Strategies for living around the work schedule
I'm a college senior doing research on transitioning to the workplace at my new job starting January. What I would like to know is how you all l live around the 12-hour days that you work. Cooking, Grocery Shopping, Eating and working out to stay fit. For example, at my last summer internship I was terrible about this. I would skip breakfast, eat out poorly for lunch, which was terrible for my fitness and health. I dont wanna make the same mistake again. I am a naturally skinny dude who would like to put on a healthy amount of weight while staying lean. What are your strategies for managing that? Sleeping, what time do you go to sleep and what time do you wake up? Do you work out in the morning or in the afternoon? Etc. Do you dryclean your workwear or do ironing in a bulk on Sunday? Sorry I have a lot of rambling questions but in summary, I'm soliciting strategies for being organized and on point in your life while working 60+ hour weeks.
cocaine
Cocaine and caviar.
It's pretty easy to fit everything in around a hectic schedule, but it will be a bit more expensive and you have to be pretty strict. I live a 15 minute walk (7 minute bike ride) from my office and it all works quite nicely.
Gym should either happen in the morning or later at night if your gym hours permit it. Personally I always go for first thing in the morning as it gets me pumped for the day and I'm usually too tired at nighttime. NEVER EVER SKIP BREAKFAST - most important meal of the day. In fact eat more for breakfast than for any other meal. Also down a pint of cold water the second you wake up, will really make you feel fresher.
If you don't work or study at weekends I guess you could get away with ironing and washing all your clothes yourself. Personally I cannot be bothered so I just wash my "casual" clothes and let them hang dry and take all my suits / work shirts to a dry cleaners every 2-3 weeks.
Shopping can be tricky, I use online delivery services which I get to deliver very early morning (before 9am) or quite late at night (after 11pm) so I never really have to worry about large shops, just stopping by a smaller shop on the way home if I need milk or something.
Other random tips for life-efficiency include:
Can't think of anything else at the moment, will add more if I think of it. I'm sure other people have far more valuable advice than my coffee-induced morning ramblings.
Thank you sir. That's a lot of useful information. I'm definitely going to adopt the morning workout. Just curious, Say you have to be at work at 8. What time do you wake up, do you eat before the gym or after?
8am start is brutal. For me, that would require waking up at like 5:30 (eat straightaway, gym at 6:30, home by 7:15, 30 mins to get ready, leave 7:45.
If you're done by 8pm I'd advise going in the evenings tbh. You are the one who is best positioned to advise on your sleep requirements / energy levels
If you eat protein bars, there is no mess to clean up.
I am on a new workout split. I do one set per workout, and I do one to two warm up sets. This saves a lot of time, and I am finally able to gain weight again.
Can you provide more details about workout? Also, I'm working in DC/Northern Virginia, i guess the forums are pretty NY-heavy.
I started out with the "Dorian Yates Blood and Guts" workout. As I gained weight and strength I had to reduce the number of sets per workout to avoid weight loss. Now I do one exercise and 1-2 sets per workout with a three day split. I alternate between the two exercise for each body part in my split. My current bulking split is: delts (dumbbell side raises or standing dumbbell military press), back (weighted pullups or barbell row), legs (leg extensions or curls). When bulking I do no cardio.
Asatar is pretty spot on. My advice:
Live close to work. Keep your workouts short and intense (I do mornings). Join whatever gym is the most convenient (either close to work or home). Never do your own laundry unless you have a unit in your apartment. Not sure what city you are in, but wash & fold is cheap in NYC and very worth it. Get some non-iron shirts. Order groceries online. Order everything else on Amazon and get a Prime membership.
All of this is spot on.
I lived in NJ for about 8 years before finally moving into Manhattan. When I finally did I had a ten minute walking commute. Changed my life. MY whole disposition was lighter. I joined the gym at my job in the basement which provided workout clothing. That service and the proximity of the gym to your desk is HUGE. You could squeeze in a calorie burn in the time it takes others to go grab lunch.
Seamless is your friend. Or just join an office that caters all meals. Pull a Vince Vaughn in the internship and bring the chips and salsa home.
If all else fails do what I did before this damn sale started. Wake up at 10 am, have a bloody mary and walk around in your boxers with a 3 day beard and wave to the pretty girls from your beach front condo.
@"Black Don Draper" I just want to make sure this point is made, not many jobs in NYC let alone financial services are starting at 8:00 AM except for maybe ER. NYC is start late, work late for most jobs.
Also, living close to work as @Asatar and @duffmt6 said, is not the main point you should consider. Living close to a place where you are able to get to work quickly is the key. I live 45 blocks away but it takes me 5-10 minutes to get to work because I'm close to the subway stop which is a direct shot to my bank's door.
I personally work out at night because I prefer it, helps me sleep better and I always have more energy at night, it depends on the person. Then on my way back, I stop at the grocery store on days I need to stock up. This is the advantage to going at night since you probably won't have time to grocery shop and workout before work. Dryclean everything, typically drop it off on my way to work, it's like $3 a shirt and my time is more valuable than that. Hopefully these answered some of your questions.
A lot of things can change depending on where you work as well. A bank with a cafe for all meals and coffees, a bank with a gym, etc. can all make it a lot easier.
Good point about the short commute time = living close. I'm out of the NYC mindset at this point.
Wow, we should make a WSO lifehacks list
I would like to see Eddie and CompBanker write one.
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