As a lawyer, you are never far away from your work. Essentially, to serve your clients best, you have to be available most of the time. It is a job and an industry that requires long hours and a lot of extra effort. And now, with new technology that makes working from home and on the road easier and more convenient than ever, that trend is only increasing.

Many people thought that with the onset of new technologies like cell phones, PDA’s, and virtual machines would limit work hours because it gives people more freedom. The result, however, was the opposite. All of the sudden, when you leave the office you are not leaving work behind. Hours got longer because the boundaries between work life and home life disappeared.

There have been many recent news stories about the excessive use of blackberries and mobile web devices to check email and catch up on work into the late hours of the night. It causes increased stress at home and limits time with family and friends when you used to be more available. This leads to unhappy spouses, limited time with children, and less free time during vacation or off days.

It is important to remember that technology is meant to help make our lives easier. Set limits on yourself when you are away from the office. Start out by trying to designate hours without any mobile devices. Focus your attention on family and non-work activities so you can get back into more of a balance between work and home. Though work is important, and the satisfaction of your clients is vital, you cannot let that take over your life. Technology is a great thing, just don’t let it control you.