How do you stay sharp while working long hours
i am having trouble staying focused while working 70+ hours, would love your input on the following: 1. what is your routine to take care of your health mentally and physically? Sleep? Vitamins? 2. how do you stay focused when working long hours? How to be sharp and not make any stupid formatting error? especially when making edits for the 100th time
how do you find energy to workout during the Week? And time?
Hydration and listening to trance for me
I listen to trance too. drop your latest sets. I'll drop mine too
What I was listening to on Friday:
One I always find myself listening to:
https://youtu.be/KsygyTXJxSg
Listen to a bunch of a state of trance as it's easier for me to just mindlessly click on and get going.
Anything Jody Wisternoff and of course, Anjunadeep
What’s Trance? Would love to check it out.
Definition for trance I think has evolved over time, but to get a good feel for the energy in a solid hour I would check out "A State of Trance Year Mix 2018" by Armin van Buuren. I prefer these over regular EDM mixes as they can get distracting.
old school or "new" trance?
my fav sets to work to now are Andrew Rayel’s find your harmony year mix 2014, andrew rayel live at Tomorrowland belgium 2015. pushed me through so many disastrous models
Right on
straight up doubletanking with poy sian/ vicks inhalers. one in each nostril
this sounds legit. might have to give it a go.
its pretty much the same effect as strong mints or something. I find it helps a lot
Have an adderall prescription.
gotta feed the geese
I like to go for at least 1 or 2 longer walks (20-30 minutes) per day, usually to a coffee shop. Get some fresh air and sunlight and then come back and look at your formatting.
Sleep is what it is, but eating is much more controllable. I gained 15 pounds in the first few months and then started eating healthy (vegetable and lean protein heavy) and felt way better. Ditch the heavy meals.
you’re associate 2. i dont know if I have that privilege as analyst 1. I barely take 15 minutes to get lunch and eat my desk. do you think it is okay to take such breaks or someone will say something?
Ask to get coffee with people. If you have breaks during the day (waiting for comments?) go then. Honestly even walk laps around the block and you can be right up if you get an email. Sounds weird but I go insane without sunlight
Why do you eat your desk? Is it some form of corporal punishment your bank uses for typos?
If you get your work done I don't think anyone will (i) notice you're taking walks or (ii) care even if they do
Workout regularly, eat clean. Also some B12 goes a long way for me.
Work 70 hours weeks maybe 1-2 x a year, usually 50-60. Stop eating heavy meals, and get a lot of sleep. Take 1-2 very disconnected vacations.
I envy most people's horsepower. I have a lot of energy and interest in my job, but I can't ever say I have the stamina of an IBer. They are at another level. Mine is high stress, for sure, but also a grind. The intensity makes it different.
I now stress very little about the small stuff. And pay a premium for convenience. Ditch the stress is the takeaway.
when you say ditch the heavy meals, do you mean just eat smaller portions?
Pretty sure he's referencing caloric intake. Burger v salad.
Yes, and no. Heavy is relative.
I just mean food that keeps your appetite at bay for a few hours, doesn't have you thinking about food, but doesn't make you want to go in a coma. For some, a poke bowl with rice is good, some it's a large salad, some can do a small burger and fries. It's all relative. But genuinely, it's there to keep you going, not against you.
Bad food can set you back mentally. And when you work a mentally exhausting job, why add to it?
fwiw when I work long hours these few weeks, I'm very hungry and heavy food helps. Salad doesn't in this case.
Diet is 80-90% of this - lay off heavy meals and try, as much as possible, to simply limit your shitty food intake. Challenging - but given that you won't have to spend your own money to order out or, well, you don't have time to spend your own money on anything else - just choose the more expensive, generally healthier options.
Also - hydrate. Don't bother with BS vitamins, nootropics, whatever. Drink lots of water - coffee if you need some quick energy (NoDoze if you hate coffee) and stay away from energy drinks. They are poison - at least alcohol comes from a natural process.
Same as the above, you just need to simplify everything for efficiency - high intensity, quick workouts of 20-30 minutes. Find a gym near your office, get a stationary bike in your apartment or just commit to 20 minutes of damn near anything to get the blood flowing that isn't walking to a cab.
What would you consider a healthy diet?
