i left my first-year analyst role seriously fried and spent the next 18 months testing small, practical changes. i started blocking 90-minute deep-focus rhythms, putting two immovable ‘non-work’ calendar slots each week (doctor, gym), and triaging requests by approach: if a task wasn’t explicitly tied to a live book or partner ask, i pushed it to a ‘batch’ hour. i also learned to give concrete options when saying no — “i can do this by tues or hand it to x for quicker turn.” recovery rituals (consistent sleep, a real day off every two weeks) mattered more than any productivity hack. what’s one tiny boundary you tried that actually stuck for you?
you’ll hear a lot of pep talks about ‘block time’ and ‘self-care’ from people who never owned a live weekend. here’s the blunt part: partners don’t care about your calendar unless you make their life easier. i started refusing ad-hoc requests only after replacing them with faster alternatives — a template, a delegated contact, a two-line summary. took a few awkward conversations but saved 8–12 hrs a week. yes it’s annoying. yes it works. not everyone will like you for it.
- i tried blocking 2 hours for learning each week and it actually helped. i messed up my first scedule but then stuck to it. small wins add up!
i’ve coached dozens of junior analysts through the first two years. the reliable pattern is this: early on, people try to be universally helpful and end up doing low-value, time-consuming tasks. the corrective is threefold — learn to triage, document repeatable work into templates, and create predictable touchpoints with seniors (daily 10-minute check-ins work wonders). also, recovery isn’t optional; schedule it and treat it like a client meeting. when promoted, you must show not just hours worked but consistent outputs and resilient energy. what boundary are you considering first?
- love that you’re experimenting! small, consistent boundaries = big wins. keep going, you got this!
my wake-up call was a 72-hour stretch with zero sunlight and a spreadsheet i couldn’t remember making. after that i tried a one-month experiment: i refused any weekend asks unless it was a true live book. i told my team i would deliver by monday morning with a clear consequence (someone else owned the interim). at first i felt guilty, then relieved, then more effective. coworkers adapted, and partners only complained if it actually mattered — which was rare. now i guard one full weekend a month and it keeps me sane.
i tracked my calendars for six months. during live weeks my average was 74 hours; during normal weeks 48. by introducing 90-minute focus blocks, consolidating recurring asks into three templated deliverables, and enforcing two weekly non-work calendar slots, i reduced perceived urgent requests by 30% and total weekly hours by ~10–12 on average. the biggest single win was standardizing a 1-page executive summary template that cut revision cycles by half. if you want, i can share the template structure i built.