourmet cooking, MMA, art, music) that has a pre set weekly schedule or something that needs a daily routine.

Travelling is easier because you don't need to carve time out on a frequent basis - take 3 weeks off, do a few countries in Western Europe or some funky destinations (Maghreb, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, South America). Can easily do this once a year.

Perhaps pick up a mental stimulation habit (like reading non-work stuff on the weekend, learning a new language by yourself) and physical stimulation (football, cricket, golf or running on the weekends) and don't belt yourself if you miss sessions because of work. Slowly, once these become part of your life, you'll be able to adjust work around them (stick around on a Friday night and finish work to save that Saturday coffee and reading session versus go out for drinks on a Friday night and then work through Saturday and miss the session).

To add to it, there's also the expectation to be available 24*7, 365 days a year and the corresponding stress/ anxiety at being away from one's laptop for an hour. Let's say you manage to visit the gym after 4 days, but the moment you enter (at 7.30 pm) there's a call from some guy from the Bombay office who's pressing on an urgent deliverable; and he will make you feel guilty for taking care of your health while he slogs for 20 hours. There's also the negative effects of irregular sleep and skipping meals. Hence a career in a typical law firm and long term physical and mental well being may not be mutually compatible. Eventually you'll have to choose one over the other.

I get where you’re coming from but it’s possible to have hobbies if you plan and are willing to adjust and make sacrifices (waking up early/doing stuff over the weekend).

It doesn’t always work of course given the kinds of lives we have, but it is possible to be reasonably consistent.

I’ve done quite a bit of stuff over the last 10-15 years.

tl: dr versión - hard but possible.

Many lawyers (both corporate and litigation) turn to writing fiction with varying degrees of success.

Avaantika Kakkar, competition law partner at CAM has written a novel called A Place Called Delirium (https://www.amazon.in/Place-Called-Delirium-Avaantika-Kakkar-ebook/dp/B01IZ4F8Q8)

IP Lawyer Kalyan C. Kankanala has written Pirates of Bollywood (https://www.flipkart.com/pirates-of-bollywood/p/itme9uqaunxfg2gv)

Vinod Joseph, Argus Partners, is a compulsive writer who has published a few novels. His blog has lots of short fiction and details of his novels. www.winnowed.blogspot.com

Chennai based Rishi Kumar Dugar has written a novel called Mota Seth. (https://www.amazon.in/Mota-Seth-Senior-Partner-FIC/dp/8122312128/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=rishi+kumar+mota+seth&qid=1620030170&sr=8-1)

Amit Khansaheb is an ace transactional lawyer and a successful golfer:

https://golfingindian.com/interviews_posts/amit-khansaheb-set-represent-india-world-amateur-golfers-championship/

Drinking your sorrows away -> Putting on weight -> feeling depressed about the sudden weight gain -> drinking some more to forget the fact that you are fat -> Become fat -> eat and drink some more (cause what's the point anyway?) -> finally join cult classes -> quit after 6 months because you just cant keep up -> quit law firm life one day because of a serious health scare.

#lawfirmlife

Indians are among the most overworked workers globally while earning the lowest minimum statutory wage in the Asia-Pacific region, barring Bangladesh:

https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_762534.pdf

Quote:

India ranks 5th in the world among countries with long working hours, often stretching up to 48 hours a week, if not more. Only Gambia, Mongolia, Maldives and Qatar, where a quarter of the population is Indian, have average working hours longer than in India.

Quote:

An average worker in China works 46 hours a week, 36 hours in the United Kingdom, 37 hours in the United States and 36 hours in Israel.

Corp lawyers aren't unique in the slightest. Look outside sometime, atleast we get paid a decent wage. The problem is the system of course.