How do you get the everyday stuff done?

Here's a question to everyone who's gone through, or is going through, life as an analyst...

With all the long hours....how do you get anything outside work done? I'm talking about the mundane stuff....like shopping, getting to the doc's, and just general stuff that in most industries you could get the odd day off to do.

I appreciate you sacrifice any kind of social life outside work, relationships etc. but does any kind of normal life as you know it end the day you start?

 

...and in London, Canary Wharf has everything.

Most banks now have Cafeterias, Gyms, Dry Cleaning, Medical Offices, Coffee Shops, etc...

In terms of shopping, if you mean groceries, don't worry, you're never home so you don't need food. You always eat at work. You are only home to sleep. if by some chance you get a Sunday off, you usually go out to eat anyway. (I just try to make sure I always have a case of beer).

Also, the admins can help set up any number of things for you (doctor's appointments, travel, dinner reservations, you name it). I highly recommend taking care of your admin.

A lot of people have doormen in their apartments who can also take care of certain things.

If you have a spouse or significant other, even better.

Speaking for Canary Wharf, the whole damn thing revolves around i-banks. There are bank branches; there's a huge mall, tons of bars, cafes, and restaurants.

It set up so that you never have to leave (and trust me...you won't ;)

 

Here are my personal logistics.

My fiance picks up and drops off my dry cleaning, cleans the apartment (sometimes, kinda), and buys sundries like lightbulbs, Kleenex, and even the embarrassing girl stuff that most guys wouldn't be caught dead with in the checkout line. He gets the mail, deals with outsiders (apartment broker, repair guy, delivery people), and keeps me in my essentials (razor blades, shampoo, conditioner, milk, coffee beans, wine, and high-fiber cereal). He also works 50 hours a week and is studying for his GMAT (We're trying to get him into Stern). In return, he gets all the love and special treatment I can give him, plus the prestige and material benefits of being (almost) married to an i-banker, plus effusive gratitude every day several times a day. (Seriously. Even on the nights I don't go home, I still thank him sincerely.)

Health care: I "save up" for the doctor. I plan it for a morning that I think is likely to be relatively dead, and if I manage to go, I have him do everything: pap, glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, anemia, white count, refills on all scrips. I might only get this chance once a year, so I gotta make it count. (Why so many tests? Well, if I'm going to abuse my body, I want to keep tabs on exactly what the effects are.) On the other hand, it can be hard to get to the doctor when you're sick. You never get sick at a convenient time... it's always when the work is hardest, which means you can't really leave. I'd probably call in and get an antibiotic if I really, really needed one. As for the rest, I have small stores of enough Schedule II and III drugs to push me through any short-term emergency (flames and disses allowed only by those who've lived the dream for themselves, thank you).

Prescriptions: Tough. I've had a scrip sitting in my purse waiting to be filled for six weeks now. Good thing I've got those stockpiles, huh?

Haircuts: I actually managed to get a haircut while traveling back in September. At the same time, I bought refills on all my makeup. It's hard to do these things in Manhattan because I'd have to leave the area and walk up to SoHo.

DMV: No chance yet. I NEED to go there badly; am driving a Vespa on an expired tag and expired motorcycle license. My regular car license is also expired. Fat chance I'll ever get to go, though.

Doorman in my building: Useless. Completely. He can barely even open the door.

Concierge: Even more useless than the doorman.

 

please spare us the fluff in your future posts, no one cares that you eat high-fiber cereal or that your meds are schedule ii or iii; i cringe every time i read you cry for attention posts

as for the prestige of being married to a banker all i can say is wow talk about an inflated ego, its a job we all do it who cares

just out of curiosity was your fiance castrated before you met him or did you do that to him

 

Heh. Well, we all have our own points of view. I'm not at all proud of being a banker, but it seems to make a difference to people outside the industry (if not, of course, him). That portion of the passage was tongue-in-cheek; no one who's ever worked as an analyst for any length of time could possibly think it's a high-status job within banking.

That said, to speak on this board is to invite assault, and to be candid is even worse. I'm considerably less than surprised.

GameTheory, good question. People who want to become bankers might be interested in knowing what happens to the body, not that my health situation is 100% average since I'm slightly insulin-resistant. Here's what I got so far. Bear in mind that I've gone from a regime of running and light weightlifting for an hour every day to a regime of running for 20 minutes before work five times a week. Plus, I have less control over my diet, am drinking more, getting far less sleep, and am noticeably less happy and relaxed.

