Midnight Oil

For current analysts: How do you boost your efficiency at 1am-3am and force your eyes and brain to focus on your work?

When I do school work until the wee hours of the morning, I get pretty damn tired and ultimately completely unproductive.

9 Comments
 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Usually easier to stay up cranking than it is to stay up studying as well, at least for me it is. IMO much easier to stay stimulated when working on projects with different tasks and problems to solve than trying to digest/memorize a bunch of material that you may find boring in the first place.

 
Best Response

I completely agree with the above posters. Since I've started in banking, I haven't needed near as much caffeine as I thought I would. The combination or stress/pressure and the fact that you are cranking on a model or writing a book that is actually interesting makes it way easier to stay awake.

As a related question, when you guys get home after a late night, say between 2-4 AM, do you ever find it hard to just immediately go to sleep? I always find myself watching ESPN, snacking, surfing the net, or whatever for at least a half hour or so. Its really frustrating. Its like I can't just unwind.

 

Stress is the number one motivator that keeps me up. I generally find I drink to much caffeine trying to stay up all night, and when I try to take a nap around 5 or 6am the caffeine keeps my mind racing preventing me from sleeping. I try and limit my caffeine intake during long nights, but often find it hard to stay awake at 2am, and that is when I start drinking a lot of diet coke.

 
longshotI completely agree with the above posters. Since I've started in banking, I haven't needed near as much caffeine as I thought I would. The combination or stress/pressure and the fact that you are cranking on a model or writing a book that is actually interesting makes it way easier to stay awake.

As a related question, when you guys get home after a late night, say between 2-4 AM, do you ever find it hard to just immediately go to sleep? I always find myself watching ESPN, snacking, surfing the net, or whatever for at least a half hour or so. Its really frustrating. Its like I can't just unwind.

I do the same. Believe it or not, I actually like to read before going to sleep. Weird how that works.
 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Et doloribus tempore culpa occaecati odit quo. Ut quam dignissimos odit corporis officia ut explicabo. Ea odit sed ea et. Consequatur voluptas voluptas est esse.

Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”