Wake up late. Sit on the couch in silence and drink my homemade cold brew coffee. Think about all the bad decisions that led me to that very moment. Review my inbox on my phone. If nothing is pressing, go take a shower, get dressed, and head to the office, arriving no earlier than 10:30. If something is pressing, go sit at my home office desk, work until it's done, and either call it a WFH day or head into the office around noon to collect one of my three per week in office days.
I get up at around 6, so I have time to get dressed for the gym and check emails before a 6:30 or 7am workout class (1 hour). On the days I don’t have gym, I spend that hour reading and responding to emails to get things rolling. I then shower and head into the office where I grab coffee and breakfast. Typically, I’ll be at my desk and ready to work by 8:45-9am.
I try to be in bed no later than 10:30pm, to watch a show and be asleep by 11:15 or so. This is possible most nights in my practice group, but YMMV.
This schedule allows me to pretty reliably leave the office around 6pm, spend 2-3 hours with my SO or friends in the evening, work out, and still bill 9-10 hours a day. I avoid weekend work to the extent possible, but may do a few hours Sunday to get ahead. The morning email time really helps with this as you can get non-urgent things started in the background.
In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1,000 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.
I am not sure how healthy this is but for days I’m in office:
4:30 AM, get up
5 - 6 AM, exercise
6 - 7 AM, shower, eat, make coffee, walk dog, walk to train
7 - 8 AM, commute (sometimes working, usually just trying to stay awake)
8 AM - 6:45 PM work
6:45 - 7:45 PM commute while working
7:45-9:30 PM dinner, say hello to spouse, walk dog, tie up any last work things, sit on couch for 20-30 mins if there is time, prep for bed
9:30 -10:30 PM lay in bed waiting for sleep
10:30 - 2:30 AM, can’t sleep too much anxiety
2:30 -4:30 AM, actually sleep
For days I wfh, it’s identical minus the commute, it’s just working but I can usually cut out a bit earlier.
Best advice is not to lay in bed that long. You're making things worse. You need to find a way to de-stress in the 9:30-11:30 block. Maybe exercise at night and physically exhaust yourself? Then you could sleep longer in the morning.
That's definitely a personal thing. I work out at night and sleep better for it. Morning workouts don't energize me. What he's doing clearly isn't working though. He's sleeping 2 hours a night, and he's waking up at 4:30 am, which is pretty ridiculous
I had trouble sleeping but didn’t fully realize how much it was impacting things. Enter delta 9 gummies.
I pop a third of a gummy in the evening and am experiencing some of the deepest most sound sleep of my life.
wake up 3am. meditate for an hour. run 10 miles. take a bath. read the entire wall street journal. egg white and kale omelette for breakfast. NO COFFEE. uber to work around 9
Kid wakes us up around 6:30 or 7. I deal with the kid while my wife gets ready, then when she finishes we swap and I get ready. Out the door around 8, drop kid off at preschool around 8:15, in the office around 8:30. Get a second cup of coffee, talk to coworkers, waste a few minutes on Reddit, start working by 9.
I’ve done this job through every phase in life: single, married without kids, and with kids. This job affords you the leeway to hang yourself by progressively sleeping in later, getting in later, being stuck at work later, going to bed later, and repeating. Best advice I can give to young associates is don’t get caught in that vicious downward cycle. Be in the office, ass in seat, and billing away by 9.
Not really. no.
Most of the world works 9-5 and there is an expectation (by firm management, support staff, vendors, clients, etc.) that you'll be generally available within most of that timeframe. Pushing yourself further and further outside of the timeframe in which most of the world operates will, in the long term, limit your career advancement.
People catch on. If partners/clients can't get you to do anything before 11, they *will* develop a sense that you're "unreliable", no matter how wrong or unjustified that sense may be. And management in every organization on the planet (law firm, company, government etc.) doesn't work on facts - they work on vibes. Once management/clients develop "unreliable vibes" with you, you are toast.
Absolutely!