Slight rise in good cholesterol (5%) (drinking more red wine in the evenings and green tea all day)

Large rise (15%) in bad cholesterol. (I don't snack or eat trans fats or lots of sat fat, so it's probably not related to diet but to stress and lack of exercise.) It was very low before this, so it's still within the normal range. Bad cholesterol also runs in my family.

4 pound weight gain in first three months, steady since then, still well within normal range. 4 pounds doesn't make much difference on a girl my height, but it IS odd that I can't seem to lose it for any length of time. Get ready for that if you're going to be a banker.

Large rise (15-20%) in blood pressure, but it was on the low side before this, so it's still healthy.

No change in fasting glucose (mine is normal).

Large rise (10%) in glucose response, sending me further into insulin-resistance-land (I blame stress and lack of exercise).

Blood counts: Normal, no change.

The glucose is what worries me the most, because I work damn hard at controlling my blood sugar. No soda, no candy, no juice, no fruit, no added sugar anywhere, no stupid amounts of bread/pasta/starch... and I just can't control it the way I used to, because an important part of blood sugar control is movement, and analysts don't get to move much.

I run up and down flights of stairs when I have spare time, but I can't even do that as much as I should.

By the way, all tests were done fasting and several days after any use of medications or alcohol, after a day of normal exercise, sleep, and food (just to strip out the effects of any short-term fluctuations).

There. Now you all know more about my health than my mother or my fiance. Hopefully someone finds it useful.

 

One question: How are "we" trying to get him into Stern? Isn't he taking the GMAT ad doing all the work for it? As much as it bothers my male ego to see a guy that whipped, its completely true that no one would have even batted an eyelid if it was a girl doing all those things for a guy. Yeah ...its called double standards. So props to the dude if he can do that and is okay with it. I know I personally would have problems with that lifestyle but to each her/his own. Hope things work out for you, have a great marriage etc. Also, no offense meant to the other dudes on the board, as much as it is a mistake to put your personal life on there, don't you guys thinks its a little cheap to attack someone if they are honestly sharing something and not talking a crap like a lot of the other members of this board. Yeah I know the prestige of being married to a banker thing was attackworthy, but for the most part I have seen nothing but valid points from you guys so it was a little surprising. Peace

 

"We" are indeed trying to get him into Stern. The use of "we" here means that it was originally my idea and I'm offering the emotional support, paying the application fee, providing the test prep materials (which I got from my HR people by calling in favors), helping him study, drilling him for the test, helping refine his essay, paying for his GMAT, and preparing to help him handle the pain if he gets rejected or if they don't give him a good enough package. (He's not good at taking rejection yet, so it may take some work on my part.) To my way of thinking, this qualifies me as being a part of the team. Two years ago, he was saying "We're trying to get her into investment banking". Same-same. He mock-interviewed me, paid for my interview suits, boosted my confidence, and helped me get the grades I needed.

It's called teamwork, dudes. It's called a vital, dynamic marriage. These kinds of partnerships are near-unbeatable because of the way human strengths and weaknesses interlock. Maybe some of you will find this out for yourselves, and maybe not, but believe me, it's out there.

Listen up: when we met, we were a waiter and a liberal arts sophomore. He leveraged me into b-school. I leveraged him into a mutual fund. He leveraged me into banking. I leverage him into b-school. Now he's got a business plan and investors lined up. Now I've got the venture capital and private equity contacts to get him air time with the right people. That's the way it works. Each of us may have to take on the world, guys, but isn't it easier to do it when you know somebody you trust has got your back? Use your head, man. You don't want to lean on your woman? That's like deciding to climb a ladder with only one hand when you've got two available.

I don't think he's too worried about his masculinity, by the way. We're just doing what we do. The definitions of being "manly enough" or "the right kind of girl" are absurd once you step outside them.

