i come from a data-and-habit angle: long hours are unavoidable sometimes, so the goal is to maximize output while minimizing cumulative harm. i built a simple peer-sourced checklist that helped me stay functional: 25–45 minute focused blocks, a quick 10-minute recovery after every 3–4 hours, and pre-allocated learning slots twice a week so skill-building didn’t fall off. tracking small wins (one completed model, one cleaned dataset) kept momentum.
critically, i stopped treating sleep as negotiable — on multi-week live runs, I enforced a minimum 6.5 hours and deferred non-essential career work. curious: which small habit have you found actually moves the needle during brutal weeks?
look, no hack will save you when the office decides a deal needs an all-nighter. that said, reduce scope ruthlessly. cut fluff from slides, provide partners with a clean executive summary, and force the model to the core sensitivities only. if you can remove 20% of toil and still answer the client’s question, you’ve won. expect to be tired, plan recovery weeks, and stop pretending you can do everything.
i tried pomodoro but kept getting pulled into meetings. any quick switch-up? also i’m always tired 
productivity under prolonged stress is about prioritization, not intensity. first, triage tasks by decision impact: what will change the partner’s mind vs what is nice-to-have. second, create templates for repeat work; a reusable slide or model snippet saves hours. third, protect one hour a day for recovery rituals—short walk or call with someone outside finance. finally, schedule a debrief after live weeks to identify process improvements that prevent repeat overload. which of these could you implement this week?
small rituals add up—focus blocks and a nightly wind-down will keep you sharper. pick one and stick with it for two weeks!
my first live week I tried to be ‘present’ for everything and crashed by Wednesday. a senior told me to pick two deliverables that actually mattered and to stop polishing the rest. i followed that and finished the week with fewer hours and better outcomes. the trick was saying no early and having a concrete alternative. what’s the one deliverable you can drop polishing on this week?
data from internal team productivity logs suggest limiting context switches increases throughput: teams that reduced active tasks per person from five to three saw a 22% increase in deliverable completion rate and a 14% reduction in reported burnout symptoms. apply this by bundling related tasks into single work blocks and communicating a clear scope for each day. measure task switches this week and report back — you’ll see the pattern quickly.