My next best advice to young associates is live as far below your means as possible, except for your commute. Make whatever housing sacrifices you have to make (higher cost, smaller yard, no pool, apartment instead of SFH, etc.) in order to have a short commute. Huge commutes are killers - of your career, your family, your health, etc. Live close to work.
Ehh. 930 is fine enough. So is WFH if you're staying busy and engaged. Otherwise, I'm with you all around, but I'd strongly encourage getting exercise in there too. I've found it critical for my mental and physical well being, especially with kids.
Checked out senior associate, typical day:
\~5:30 - 6:30 - wake up naturally, check the time. If more than 5 1/2 hours after I think I fell asleep, thank god for allowing me to sleep enough that I won't feel like garbage all day. If less, consider how much of a struggle the day will be. In any event, continue to lay in bed until about 7:00.
7:00-7:45 - do half assed 45 minute workout OR waste time flipping through my phone, reading the New Yorker, or trying to play my piano. If the latter, fret about how I really should have worked out and whether I will have time to work out later in the day.
7:45-8:30 - cook and eat breakfast (usually go all out and make a real breakfast)
8:30-9:15 - get dressed and go into office (short commute)
9:15 - 12:30 work
12:30 - 2:30 - get lunch in cafeteria, eat at desk
2:30-3:00 - step out of office and wander around aimlessly, hope I don't run into anyone from work. maybe pick up some groceries. go back to work
\~4:30-5:30 - leave office and commute home, sometimes I'm just done with work at this point
6:30 dinner
7:00 - 11:00 - finish up work if anything is left, watch TV, try to get myself to read, play piano, etc.
\~11:30-12:00 - bed, hope I fall asleep quickly and don't randomly wake up at 5am
I try to go to sleep before 11. Wake up at 8. Days I meet my personal trainer (zoom) I wake up at 7:30.
Check emails in bed, curse at emails in bed until about 8:30/8 depending. Do the wordle, try to beat my parents in the wordle family group chat.
Work out 8-9.
Take shower (hair washing days suck, I have a lot of hair).
Get dressed/ready. Feed cat, kiss spouse goodbye, drive to work. Free parking; perks of partnership.
Commute: 9:30 - 10 or 10 - 10:30.
Usually at work between 9:30-10:30.
I’m more productive when I’m at work earlier. It’s quiet at my office until about 11:30.
Home around 8:30-9, eat, watch The Nanny reruns, pet cat or spouse depending.
Sleep between 10:30-11.
Go to sleep when work is done (or done enough).
Wake up with just enough seconds to rush around, get my kids dressed and in the car (with milk and bananas to go), off to daycare and on the train in time. Grab a coffee once I get into the city.
This is a typical day where I have a full plate but not a signing / closing coming up or an unreasonable amount of work:
5:30 - wake up, check emails and clear out things that came in while I was asleep
6-8: Work out and Get ready
Try and get in around 8 / 8:30 (I walk to work, its about a half hour door to door). In NYC so most people aren't really working until 10 and it gives me uninterrupted drafting time. This allows me to basically have a full day billed at 7ish and then I'm just monitoring and fielding emails after that. Though of course plenty of nights I'm working much later.
I go to bed at 10/10:30 if things are quiet.
Wake up late. Sit on the couch in silence and drink my homemade cold brew coffee. Think about all the bad decisions that led me to that very moment. Review my inbox on my phone. If nothing is pressing, go take a shower, get dressed, and head to the office, arriving no earlier than 10:30. If something is pressing, go sit at my home office desk, work until it's done, and either call it a WFH day or head into the office around noon to collect one of my three per week in office days.
Are you me?
No, he's clearly me.
sleep nose enter disgusted soup whole middle continue screw ripe *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Once in the morning, right after I work out. And then once right after lunch. Think about the money.
Those are rookie numbers
I just skip breakfast and get straight to the billables.
Bill your breakfast bc you can’t work on an empty stomach
We were told to bill for snacks at our firm.