 
Mis Ind:
"We" are indeed trying to get him into Stern. The use of "we" here means that it was originally my idea and I'm offering the emotional support, paying the application fee, providing the test prep materials (which I got from my HR people by calling in favors), helping him study, drilling him for the test, helping refine his essay, paying for his GMAT, and preparing to help him handle the pain if he gets rejected or if they don't give him a good enough package. (He's not good at taking rejection yet, so it may take some work on my part.) To my way of thinking, this qualifies me as being a part of the team. Two years ago, he was saying "We're trying to get her into investment banking". Same-same. He mock-interviewed me, paid for my interview suits, boosted my confidence, and helped me get the grades I needed.

It's called teamwork, dudes. It's called a vital, dynamic marriage. These kinds of partnerships are near-unbeatable because of the way human strengths and weaknesses interlock. Maybe some of you will find this out for yourselves, and maybe not, but believe me, it's out there.

Listen up: when we met, we were a waiter and a liberal arts sophomore. He leveraged me into b-school. I leveraged him into a mutual fund. He leveraged me into banking. I leverage him into b-school. Now he's got a business plan and investors lined up. Now I've got the venture capital and private equity contacts to get him air time with the right people. That's the way it works. Each of us may have to take on the world, guys, but isn't it easier to do it when you know somebody you trust has got your back? Use your head, man. You don't want to lean on your woman? That's like deciding to climb a ladder with only one hand when you've got two available.

I don't think he's too worried about his masculinity, by the way. We're just doing what we do. The definitions of being "manly enough" or "the right kind of girl" are absurd once you step outside them.

Don't waste your breadth on some losers on this board. They're not on your level, and they are just intimidated that you're a woman. Go girl.

 
Best Response

It is not easy, NOT EASY AT ALL to sustain a relationship while in banking.

I found that the relationships that work out are the ones with a solid history. Kudos to you Ms. Ind.

BTW, on the subject of how being a banker is perceived by the outside world... I actually am extremely modest and usually just tell folks that I'm in finance. Enough said.

Yet, there are exceptions :-)

At my Open House this weekend a nosy arrogant neighbor in my condo building stopped by to check out my digs, how I remodeled etc. Me? Jeans and gym shoes. Her? Couture shearling coat, designer handbag and a Saks shopping bag in tote. Turns out my neighbor is a mutual fund wholesaler and immediately started to brag about how she hired notorious Architect So and So to design her $80,000 designer kitchen and how he was at her beckon call yadda yadda yadda. Ay vay.

When she asked me why I was selling, I answered a very brief "relocation". Naturally, she followed "Oh, what do you do?"

Now what do you people think I did? Yup, that's right, I slammed the woman back down to reality. Ofcourse! I enjoyed that very much and the reaction on her face was sweet.

 

Insulin resistance increases with age and causes hypertension.

You may want to look into cutting bread-like products completely out of your diet. People I know in a similar situation have done the same. A book called "Sugar Busters" is useful reading.

Diet has very little effect on hereditary cholestrol so its likely that you didn't get the high cholesterol genes. If I recollect correctly people with hereditary cholesterol problems will have readings in the lower 200s with a perfect diet.

Also, I don't beleive there are any benefits to having total cholestrol lower than 120 or so as long as the internals are proportionate.

---------------- Account Inactive
 

Get a maid

Live close to work

Outsource the shitty work to ECM / DCM and risk and your India offices.

Use your associates' seamless on weekends to order drinks, produce, cold cut meats... never pay for food ever

Black car to bars

Have all your dry cleaning and laundry pressed and delivered

Make friends with the print guys. $20 for donuts and coffee = your books always get done first = you're out of the office first

 

Pay someone else to do everything for me. If I end up with 30k a year after that. I have created 30k in value by doing nothing.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

I worked for 4 years as a management consultant and here is what I did (and still do).

  1. I only eat twice a day. It's called intermittent fasting. More info here: http://worklifefitness.co/intermittent-fasting/
  2. I cook with a slow-cooker. If I'm making something else, I make a lot. I also keep ready-to-eat foods in the fridge and pantry so I can get a meal without cooking.
  3. I only exercise once a week for 20 minutes (but I am also active daily). It's called High-Intensity Training. More info here: http://worklifefitness.co/high-intensity-training/
  4. I have a housecleaner.
  5. I use a dry-cleaner next to my condo.
  6. I 'bulk-process' texts and emails. Meaning: I sit down and fire through all my personal emails and texts rather than doing them throughout the day.
www.worklifefitness.co
 

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