Does anyone have time to read?

I workout and read either before or after work, and on weekends

In finance you don’t need to read. Books lie numbers don’t. Also, instead of spending money on working out spend the same amount on hookers you will come out ahead.

Just fucking read bro... 

While investment banking and some PE firms have absolutely brutal hours, there is downtime during which you can pursue whatever hobbies you wish. The biggest struggle comes from the fact that you are basically on call 24/7 and never know when a major project will be dropped on you, causing you to cancel plans. Reading actually fits very strongly with this work environment because you can pick up a book for 5 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour whenever you have downtime. If something comes up, you just pause reading and resume whenever you can. Working out is not quite as easy as reading, but it does fit in the same general category of activities you can do and abandon/cancel on a moment’s notice to turn your attention to work.

As for eating healthy, I really struggled with it as an analyst working long hours. The weight crept up on me and I didn’t expect it. Some are able to maintain the discipline, but I failed to do so until my hours improved. That said, this is all mental fortitude … no reason you cannot order a salad instead of a pizza.

I do pretty well on the reading and eating healthy front... not so much on exercise (mainly from lack of willpower/desire, not much else). However, just an idea but you can combine them! Exercise while listening to an audio book :)

If you really value something, you'll find time for it. Working out is also important for me. I'm planning on going in the morning before work because I know I'll likely be lazy asf when I get back

I am not an avid reader these days except for work related stuff.  Tbh, when I was a kid, I always viewed reading as a chore so I do not think I ever read a book until college.  However, as I got older I started realizing that there is value in reading that goes beyond enjoyment.  If you read books or articles written by highly skilled writers you, would likely become a better writer, which is an essential and often overlooked skill in finance.  People on the sell side usually are good writers because they get a lot of practice from writing research reports.   

I could make similar comments about eating healthy, which I never did when I was younger.  Like many young guys, I ate a lot of unhealthy, feel good food.  However,  when I got older, I had to change my life style because a lab test showed that I had high cholesterol. My doctor was very blunt with me about the high cholesterol and at the time, I did not appreciate his honesty.  However, his comments and the test results were what prompted me to change my eating habits.  High cholesterol can be related to your genes, but eating habits and exercise can have a substantial influence on cholesterol levels. 

I'm a pretty disciplined person, but watching 90% of my friends in the corporate world go from healthy, active and curious people to hollow-eyed, overweight drones really gives me all the motivation I need. 

I'll wake up early to hit the gym before work, and if there is something pressing, I can usually find a time later in the day (sometimes this means less sleep).

Like the user above stated, you can usually squeeze in reading during downtime.

Eating healthy is so easy nowadays, it's more about discipline than access to healthy choices. Meal prep on Sundays, or make healthy choices when buying lunch. You'd be hard pressed to find a city that doesn't have some sort of quick bowl/salad place with good options.

Workout in the morning before your day starts / cook all your (healthy) meals for the week on Sunday / carry a book with you - instead of reaching in the pocket for the 5-minute insta scroll, read a chapter of the book

If you don’t mind you can always listen audio books while working out.