What is everyone's daily morning/evening routine like?
Before we get brigaded with a 1000 Bateman copypastas I'm curious to hear what everyone's morning and evening routine is like. I kind of feel like I'm in a rut/not ramping as quickly as a want to as a first year and am maybe looking to make some changes.
To keep this post short and to place a greater emphasis on discussion, my morning routine consists of working out as long as I'm in bed by mightnight, and or reading something finance related (currently Barbarians at The Gate and Rosenbaum Pearl) regardless of when I go to bed the night before. Evening routine is similar. I try read something finance related for atleast an hour but will read for longer if I have the time.
Now before anyone calls me a hardo I just want to remind everyone that regardless of whether or not you land that next sweet associate buyside gig, you will never become a strong investor by just going through the motions at work. I feel as though reading about the industry can be one of the best uses of my time given where I'm at in my career. Thoughts?
Wake up at 730am and make coffee for the gf (she's in office while I still WFH). Use the bathroom while reading the morning news until about 815am. Log in and and start the work day. I have been working remote for 2 years and honestly have no idea how I will transition to back in the office, commuting, etc. I highly recommend subscribing to one of the many recent trend of daily market newsletters (WSO’s Daily Peel, ExecSum, GritCapital). Regardless if you’re one of us with buyside gigs lined up, being interested in markets & what is going on around you will only help your personal portfolio!
Assuming it takes you about 10 minutes to get dressed, brush teeth and make coffee (generously) do you mean to tell us that you use the bathroom from 7:40-8:15? If so you're a king for affording yourself 35 min of shit time each morning. Every man's dream.
I allocate at least 15-20mins each morning for research on the porcelain throne, it's often where I do my best thinking.
What do you do within corporate finance? This WLB is something I'm really missing.
when do you fuck? i think i missed it or something
Wake up around 7
Walk the doggo, hang out with the doggo way too long
Shower and get ready
Head to the office (whether it is the home office or the office office)
Spend time reading, catching up on news, planning for the day (i.e. check calendar and think through "what absolutely needs to get done today" vs other stuff)
Exact times are kind of irrelevant to me -- this is the way
Gym after work if I'm in the office, if working from the house go for a long run when I'm done for the day (or during the afternoon to break things up)
Legit nothing after that -- combo of eating, watching a game, occasional social activity, an errand or two, etc
Get in bed around 9:30-10 and try to fall asleep before 11
Schedule is all about figuring out what works for you and what makes you feel the best (or said in a more corny way, what positions you to "be the best you"). I generally advocate for some tiny modicum of physical activity / sunlight in the morning (short dog walk, anything really, literally just walking to work if you're in the city, etc) and something in between work and home in the evening (gym, run, sports, social, errands, anything really).
The morning dog walk has been a game changer for me. No way I would do it consistently without the dog, but now that it is a part of the routine I really enjoy it. One of the best ~15 mins time investment I can make to start my day
Okay, I moved to WFH 4 months ago so I bought a dog. He is killing me. I don't know if I can keep him. Like how do you guys handle it? He sleeps in until 10a but once he wakes up he is off like a rocket from 10a-2p.. Is the secret morning walks?
Sorry it’s off topic but did you go to Syracuse?
I am Buddy Boeheim
I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial masque which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
What? Somebody HAD to do it.
Edit: Srsly tho... wake up, shit shower shave, get my caffeine choice of the day going, plop myself in front of my desk. I do not take as much care of myself as I should.
I haven't slept since July 2020
I'm not a morning person and unfortunately my WFH morning routine isn't that disciplined. It always takes me a while to get out of bed.
I've started to develop a very disciplined evening routine however in order to guarantee good sleep and help shut down my brain.
I try to start quieting down for the evening 90 minutes before sleep. An hour before bed I like to shut down all my devices and just take a shower, read, relax, and do my daily 10 minute meditation with the Calm app.
If I don't have that end of day decompression my mind races and I can't get to sleep, or I'll wake up feeling completely wired in the middle of the night and won't be able to fall back asleep easily.
4:45 Alarm goes off. Snooze button is for losers!
