Free Time
Good morning all,
Today I'm going to talk about free time. What's that, you may ask? Right, I forgot, you guys have no free time. Free time is the series of hours or minutes (hopefully more than just minutes) in a day during which you have no outside responsibilities. It's when you can do whatever you want, and not feel guilty about the fact that other things are being put off.
Free time is awesome, but those of us who are in investment banking have given up almost all of our free time, and those of us who are prospective monkeys are just naive 18-to-22-year-olds who think that giving up all of one's free time isn't actually a big deal.
For the past several weeks I have been working a PE internship, and certain weeks have given me my first real exposure to investment banking-like hours, and thus, no free time.
But I'm here to ask a different question altogether -- does free time actually exist?
This is a serious question, even for people who might be in the transitory period between college and a job and literally have oodles of "free time". My stance on this is as follows: free time exists for some people, but not for all, irrespective of the number of hours someone works or goes to school.
Wait, what?
Hear me out. Most of the people on this site -- people who are in finance or looking to get into finance -- aren't the type of people to ever truly have "free time". This is because a high degree of drive and motivation sidelines free time by definition. Take an example: last year I worked as a software developer, making solid money on a 8-5 schedule Monday through Friday. Most people would say that I had a lot of free time, and a lot of bills to take full advantage of it. But this was actually far from the truth, because I'm not the type of person who can take ruthless advantage of leisure time like other people out there.
Yes indeed, while working this pretty cushy job, in my time outside of work I was preparing myself for investment banking interviews, filling out MSF applications, studying technicals, and reading and digesting as much information as I could about finance to prepare for my next step. And when I wasn't doing these things, I often felt guilty and anxious because I wasn't using my time wisely and was "falling behind" by not staying on top of my game.
And this character trait is one that dates back to my childhood, and to this day I remember never being completely "OK" with taking advantage of leisure time because I know that my time could always be used more wisely and I could be accomplishing things that had important long-term implications.
Okay, great, so what does all this mean?
What this means, monkeys, is that for most of us, free time is just a myth, a pipe-dream. Not strictly because we work (or will work) many many MANY hours per week, but because for people who are interested in finance and doing well at it(read: Type A people), leisure time just isn't a thing. This is what drives people to answer the "what's your number" question with something like "there's always more to be made" or "I don't have one, I just like the hustle". Someone who has the personality and drive to make it into this industry (especially given current market conditions), is not the type of person who relishes their free or leisure time -- they're the type of person who might wonder "what can I be doing right now to better myself" when they're just screwing around and watching TV on a Sunday afternoon. And let's face it, if you're watching TV and wondering why you're doing that instead of something more productive, you're not really taking advantage of your "free time" at all.
So the next time work has you down because you only have enough time to shower before you collapse onto your bed, don't worry about it too much -- free time probably doesn't exist for you anyway.
What do you guys think? Is there such a thing as true, blissful leisure time for folks like us? Do you think you'd be okay with having a ton of leisure time, or would you immediately get bored and seek out the next "big job" or "deal" (metaphorically speaking)?
Thanks for reading.
Comments
d
d
Don't be too obsessed with
Don't be too obsessed with self improvement, it is a fools errand which has no possible way of even "completing" per say. I am a firm believer that people don't stay the same, you either get better or worst at something depending on your actions. With that said, if you go your whole life trying to just make yourself better and have no concern for anyone else, you well end up alone and an asshole. If you don't believe me look around Wall Street for more than a fair share of evidence.
Help others, help yourself, and for your own sake, learn to not only value free time, but find good ways to use it. Life isn't only about the job, and if you already think like this before you even start working full time - you may be beyond saving.
We all have 4 years of
We all have 4 years of continuous free-time during college. Isn't that enough to hold you off until retirement? Personally, if I'm not doing something productive, I feel I need to. But that's probably just my type-A personality.
"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan
dp
dp
"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan
mperit01: Don't be too
Don't be too obsessed with self improvement, it is a fools errand which has no possible way of even "completing" per say. I am a firm believer that people don't stay the same, you either get better or worst at something depending on your actions. With that said, if you go your whole life trying to just make yourself better and have no concern for anyone else, you well end up alone and an asshole. If you don't believe me look around Wall Street for more than a fair share of evidence.
Help others, help yourself, and for your own sake, learn to not only value free time, but find good ways to use it. Life isn't only about the job, and if you already think like this before you even start working full time - you may be beyond saving.
+1. self improvement is good until it becomes an obsession
Time measured against money
Time measured against money earned during time will by definition create the expression that there is no such thing as free time, and that any time not spend of productivity is lost money. That having been said (1) there is more to life than money and (2) down time is needed so that the time spent making money is actually productive.
