Best Methods for Maintaining Mental Sharpness?

Hey monkeys, gonna be starting my analyst stint this summer. I was wondering for those who have been working long hours, what have been your best methods for maintaining mental and intellectual sharpness? Any snack tips, or just shit you should be doing throughout the day to sustain a clear mind working 14 hours a day to all nighters?

16 Comments
 

People have differing opinions about this, but if you are in a group where it's fine to take 45-60 minutes around 8pm to go to the gym, makes "resetting" for the rest of the night easier.

This can get thrown off depending on urgency of deliverables / fire drills, and some people would rather work straight through and get home earlier instead, but I think that taking the break to reset usually makes me a lot more productive and I'd probably get home around the same time regardless with a lot more of my sanity intact if I can get a workout in a couple nights a week.

 
Most Helpful

Eat clean and as often as you can. Avoid soda and drink a shitload of water. I would snack on trail mix throughout the morning if things were slow enough. You never know when you have to grind for 2-3 hours straight, so it is always good to have something in the tank. As tds2006 said below, working out at night is a great way to break up your day and give you a boost. I actually cut back on my caffeine intake (never took adderall or any other goodies) while working my longest days (14-17 hours). Might sound weird but on those days the pressure and urgency worked as a natural stimulant and the coffee made me crash too much. I would usually sip on 1-2 cups throughout the day.

 

Have you tried the triple treat? Pour Red Bull in your eyes, eat coke and snort Adderall. Works magic, as long as you don't have anything on your calendar for the rest of the day.

I don't know... Yeah. Almost definitely yes.
 

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