Bathroom to rinse my face, put some water through my hair and put on a bit of cologne. The cologne is a new addition to the routine but a welcome one. Read the Daily Peel and some of the WSJ top 10 while on the toilet.
Even though I'm WFH, I still like to dress for work. They say it helps and I agree. I always have on pants and a button down or a very nice polo. I'll just use my house slippers as shoes
5:00 Logged in and at my desk. I recently added a 30" monitor and that has been a game changer.
I almost always have early calls with Europe, India or Israel so there's always something to do at this hour.
6:30 Take a break to walk my dog, stretch my legs. Also check my personal portfolio before the market opens. If I need to make any trades, I'll make them at this time.
Shower and shave (if needed). Re-apply cologne; I'll use different ones throughout the day
Work the rest of the day and get up and stretch as needed in between meetings. I have a bad uber eats habit, so trying to slow that down a bit for my lunch hour.
1:00 Things start to slow down at work, I rarely have calls beyond this hour. So I will take a break to take my dog to the dog park, hang out there for a bit. If I have the afternoon free, I'll walk him there instead of driving, which makes for a good 2-mile walk.
Rest of the afternoon is personal time where I'll do some investing stuff or watch YT. On Fridays I might take a golf lesson with my instructor, he's a good guy and we'll sometimes play a few holes and he teaches me along the way.
5:00 Feed my dog and have my dinner. My dog does best when I keep him on a strict schedule so I basically never miss his meal time. I might have the odd call with Asia at this hour but doesn't happen more than a couple times/month.
6:00 Walk the dog again.
7:00 During the work week this is when I start to wind down my day and start shutting down the house.
I have recently met someone so I will also go out with her on nights when we're not working the next day. She also works in banking so it helps to have someone that can relate to my schedule.
doggo is definitely living the life
445am? What do you do for a living?
West coast equity research easily wake up before that time (source: own experience).
As a morning person, I still admire that schedule, although banking is the opposite and late-nights destroys health.
Wake up at 7, hit the gym to lift/treadmill, get back around 8:15 and shower, make a protein shake and out the door around 9. I usually get back home around 8 and take a few bong rips, then finish up my work for the night for as long as it takes, but usually in bed by 11-12. The routine keeps me healthy and motivated.
FD - I realize my morning routine is not tenable for IB analysts, but since other non-IB people posted...here you go
530a - wake up, read (usually on phone)
6-630 - coffee and breakfast with wife
630-730 - arrive at desk, check emails
730-830 - lesson with tutor
530p - work out
7 - shower
720 - read, wait for wife to be done getting cleaned up
830 - dinner with wife, read/watch TV
asleep by 10 most nights
sometimes there's a cardio session midday, running in warmer months, swimming in colder months
polishing my 2nd language/learning my 3rd
lindy walk...my guy
Are you a keto guy? (MCT oil, grass-fed ghee, bullet proof coffee.
5:30-6am wake up
6:30-7:30 commute to office try to read news from phone or books
7:30-7pm working in office
7:15-8pm commute home
8:15pm - Try to cook dinner, read, and exercise here. Usually dead from work and commute. Watch tv as well.
11-midnight - go to bed somewhere in here usually exhausted. Trying to figure out schedule but commute sucks.
7:30: wake up, gel hair, brush teeth, take vitamins, shit, and then drink a glass of water
8:30: arrive in office, set up laptop, read news for 30 mins looking for relevant transactions to my deal
8:30: Just waking up if WFH
9:00: Usually have to prep for a meeting with the client at 10:00 or put out a fire from the night before
10:00: meet with the client/lawyers/QoE
11:00: review meeting notes and action items
12:00: Take a lunch break either an hour or half an hour depending on business
13:00: Start tackling or finish any items that need to be done from call, or finish working on model update, diligence, CIM updates, or teaser updates depending on where we are in the process
17:00-19:00: leave the office anywhere in between. Sometimes you’ll be there later depending on what happens.
19:00: eat dinner or cook something from hello fresh
20:00: Game for an hour or go to Jiu Jitsu or Kickboxing
10:00: read for half and hour then hit the hay or finishing updating a task that has a morning deadline where I’ll be up until 12:00-1:00. These days don’t always happen
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/best-morning-daily-and-nightly-routine#comment-2190786
Have commented on a thread like this prior (See Above). Copying below and adding a few things:
Morning
During the Day
Evening
Weekend
I do 90% of these and it takes about 45 min in the morning and a few hours at night (including gym, reading, and calling a friend). You may not be able to do all of them, but certainly adding some will benefit you greatly.