The simplest version - limit refined carbs/sugar, maximize vegetables and protein. When you can't do that - just control the quantity that you eat as much as possible. That's what has worked for me over time - especially when eating out.
This is the correct answer. Made the biggest difference for me. I chug a dense glass of a kale/spinach/spirulina blend every day. I consume 2lbs/week of it. At work I eat salads mostly. No dairy, no coffee, minimal simple carbs. Greens and protein is the way to go. The other part is tackle the sleep quality. Part of sleep quality is of course diet. The other part is a cold and dark room and using night filters on screens. Magnesium or Vitamin D deficiency also interfere with sleep so get a vitamin panel on that and supplement if needed.
Genius advice - most will think it's too hardcore, or whacky, but you are dead on and it's so worth the investment to eat really healthfully.
Real quick workout that hits cardio and strength. Things like alternate sets of jump rope and push ups (100 x 20 repeat 5 times). Done in 20 minutes and gassed. Change your grip for push ups (narrow, wide, etc.)
Agree.
Really agree that food makes an enormous difference. Occasionally I'll do a multi-day juice fast, plus some fruit or raw salad - I swear it gives you insane energy and you never have the afternoon dip. But on a day-to-day regular schedule, eat super clean. It's a great long-term solution. HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training - these are usually 30 minutes and they are killer, but all you need is 30 minutes. Usually combo of weights and cardio with no real rest. You can do this at home, use some weights, resistance bands, and any kind of cardio you like or have access to.
Can't agree more with the above, Diet and cardio are the best options. I put on about 40lbs when I started 4yrs ago, in the last 12months I've dropped close to 50lbs from eating healthier/reducing portion size and getting a 20min jog in 3 times a week. I have so much more energy now than I did before
How were you able to do that? I feel so burned out that I hardly get up in the morning. I am not that overworked but this is how I feel. I'm starting to think I am depressed because everyone seems to be okay and finding time to workout. People at my office too
Agree with everything except vitamins, nootropics or energy drinks - they have their own merits for a place in a well-balanced productivity stack.
Many people are deficient in certain vitamins (ie. Magnesium, Zinc) due to diets commonly consumed in the western world, and are good for if not just productivity, health in general, which would certainly aid productivity in the long-run.
Nootropics are a whole rabbit hole on their own, but there's definitely some great products out there that even hyper-achievers have explored (ie. Tim Ferriss, Sam Altman from YCombinator). Modafinil, Kratom, GABA... the list is large, you gotta do your own research and you gotta try out what works for you, but they're fucking awesome for those who like to experiment with biohacking (obviously in moderation and with precaution!)
And there's some energy drinks out there that are organic and natural, like Yerba Mate, that work amazingly and have great amounts of caffeine + don't give you jitters like coffee does. I'm sure you're thinking of the sugar-loaded Monsters and Rockstars of the world when you think of energy drinks, but they're not all bad.
I listen to subtronics volume 5 on soundcloud
Adderall & red bull
Health is more than wealth. A strong and healthy body translates to a fuller, happier life. So while switching to a healthier diet is not easy, the benefits are definitely worth it.
Now your next questions must be: 1) What are these so-called benefits of eating healthy? 2) How long does it take to actually see the benefits after you start eating healthy? However before answering these questions, we need to clarify something important. Which is what ‘healthy eating’ really means and how you should go about staring it.
Healthy eating is not a diet. It is a way of living that does not require you to starve yourself nor to eat anything that you don’t want to. Healthy eating can become a habit, just like drinking your morning coffee or going to bed at 1 am every night. It won’t be an easy ride, but once you manage to make it habit, it will come naturally.
1) PROCESSED FOODS: NAY, WHOLE FOODS: YAY Whole foods means everything that is unprocessed or has gone through only a minimum level of necessary processing. You can think about them as foods that you could pick up from your little farm (if you had one) and put straight on the dinning table after cooking.
So things like vegetables, fruits and whole grains belong to the whole foods category. While your favorite cheat meals, like truffle fries or strawberry cheesecake most definitely don’t.
Processing usually diminishes the nutrient contents of food and increases ingredients that your body does not need, like sugar and sodium. Hence, as a general rule of thumb you should minimize processed foods in your diet and eat whole foods instead.
