You can love the law and still miss yourself. That tension is where my conversation with public defender and author-illustrator Andrea Diaz begins, and it quickly turns into a practical guide for any attorney trying to protect their energy, creativity, and mental health while the work keeps coming. Andrea shares how she drifted away from the artsy part of her identity during the long push of training, commuting, and early-career pressure, then found her way back when a small window of time finally appeared.
We dig into the surprisingly powerful habit that makes everything feel possible again: starting with five minutes. Andrea explains why “five minutes” is a gentle trick that gets you past resistance, how a tiny creative break can replace doom-scrolling, and why that reset often makes you more effective when you return to client work. We also talk candidly about lawyer burnout, especially in public service, and the guilt that shows up when you care deeply about clients or you’re balancing motherhood and career. Her reframe is clear: if you don’t take care of yourself, you eventually become unable to help anyone.
Then we go behind the scenes of Jury Trial ABC, the children’s book she wrote and illustrated to fill a gap in kid-friendly legal education. Andrea walks through self-publishing, learning new software, building a product line, and the moment every creator fears: ordering 2,000 copies with a missing line of text. Her sticker-sheet solution is a masterclass in resilience and trust, and it highlights a theme I hear from strong leaders again and again: you don’t need perfection, you need follow-through.
We close with what’s next, including Andrea’s upcoming children’s book about grief, inspired by helping her son understand loss in a non-religious and comforting way, plus where to connect and purchase her work.
Reach Andrea here:
https://www.afternoon-recess.com/
@afternoon_recess on Instagram and TikTok
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Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins
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Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s04e154-rediscovering-your-hobbies-for-quality-of/id1752924311?i=1000768565483
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