(1) more to life than money: subjective. You define this
(2) fatigue makes cowards of us all. Yes you can work more hours, and yes, some people are lazy. However, factor into this equation that if you're tired and working at half pace, you're not any more productive than if you'd gotten a rest.
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
I cannot agree more.. any of
I cannot agree more.. any of you ever watch a series or movies/play games for an entire day and feel like shit in the evening knowing you got nothing accomplished besides (maybe) putting some pants on?
"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." - IlliniProgrammer
Senvik: I cannot agree more..
I cannot agree more.. any of you ever watch a series or movies/play games for an entire day and feel like shit in the evening knowing you got nothing accomplished besides (maybe) putting some pants on?
All the time. Granted, I often still have fun doing that all day, but oftentimes even in the middle of whatever I'm doing I get introspective for a second and think "really? this is my day?"...and yeah, when you go to sleep that night you do feel like absolute garbage.
"An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
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I think the fact that I have
I think the fact that I have free time has to do with the fact that I am better at managing time than 99% of the people out there.
This stems from the writings of Cal Newport, of Study Hacks. I'd rather be super productive for a few hours and work long hours and have my productivity drop significantly as time goes by.
http://calnewport.com/blog/
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"If you go your whole life
"If you go your whole life trying to just make yourself better and have no concern for anyone else, you will end up alone and an asshole."
This x100. The thing with self improvement is that it doesn't have a "finish line". You could always have more money, you could always be smarter, you could always be in better shape, you could always have a hotter gf, etc etc. You put shit on the pedestal thinking it'll change everything, only to get them and realize no one gives a fuck, and those who do don't matter. Srsly, would you really want to date or be friends with people who would be out faster than a fat kid in a dodgeball game if your money dried up? The happiest ppl I know would be considered complete "failures" by WS standards. But the thing is, they derived that very happiness by not getting caught up in the self-improvement rat race and being completely content with where they are.
GBS
Callus: this kind of sissy
this kind of sissy piece makes me sick, and those who call themselves "type A" are type B's.
Whoa there killer, don't hurt nobody
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
Callus: this kind of sissy
this kind of sissy piece makes me sick, and those who call themselves "type A" are type B's.
type A, type B, even myers briggs - it all sounds like BS...people are complex and can be very different from each other let's leave it at that
Up to the point of going to
Up to the point of going to college, my entire life was essentially free time (k-12 education was a blow off and I never ever had homework, and I mean honestly my school never had hw) Not to mention going up to our lake house every weekend, like a mini vacation. I would say that had the biggest impact in the way I see and do things over many other people. Time to me is meant to be enjoyed, doing nothing of importance and having total fun. To this day I can't go three weeks without needing to take a weekend somewhere.
That said, I wouldn't want to sit on a couch all day and be a vegetable because frankly that is not enjoyable to me. However, I also don't feel I need to be productive in any way either. I believe free time should be spent making great memories by being outside, socializing with friends and family, doing hobbies you enjoy, etc.
I know I could never do investment banking and even forty hours a week seems a little heavy for me. I mean honestly when we think work-life balance that should not be 50-50 or even 30-70. Sometimes I wouldn't mind a simple life in some remote country where all I need to do is work a couple hours to make enough to sustain myself and family and call it a day.
At first I thought this was
At first I thought this was going to be stupid, then I realized you're almost right.
oh ho ho...i feel sorry for
oh ho ho...i feel sorry for you OP...i work PE and do put in the kind of hours you talk about and unlike my previous BO gig i am never "off" work so as to speak but to put a theory around having no free time and filling it up with anything everything in the name of resume building/ knowledge all the time is plain stupid and yeah...stupid....
i relish my free time and i work hard for it when i like to unwind, do things n my own pace, cool off with couple of sitcoms, chilled beer, talking to friends, playing soccer and honestly this combo of 15 hours of work, 6 for sleep and 3 for chilling out keeps me fresh nd happy all the time...i have seen ur kind of so called A types who take everything way too seriously and are on constant doze of adrenalin....i like to make fun of these a types....cos somewhere down the line you substitute the intelligence associated with free thinking with donkeying around in the name of "career"....grow up and get a life...read a good book and jerk off your a type out of ur system....trust me...u ll do much better in ur life...
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." ~George Moore
i always need an excuse to
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." ~George Moore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." ~George Moore
I have tons of free time..but
I eat success for breakfast...with skim milk
I always hate myself when I
Free time is or browsing wso
Time is never wasted when
Eventus stultorum magister.