How to coast as an associate? (A2A)

To give some context, I've been at my firm for ~3.5 years. In the beginning, I was planning on PE, but over time, I realized the grass isn't that much greener. By the time I was finishing my analyst years, I had gotten decent at my job: while the hours are the same, I probably use less than 10% of my mental capacity in a given day. I rarely pay attention during meetings, but  instinctually know what to say. 

At this point, I'm considering coasting for another 1-3 years. With this objective in mind, does anyone have any tips? 

Feels like there's a limit to how much you can delegate,  especially if you aren't working with very competent analysts. Between more complex models, dividing up slides, and meetings, I'm still quite busy. Granted, I now eat 1 hour lunches, 1 to 2 hour dinners, and take a few 30 minute breaks throughout the day. However, it would be great if I can further improve my lifestyle. 

Any suggestions? 

9 Comments
 
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Establish a good reputation early on by working hard then ride that rep out for 1-2 years, hard to really coast more than that unless you're also sucking someone's dick (which is another idea!)

 

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