2) DON’T JUST COUNT YOUR CALORIES, BUT YOUR MACROS AS WELL Counting your calories is a great start as it gives you an indication on how much you should eat. But you should not get fixated on calories.
Your macronutrients intake is just as, if not more important than calories. Because all calories are not created equally, 100 calories of chocolate won’t give you the same energy as 100 calories of broccoli.
Make sure you monitor your progress to stay motivated.
First of all, the quantity of 100 calories of chocolate is a lot less than 100 calories of broccoli. Secondly, and most importantly, the quality of nutrients gained from broccoli highly surpasses that of chocolate.
3) DON’T DRINK EMPTY CALORIES Sodas and pre-packed fruit juices are the sneakiest calorie and sugar sources. The reason behind this is that most people would be very surprised how much sugar and how many calories are hidden in a single glass of them. And of course it’s really easy to chug couple of glasses when you’re thirsty.
Plus we also tend to assume that the words ‘fruit’ and ‘healthy’ come hand in hand . Well, the said truth is that they don’t. Supermarket shelves are stacked with artificial fruit juices that are pumped up with refined sugars and other flavor enhancers. These obviously won’t do any good to your diet.
So my #1 health-conscious advice in this department is water. Water is the single best cure for thirst and the only liquid that comes with 0 calories and 0 unhealthy additives. And if you crave something with more flavor, go for a cold-pressed juice or everyone’s favorite, LaCroix.
I also do cocaine to stay focused which definitely helps for those allnighters. My body is my temple, and I would never do anything to compromise my health. Feel free toPM if you want any more tips.
Juicing may well be the most nefarious health trend. I remember I first bought a juicer and probably spent about $300 on fruit and vegetables from Costco - then proceeded to juice about 20 apples on my way to drinking about 5 glasses of juice. To be fair - I had some kale, lime, lemon, oranges, ginger etc. mixed in there - but holy hell did i feel hungover as shit the next day. The shorter version - lot's of juices are sugar masquerading as healthy.
Hungover? Like an alcohol hangover?
Well, yes, your body has to get accustomed and you're also forcing it to expel toxins at lightning speed. The hangover was a good sign!! It shows what you had been eating needed to be released. Had you done that a few days in a row, you'd have felt phenomenal. Try it again - use mainly greens (cuke and celery are the best base, because they produce a high volume of juice), and use just enough apples to make it palatable. Green apples are best, as they're very low sugar.
Don't give up! Try again. Start over a weekend so your body can get accustomed.
thank you! that’s really informative. my biggest issue is that Im always sleepy no matter how many hours I sleep. hey do you really do cocaine?
If you are always sleepy I would go see a doctor - you could be lacking some vitamin like B12 or iron.
Lol sudden plot twist at the end bud
This made me laugh unbelievably hard, thank you so much.
H O R N Y
im a female and that’s exactly why I don’t wear tight things around the office.
This made me laugh my ass off, but at the same time is one of the saddest comments a well...
Aw, girl, trust me - they'll do it anyhow, no matter what you wear!
Sleep and workout in the morning. I always found working out in the morning to be the best option to stay active. You generally have more control over your time in the early morning. With regards to attention to detail, you need to create a process that helps you atleast catch most of your errors fairly quickly. I believe there was a post on this recently.
thank you. do you remember what was the post called or about?
Dont recall
5 Coca-Colas each and every day. I wanna live forever like Warren Buffet!
Working smart during the day, and asking for guidance and a ton of questions before you start working on your deliverable
I JUST DID THAT TODAY AND SAVED ME TONS OF TIMES
70+ hours is not too bad. Cut entertainment and unnecessary browsing of your phone/internet and have enough sleep. Save 1 day or half of Sat/Sun for high-quality pleasure/hobby or hang out with friends. Do not drink soda and do not eat pizza at all. You should feel pretty sharp even without working out. Do not drink coffee and if you feel really sleepy, take a walk or stand up and talk to someone if possible.
don't drink coffee? i'm curious as to your reasoning behind this.
Coffee makes you crash hard. Sticking to water is best.
FYI: "The caffeine in coffee blocks adenosine receptors in your brain from receiving adenosine, which is a neurotransmitter that causes fatigue. Although caffeine prevents your brain from receiving adenosine, it doesn’t stop your body from producing the neurotransmitter. Thus, when the caffeine wears off, there is a buildup of adenosine that will make you sleepy."
