hey fellow pod monkeys, wanted to get your personal experience of how to destress after a 12-14 hour day at MM HF? I'm a new joiner at one of the larger pod shops and find the stress hard to fade even after work, leading to habitual drinking when I get home just to unwind... Think this is normal but unhealthy and just want to see if fellas have something more helpful other than alcohol?
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I personally found the below helpful:
1) finding an active hobby that helps block out work for a time period and for enjoyment of life.
2) socializing with a group of peers in the industry to shoot the shit and share the burden.
3) celebrating wins and making sure my outlook is balanced and not always pessimistic (thinking about the upside in career and earnings if I performed).
4) getting enough sleep.
Hey this is off topic but I’m interested in pods and want to ask what that 12-14 hr day looks like? Split between reading, modeling, chatting with folks, etc?
Google is your friend
As jr analyst, my days outside of earnings looked like the below. Hard to give an exact split but I’d guess I was 50 modeling/30 reading/20 calls. I always tried to avoid just reading research during the trading day because things ALWAYS come up and then coming back to a dense research piece means I have to re-read a good portion to get back to wherever I left off.
6:30am - up and at em, check email/skim research to make sure nothing major happened
7:30-9am - on desk, check news, read overnight/am research, write up morning update
9am-9:20ish - chat with PM on big updates if any, confirm call schedule and which ones he will be on, see if there’s anything particular he wants done that day and if not then give him quick thoughts on what I’m planning to do
9:30-noon - market opens, watch news flow, maybe work on model/maybe calls/read transcripts and/or light research, depends
12-12:30ish - grab lunch with other analysts
12:45-4pm - lock in till close - basically same as the morning, I would try and pick something less intense for mid-afternoon so I get a little bit of a brain break
4-4:30pm - team debrief with PM, maybe trade a little in the AH but usually talk about ideas we’re working on
4:30-5pm - PM leaves
4:30-7/8pm - work on whatever needs to get done (probably model update bc I covered an ungodly amount of names and it would take weeks to update everything post earnings), if there’s time maybe try and go through a dense research report, hit the gym and/or just go home
8:30pm - get home and wind down for a bit (tv probably)
10pm - get in bed and go through more long-form research, this is where I’ll read stuff that’s maybe not under my direct coverage but is industry-related or just interesting
11pm - out cold
You have to find a hobby. Stick at it consistently and form a ritual.
Hit the gym. Seriously.
Evening cardio. It can be as a simple as hopping on a bike / incline treadmill while you watch TV / listen to an Audiobook. I often do this at around 9pm so I have had some time to digest after dinner. It really enforces healthy dinner eating habits and takes the time that you would normally enjoy wine / scotch / whatever vice and pushes you to instead exercise and get some endorphines. It also leads to better sleep.
I have been in this industry for 10+ years and work with a performance coach and a therapist and this is still the best solution I have found. I also like to read books to get away from screens in the evening.
I have found that alcohol is a disaster from a stress management perspective as the anxiety I feel the next day after even a few drinks is way worse than the relaxing experience I get the evening before. Just save it for the weekend.
In terms of other options, I find that it is helpful to have activities that give you some purpose outside of work - no matter how simple. For instance, my wife doesn't work (mostly manages our lives for us), but I still cook most evenings after a difficult day of work. I find it a bit therapeutic and helps feel like an accomplishment to cook a good meal after a day when markets have delivered pain.
Small exercise breaks, like jumping jacks in the stairwell, burpees, etc. Motion creates emotion
Not to derail this but are these hours standard or is it because you are still ramping? This sounds kind of unsustainable given how brain-intensive publics work is.
I would imagine ramping right?
This isn’t ramping. From my experience this is something consistent after multiple years
I don't doubt there are people that work this hard, but in my experience this is 1-2 hours a day more than what I generally see outside of earnings season.
The large majority of people head home by 6-6.30PM, and they are done for the day.
Is your 6-6:30pm comment largely referring to PMs only or also junior pod associates?
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