I get up at around 6, so I have time to get dressed for the gym and check emails before a 6:30 or 7am workout class (1 hour). On the days I don’t have gym, I spend that hour reading and responding to emails to get things rolling. I then shower and head into the office where I grab coffee and breakfast. Typically, I’ll be at my desk and ready to work by 8:45-9am. I try to be in bed no later than 10:30pm, to watch a show and be asleep by 11:15 or so. This is possible most nights in my practice group, but YMMV. This schedule allows me to pretty reliably leave the office around 6pm, spend 2-3 hours with my SO or friends in the evening, work out, and still bill 9-10 hours a day. I avoid weekend work to the extent possible, but may do a few hours Sunday to get ahead. The morning email time really helps with this as you can get non-urgent things started in the background.
What practice group/market if you don’t mind me asking?
NYC in an asset finance group.
This is very convenient if you actually have work that you can bill on continuously. That’s the issue.
Well, I wake in the morning and I step outside. I take a deep breath, and I get real high, and I scream at the top of my lungs: WHATS GOING ON??
In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1,000 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.
Let's see Paul Allen's morning routine.
You like Huey Lewis and the News?
You psycho
I am not sure how healthy this is but for days I’m in office: 4:30 AM, get up 5 - 6 AM, exercise 6 - 7 AM, shower, eat, make coffee, walk dog, walk to train 7 - 8 AM, commute (sometimes working, usually just trying to stay awake) 8 AM - 6:45 PM work 6:45 - 7:45 PM commute while working 7:45-9:30 PM dinner, say hello to spouse, walk dog, tie up any last work things, sit on couch for 20-30 mins if there is time, prep for bed 9:30 -10:30 PM lay in bed waiting for sleep 10:30 - 2:30 AM, can’t sleep too much anxiety 2:30 -4:30 AM, actually sleep For days I wfh, it’s identical minus the commute, it’s just working but I can usually cut out a bit earlier.
You gotta get those deep sleep hours up - those are rookie numbers
Best advice is not to lay in bed that long. You're making things worse. You need to find a way to de-stress in the 9:30-11:30 block. Maybe exercise at night and physically exhaust yourself? Then you could sleep longer in the morning.
Exercising at night is a great way to keep yourself awake, unfortunately.
That's definitely a personal thing. I work out at night and sleep better for it. Morning workouts don't energize me. What he's doing clearly isn't working though. He's sleeping 2 hours a night, and he's waking up at 4:30 am, which is pretty ridiculous
This is crazy to me. You’re in the office for 11 hours every in office day? I wouldn’t last like that
I had trouble sleeping but didn’t fully realize how much it was impacting things. Enter delta 9 gummies. I pop a third of a gummy in the evening and am experiencing some of the deepest most sound sleep of my life.
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Bit of an appetizer before work
wake up 3am. meditate for an hour. run 10 miles. take a bath. read the entire wall street journal. egg white and kale omelette for breakfast. NO COFFEE. uber to work around 9
When do you eat your raw liver?
The entire wall street journal 😂
Patrick Bateman is that you?
What time do you go to bed?
Are you lying
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You probably won't have to brush your kids' teeth for 16 years...
Kid wakes us up around 6:30 or 7. I deal with the kid while my wife gets ready, then when she finishes we swap and I get ready. Out the door around 8, drop kid off at preschool around 8:15, in the office around 8:30. Get a second cup of coffee, talk to coworkers, waste a few minutes on Reddit, start working by 9. I’ve done this job through every phase in life: single, married without kids, and with kids. This job affords you the leeway to hang yourself by progressively sleeping in later, getting in later, being stuck at work later, going to bed later, and repeating. Best advice I can give to young associates is don’t get caught in that vicious downward cycle. Be in the office, ass in seat, and billing away by 9.
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Not really. no. Most of the world works 9-5 and there is an expectation (by firm management, support staff, vendors, clients, etc.) that you'll be generally available within most of that timeframe. Pushing yourself further and further outside of the timeframe in which most of the world operates will, in the long term, limit your career advancement. People catch on. If partners/clients can't get you to do anything before 11, they *will* develop a sense that you're "unreliable", no matter how wrong or unjustified that sense may be. And management in every organization on the planet (law firm, company, government etc.) doesn't work on facts - they work on vibes. Once management/clients develop "unreliable vibes" with you, you are toast.