EU_Prospect explains well.
My only way to handle it was to manage hours by being efficient. A few specific rules that helped me a lot:
Some tasks take as much time as you have. For example, decks. If you have a week to do a deck, it will take a week. If you have a night, it will take a night. Always do these things last whenever you can. At first, you'll feel nervous leaving it til the last minute; then you'll realize that when you leave it to the last minute, it only takes a minute.
I'm sharper and clearer in the morning. So I always do the toughest work when I wake up and save more mindless things for later.
Accuracy and precision are different things. Accuracy is important. Precision usually isn't. Watch out for big mistakes and you'll always catch them in time. If you check too much for small mistakes, you can easily miss big ones. You'll save time and stay out of trouble if you learn to check everything from 30,000 feet.
Work is first priority, sleep is 2nd priority, and everything else is a distant 3rd. Gym, social everything . . all 3rd. If you're tired and don't need to work, sleep. You'll thank me when you're not one of the analysts who looks 35 after 2 years (seriously I thought so many of them were VPs when I met them).
I get so anxious when it is a tight deadline and I lose focus. at the same time, as soon as it hits 11 12, I feel my brain is hallucinating literally like there is noise back there and Im basically working with half a brain
Do something for the anxiety. I know meditation is hard to buy into but i’ve had decent results with it and everyone else i know has better results than me. Also may wanna try magtein and/or phospatidylserine. Pretty mild but also cheap. CBD oil is popular too but I found it too mild for the cost.
I don't give a shit what other people say, take your fucking vitamins. 1) they are good for you and 2) they will essentially act as a meal replacement. And as others have noted, staying hydrated is absolutely crucial. They teach this in the military.. feeling sleepy?.. better fucking hydrate.
If this still isn't doing the trick, you might want to consider Modafinil and Noopept. The first is illegal (as are most great things in the land of the free), but the government saw fit to feed it to our pilots flying spy planes on extended missions, so if it's good enough for them..
I've taken modafinil for narcolepsy. Work-wise, it only helped me with writer's block . . like when there's that batch of awkward emails that you don't want to respond to because they're all from people hitting you up for something and you want to find the right words to weasel out of it while looking decent. It can make me wordy when I need to be. But for IB type work I don't think it would've helped (never really tried).
Modafinil helped me grind through my sweatshop years in a boutique whose "culture" mandated so much facetime that we would need to spend a minimum of 80-90 hours/week. Doesn't help in terms of cognitive functions, in my opinion, but it's a damn good supplement to dog shit sleep. Modafinil + coffee made me feel not only moderately rested but also at full efficiency on 4 hours of sleep/night for 8+ weeks during peak schedules.
Gym (I like going in the morning since it wakes you up instantly) Drink lots of water No greasy / fried / heavy meals Quick walks
This^
I run off of pure self hatred. Now that's something adderall can't trump...
just an update, had one coffee and drank a lot of water today (also had an apple). Result is im peeing every 5 second and sleeping on my desk, praying for these 6 hours to pass
Tomorrow will be better!
Coffee is a diuretic, its job is to empty the stuff out and process stuff faster.
More sugar in your bloodstream = more you need to pee. Limit your sugar intake to what your needs are and do not over indulge.
If you need assistance with dieting, I would highly recc;d going to go see a Dietitian to consult on a proper dietary plan for your needs.
Water is key, and rest. Exercise in the morning to get your blood going. I would get checked to see what your health needs are from a doctor, too.
Stick to the simple things. don't forget to take the time off work to de-stress and enjoy life. Call friends and make plans with one another. Don't hang onto things that drag you down or make you feel negative emotions. Should aim for about 20-30 mins of workouts per day if you are able to.
three days with one coffee a day and it feels good. I was yawning today all day though
How many hours of sleep are you averaging? Are you eating healthy?
Keep it simple!
Maybe I need to move closer
Moving closer to work will save you a lot of time. Time that you need more of for relaxation.
1hr HIIT before work M/F, 30min run Sat/Sun. Eat high protein / medium carbs. Take every chance I get to nap in office if I'm sleep deprived. Consume a variety of vitamins daily. Drink a ton of water. Walk to pickup dinner instead of delivery
no caffeine?
