Finding balance in life and work
Published on July 28, 2025
Holly Grundon
Planning Solicitor Consultant
(2011–2014; 2015–present | Real Estate, Environment and Planning)
Holly's law career began out of a self-proclaimed "pigheadedness", an attitude which has been a driving force in her life since her GCSEs.
“I was never the most academic person at school. I was a little disappointed with my GCSE results compared to my friends, which made me work even harder to make up for it in my A-Levels. I’d initially planned to study either geography or physiotherapy at university because I’m quite a sporty person, but law caught my eye when looking through a prospectus. It wasn’t something I’d considered before, but the more my mum tried to convince me to look at other subjects, the more determined I was to study law. I think a fire had been lit!
I’m a very driven person, which has helped me throughout my life. My time at the firm has been fulfillling and I've worked with interesting clients, partners, and colleagues. I’m deeply passionate about my work as a Planning Solicitor because it combines my interests of geography and law.
I’ve worked on the planning for 52–storey tower blocks and area-wide regeneration efforts, and one of the key pleasures I get is being able to go and see the results of my work once construction has finished. I feel a sense of satisfaction whenever I walk past the former-IBM building on the South Bank, a project I worked on at the firm.
I briefly left in 2014—but came back first as an employee and now as a consultant. You only do this if you're happy with the culture of a workplace, and the firm clearly works hard to create a welcoming and professional space for people.
My preferred type of work involves collaboration with partners and clients, which requires problem-solving and guiding clients through the intricate requirements of planning law. And this feels like the right firm to do that with. Plus, I love the team I work with!"
Try a triathlon
"I got into triathlons gradually. I was a good swimmer in my youth at university. Then one day I decided to take part in a charity bike ride from London to Paris—which led to me becoming more interested in endurance sports—which snowballed into triathlons. I focused on my training, which got me out of bed at 06:00 and by the afternoon at work that day, I could often be found leaning up against the photocopier for support!
It was worth it though. I qualified to represent Great Britain and went on to compete in several European Championships—where I won bronze—and World Championships too. I also moved into half-Ironman competitions which consist of a 1.9k swim, 90k bike ride, and a half- marathon. I’d be racing for around five hours non-stop.
While competing I got into a bit of ‘sport tourism’ where I would travel the world looking for competitions. This would lead to different types of challenges, like in Budapest where the extreme heat made everything so much harder. At times like that, you just have to tactically plan how you'll run and at what pace and keep hydrated.
I helped to organize the JLL Property Triathlon on behalf of clients and colleagues—which was a great success, especially around the era of the Brownlee brothers after the London Olympics. It was an opportunity to mix my sport with my work, so of course I loved it!
It was a great way to get like-minded people together and network. Triathlons were a large part of my life for more than 10 years, and I only stopped when the pandemic curbed all travel and I picked up an injury. However, I have competed since, sometimes in competition, and sometimes just for myself, in cycling— that’s when I have the time in between everything else!"
Taking on the farm
“I grew up on a pig farm, and over time it's shifted to a livery yard. My father always worked hard on it, but in 2020 when the pandemic hit, things started to change. He began to suffer from hip pain and latterly dementia, meaning he couldn’t manage the business as well as he used to. I had to make the decision on whether to let the business die or take over and run it myself. Well, here I am five years later running a farm near Rickmansworth!
I had to learn how to drive tractors and operate heavy farm machinery very quickly. It was a lot. I worked from home while I got up to speed, and without being able to do that, none of it would've been possible. But I burned out after a few years. Between caregiving, the farm and my law career, it was just too much. Something had to give.
In the end, I resigned from the firm.
However, life has a way of course-correcting, and I was offered the opportunity to continue working for a long-standing client as a consultant through the firm. I’m grateful to partner, Al Watson, our UK Head of Planning & Environment, for helping to make this work.
I find myself in an amazing position where I work in law in the morning, helping our client progress with their development in London. Come the afternoon, I’ll be out on the farm on the tractor or taking care of animals. I’m not sure it’s a life many others lead, but it’s perfect for me. It’s not easy though, and I’ve had to learn how to manage my own time so I can adapt to changing needs throughout the year."
Time management tip
"Over and above all, the number one tip I’d give to people who need to manage their time better is to use lists. I have multiple! If you find yourself chasing your tail, forgetting to do things or feeling anxious over the number of tasks you've got to do, then make a list of it all. It often isn’t as bad as you think.
It can be a list of things to do that day, or even a longer one of tasks to be done over the course of a season. On the farm, there are some tasks which can only be accomplished in the spring and summer months, so I make sure I have that on a list somewhere and check it regularly.
I can get overwhelmed at times. My mind can become full very quickly, and I find I have so many things to balance that it can be too much. So, I make a lot of lists and write everything that I have to do down. It’s a way of clearing my mind by getting everything down on paper. I don’t have as much anxiety over getting things done because I can look at the list and work out what’s pressing, what can wait until later and what just isn’t urgent.
Another technique I use is only focusing on one task at a time. It’s so easy to be distracted by anything, from your phone to, in my case, a broken fence, but unless it’s an emergency I make sure I finish one task before starting another. If I don’t, it’s very easy to lose time.
The other method I use is writing a diary. My dad would do this when running the farm, and now I do too. I use it to track what I’ve achieved each day, and coming from a legal background where you have to track every last minute of your working day, this comes naturally to me! I find that by doing this, I can see what I've accomplished. I’m achievement-orientated, and this gives me the push to keep going and do more. I like to see what I've done more than what I still need to do!"
Looking ahead
"I’m not sure what the future will bring. Right now, I’ve got a perfect balance between working in law and working on the farm—with a bit of cycling mixed in for good measure. It just goes to show, with accommodating employers and some nifty time management, you can achieve a lot more with your life than you might think."
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The Reach Network connects everyone who is, and has ever been, part of Winston Taylor U.K. and Ireland, and legacy Taylor Wessing U.K. It helps our alumni and colleagues to maintain strong connections with each other and to showcase successes and opportunities like Holly's.
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