For more info on the science behind daily behaviors, I recommend checking out the Andrew Huberman podcast.
Happy to elaborate on any of the above points.
Thanks for the post, very helpful. The dopamine fast caught my attention. What’s the science/ thinking behind it?
The initial thinking behind it is that it helps to reset the dopamine system. I think the science behind this is not fully borne out (although the dopamine system is cyclic and spikes and troughs are followed by returns to baseline). However, having a day completely off of caffeine and exercise is good for recovery, having a day off from socializing, reading, and technology is good for personal and intellectual reflection, and fasting periodically is beneficial for health. Doing them all together is efficient.
This thread has me feeling like the most unhealthy human alive. Can anyone relate?
This is exactly my life...what are these guys doing? I thought everyone in banking had it this bad smh
I try to adhere to this schedule as much as possible, although banking definitely destroys it from time to time:
5:30am-6am: wake up, pour myself a cup of tea, whatever tea it is I don't really care. That is my trigger for either writing something, or learning coding and working on coding projects. This is kind of a hook because writing codes is still "writing". Basically I programmed myself so that when I pour myself a cup of tea, I write, be it thoughts on whatever or code.
between 6am and 8am, I use the bathroom for like 15-20 minutes, sometimes 5-10, depending on if I ate a banana the night before...
8am: wash up, eat breakfast, and bike to work. Sometimes I take a cab. Ideally I bike because a 30-35 min bike is good exercise.
9am: off to work and usually get int the office by 9:30am. Sometimes I need to squeeze my morning time because I have a client meeting or I pulled a late night 1/2am or worse than that.
Evening: I usually read for ~1 hour on non-finance related stuff before going to bed. Sometimes I watch the Big Bang Theory. I'm switching to 100% reading recently.
Ideally, I have sex with my girlfriend before I go to bed.
Problem is don't have one :(
wake up 630 reply to emails, text, check in with NY, Chicago
700 out the door and phone calls to top clients in route to office
730-200 work markets
230 golf, drinks or nap
repeat
Some days are different but most days:
7am: hiit workout or lift/cardio
815am: breakfast
830am: shower/get ready
9: get online/arrive at office
Try to leave office by 5-530 or appear away if WFH.
630pm: Some days hot yoga around this time or boxing or orange theory
830 pm: Get back online if I have things that need to get done
11-12: Sleep (sometimes I stay up longer for work related things or to just game lol.)
0630 wake up, shower, what have you
0700 read
0745 walk
0800 start work
1200 gym
1300 lunch
1430 work
1700 endurance
1800 dinner
1900 work
2030 social stuff
2230 bed
0600 - Wake up, get ready for gym (clothes laid out night before)
0620 - Arrive at the Equinox Sports Club, swim or lift (will try to do yoga too), also shower at the gym because they’re really nice
0800 - back at home, start work
1200 - lunch with my wife (we both WFH)
1230/ 1300 - work some more
1730 - finish work (usually, if I work later at my current job it’s a personal choice)
Go on a walk with my wife around the neighborhood
1830 - Get back home, eat dinner, and study (currently prepping to go back to college for a second BS in Computer Science)
2030 - Nightly stretch, lay my clothes out for the next day
2100 - Shower and get ready for bed
2130 - Read (I mix it up between engineering books and history books, so currently Applied Quantum Computing and Band of Brothers)
2200 - ideally sleep to try and get 8 hours
It’s not always this perfect but my wife and I are trying to make it more efficient. I also take supps and drinking more tea to help wake up and prepare for falling asleep.