Whoops-- yes, 2-3 large coffees. One to get out of the apt, one in the am, and one at night
Just take a nap in your group heads office. What can go wrong?
Well, hopefully you know that there is nothing more important than health. Without putting that as a priority BEFORE your work, you're debilitating your abilities in all other aspects. And when I say health, I mean physical, mental, AND emotional health.
Working 70+ hours a week, I definitely would recommend a strong balance between diet, sleep, and exercise. Make sure to vitamins, especially B12, which is pretty essential for !gg energy. Limit sugar intake!! The crash you will have after the initial rush from sugar will definitely lower your mental sharpness and focus. Make sure you get at least SOME exercise daily, even if it's just a 20-30 minute jog. Keep your body active. Sleep too of course, I recommend 6-8 hours, if you can.
There is an article on Blind, that shows some good stats and numbers to keep track of. It's called Health is Wealth which I recommend checking out I think this would be a great start for you. Once you get healthier, then your focus and sharpness will increase!
no carb for lunch? how do you survive? what do you eat all day
I found myself often feeling asleep and lethargic in the early afternoon after having lunch with carb so I decided to cut it out entirely. And it works for me, allows me to stay focused post-lunch.
In exchage I have to eat more carb in breakfast though, otherwise my brain would not get an adequate amount of energy to function for the day.
And I have carb for dinner as well, but not much as I dont want to the excess carb turn to fat.
The 3 C's. Coffee, cigarettes, cocaine.
In all seriousness, try and get 6+ hours sleep whenever possible nap in the toilets when you have downtime, print of everything to triple check before handing upwards.
As a former athlete in college, here are a few suggestions:
General Health:
Exercise is important. Even if it is only for 15 to 30 minutes, three or so times a week. Whether it be in the morning before work, or after you come home (if it's not too late), I believe that even that small amount of exercise (running, squats/push ups/jumping jacks in your apartment) can make you feel healthier and give you an extra pep in your step over the course of the day.
Take vitamins. I take a B-vitamin complex and a daily men's multi-vitamin. Most people don't get their recommended daily does of vitamins as it is, and investment bankers less so, and the addition of those two will probably check most of the important boxes vitamin-wise. Maybe add in some fish oil (Omega 3-s), but you may want to take those before bed because fish oil burps are nasty. They are rather expensive, so perhaps rotating fish (salmon is the most easily accessible), if you'll eat it, would be a good alternative.
Since college, I've drastically limited coffee and alcohol intake. Limiting coffee (or just drinking plain decaf) has enabled me to have a more even keel of energy over the course of the day and prevents crashes in the early afternoon. Limiting alcohol significantly on the weekends enables me to get better sleep and rest up for the week ahead. Limiting alcohol may be difficult because there can be serious "happy hour pressure" from your colleagues - but have one drink (or sneak a club soda with a lime and no one will know you're not drinking a gin and tonic"). Your body will thank you. It's easy to forget that this is a marathon - not a sprint.
I purchased a pair of blue-light blocking glasses and have been wearing them almost every day. It limits blue light from your computer screen and has had a noticeable effect for me regarding eye strain later in the day.
A series of well-balanced meals and significant water intake are, of course, very important. These days, it's very easy to find high quality locations for lunch/dinner (bespoke salads, establishments who cater to healthy eating), so those should be your prime hotspots. Don't be afraid to go the same place more than once or twice in a week if it's healthy. You can always spice up a meal (literally) with a variety of sauces, if that gets you to eat it. In addition, I'd also include limiting sugar intake in favor of slower carbs (think oats, rice, beans, etc.), which will keep you healthier and limit the booms and busts one can feel with high sugar intakes.
On the formatting question:
Regarding edits, it is important to have a fool-proof system that even tired you couldn't mess up. A few tips here:
I've always found that printing out the documents/presentations you create so that you can look over them in hard-copy format makes one a better editor.
If you receive instructions / a marked-up ppt, then print those instructions / take that marked ppt and check each comment (I like to highlight with a green highlighter) as you go to make sure that you've 1. made the change and 2. you've logged that you've made the change. With this system, it should really only take you two turns through to make the changes (once to actually make the changes, the second to make sure you've made them all correctly), maximizing correctness and efficiency.
Do not masturbate
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