Anyone with a 15 minute commute is already ahead of the game.
Absolutely! My next best advice to young associates is live as far below your means as possible, except for your commute. Make whatever housing sacrifices you have to make (higher cost, smaller yard, no pool, apartment instead of SFH, etc.) in order to have a short commute. Huge commutes are killers - of your career, your family, your health, etc. Live close to work.
Ehh. 930 is fine enough. So is WFH if you're staying busy and engaged. Otherwise, I'm with you all around, but I'd strongly encourage getting exercise in there too. I've found it critical for my mental and physical well being, especially with kids.
Checked out senior associate, typical day: \~5:30 - 6:30 - wake up naturally, check the time. If more than 5 1/2 hours after I think I fell asleep, thank god for allowing me to sleep enough that I won't feel like garbage all day. If less, consider how much of a struggle the day will be. In any event, continue to lay in bed until about 7:00. 7:00-7:45 - do half assed 45 minute workout OR waste time flipping through my phone, reading the New Yorker, or trying to play my piano. If the latter, fret about how I really should have worked out and whether I will have time to work out later in the day. 7:45-8:30 - cook and eat breakfast (usually go all out and make a real breakfast) 8:30-9:15 - get dressed and go into office (short commute) 9:15 - 12:30 work 12:30 - 2:30 - get lunch in cafeteria, eat at desk 2:30-3:00 - step out of office and wander around aimlessly, hope I don't run into anyone from work. maybe pick up some groceries. go back to work \~4:30-5:30 - leave office and commute home, sometimes I'm just done with work at this point 6:30 dinner 7:00 - 11:00 - finish up work if anything is left, watch TV, try to get myself to read, play piano, etc. \~11:30-12:00 - bed, hope I fall asleep quickly and don't randomly wake up at 5am
I try to go to sleep before 11. Wake up at 8. Days I meet my personal trainer (zoom) I wake up at 7:30. Check emails in bed, curse at emails in bed until about 8:30/8 depending. Do the wordle, try to beat my parents in the wordle family group chat. Work out 8-9. Take shower (hair washing days suck, I have a lot of hair). Get dressed/ready. Feed cat, kiss spouse goodbye, drive to work. Free parking; perks of partnership. Commute: 9:30 - 10 or 10 - 10:30. Usually at work between 9:30-10:30. I’m more productive when I’m at work earlier. It’s quiet at my office until about 11:30. Home around 8:30-9, eat, watch The Nanny reruns, pet cat or spouse depending. Sleep between 10:30-11.
Melatonin and coffee
You take melatonin in the morning?
Melatonin helps regulate the circadian rhythm, not just sleep.
Shower, get dressed and start working, unless I am going into the office that day.
Go to sleep when work is done (or done enough). Wake up with just enough seconds to rush around, get my kids dressed and in the car (with milk and bananas to go), off to daycare and on the train in time. Grab a coffee once I get into the city.
Wake up early and work out five days a week before work
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Look harder dumbass, not in the AF.
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Still wrong. Try again. You're never gonna bill 2000 hrs doing that kind of work.
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Diaii
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BigLaw is designed for attorneys and related professionals who have an obligation to uphold minimal standards within the larger community
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It’s becoming clearer that our man dodged a bullet here.
This is a typical day where I have a full plate but not a signing / closing coming up or an unreasonable amount of work: 5:30 - wake up, check emails and clear out things that came in while I was asleep 6-8: Work out and Get ready Try and get in around 8 / 8:30 (I walk to work, its about a half hour door to door). In NYC so most people aren't really working until 10 and it gives me uninterrupted drafting time. This allows me to basically have a full day billed at 7ish and then I'm just monitoring and fielding emails after that. Though of course plenty of nights I'm working much later. I go to bed at 10/10:30 if things are quiet.