I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I’ll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
0430 wake up
0530 on desk
1530 off desk
1545 gym
1745 dinner | | cfa study | chores | misc
2030 usually asleep by this time
I wish I can stick to this :( ~~~ Trying though
-------
9am - Wake up
9am - 10am - Eat, read emails, read/watch news regarding CRE
10am - 5pm - Work
5pm - 6pm - Relax / eat
6pm - 7:30pm - Weight lifting
8:30pm - 10:30pm - Personal development - Courses/books/ related to finance
10pm - 12:50am - relax with the GF or watch some Netflix
1am - sleep / usually need a edible to knock out asap
For those back in the office, I'd imagine with a hybrid work system, if offered, your evenings may look much more different with the ability to go back home once seniors leave and work from there. This may allow you to cook your dinners, work out, or spend some time with an SO or friends for a bit - all of which may not have been available when it was strictly in-office work only. Curious to hear if anyone experienced a shift for the better here.
6am - alarm goes off, go back to sleep
7.30am - second alarm goes off, snooze it
7.40am - actually wake up, shower
7.45am - respond to mails or read news
8am - wank
8.15am - get dressed, brush teeth, fix hair, head to office
8.30am - in the office, eat breakfast, drink coffee, read more news
9am - actually start working
noon - eat lunch, then work until ~7pm
7pm - go back to home office
7.15pm - back home, order Uber Eats, call my parents while I eat
7.45pm - work until ~10pm
10pm - watch tv
11pm - MD starts sending emails. the deciding moment of the day
if nothing needs to be done tonight - watch more TV and go to bed at midnight
if stuff needs to be done tonight - work until finished then cry then sleep
Seriously, every morning at 8 am you masturbate? This shit isn't normal.
I do cry before going to sleep though. Totally do that.
How do you guys have so much free time? I feel like I’m getting worked to the bone constantly from 8 am to 2 am
Same
totally don't see this in BB IBD. people sleeping at 10pm? really? i feel like i'm living in another world.
wake up at 8:45 AM
check emails
turn comments
suffer
2 am: go home to suffer some more
Waiting for that bonus $ ha?
8:45am - wake up
8:59am - log into my laptop at home
9:00 - 10:30am - attend morning meetings from home / send emails / get ready to go to office
10:00 / 11:00am - head to office (depends on call schedule)
11:00am - 1:00pm - do some work
1:00pm - get lunch
1:30 - 8:00pm - work / pretend to work
8:00pm - leave office
8:30 - 10:00pm - gym
10:30pm - 1:00am - finish up work / generally be reachable
About 4 months into my first job so I'm still figuring shit out, this is late but for the traders out there:
5:10, wake up, hop into shower immediately since it's the only way i wake up and i like to meditate with the water running over me, finish with a minute of cold water
5:30-540, out of the shower, brush and shave + whatever products i want to use, put in contacts
6:00, used to rip a bowl here but stopped doing that, usually i check oil futures/wsj and overnight trader's recap and throw on outfit, relax a little bit more and mentally prepare for the day
6:25, call an uber
6:40 - 4/5pm work, i get home at 500 wed-fri and 600 mon/tues bc i take the bus home, ill usually shower immediately after getting home from work for 30 min
wednesdays and thursdays i work out from 630 to 730, on the program my homie put me on which is generally hypertrophy/athleticism workouts, otherwise my evenings usually are a mix of facetiming friends, watching comedy shows, sometimes ill do some yoga but i want to join a studio (for obvious reasons)
i doordash food usually or skip food depending on if i get caught up in doing what i was doing--unhealthy but trying to fix
830-900, brush, full skincare -> cleanser, serum, eye cream, moisturizer, take vitamins
in bed by 930 and asleep by 10 surely.
Curious- why did you stop ripping bowls in the AM? And have you seen pros/cons on smoking vs not smoking?
Started becoming a coping mechanism instead of something I enjoyed. I like being 100% at work because I like what I do and trust me, as a pretty functional stoner (no one at work ever guessed), you feel the brain fog. I quit cold turkey after a series of personal events that made it evident to me that going through a fourth a week of topshelf was not feasible for who I want to be as a person (especially because about half my bowls were mokes and I'd drink with them too). I'll start smoking again when I feel I'm better equipped to manage it, but probably much more rarely.
I wake up at 7 am and start getting ready for work. At 9 am I am already in the office and I doing employee tracking program, after which I have lunch for 1 hour, then I complete the company's target tasks, go home for an hour, at 8 pm I’m already making tea and watching a movie :)
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