Here’s my honest weekend when I’m double-staffed. Friday night I try to clean all open loops and ask for a punch list before 11pm. Saturday morning is admin: data pulls, versioning, and anything that can run while I walk. I block a 2–3 hour window Saturday afternoon to push the heaviest lift (model outputs, appendix tables), then I actually leave the apartment for 45 minutes to reset. Saturday night is light unless comments hit. Sunday’s the risk: I front-load formatting by late morning, nap in the afternoon, then keep 6–10pm open for the inevitable “can we tweak the story?” Slack is on, but I mute channels that aren’t deal-critical.
If you’ve got a healthier weekend cadence that still keeps you reliable, what’s your playbook?
“Normal” weekend is a fairy tale. You buy predictability by killing unknowns Friday. My rule: confirm owner, output, and timestamp on every task before logging off. Saturday I clear the work no one wants to touch—data ties and footnotes—because those will explode Sunday. I also send a noon Saturday status email; it reduces Sunday surprises. If you’re going to take a break, do it after a tangible deliverable lands. Breaks without proof-of-progress trigger panic pings.
quick q
worth sending a saturday noon status if no one asked? feels annoying or helpful?
A scheduled Saturday status note is a service to the team, provided it’s crisp. One paragraph, three sentences: what’s done, what’s blocked, what’s coming next with times. If you have dependencies on the associate or VP, name them: “Waiting on final KPIs from Client Ops; if not received by 4pm, I’ll proceed with placeholders and flag assumptions.” You’re signaling control, not seeking permission. This also sets up your Sunday: fewer scattered comments and a clearer final pass. Just don’t spam; send at predictable times only.
You’re managing your weekend smartly already. Keep those clear checkpoints and real breaks. A little structure + fresh air makes a huge difference!
I used to treat Sundays like a black box and paid for it. Now I front-load: by noon I’ve locked page order, top-line numbers, and exhibit placeholders. I send a screenshot of the TOC so seniors see the shape. Then I take two hours offline. When comments finally hit, it’s mostly polishing. On weekends with two deals, I stagger energy—heavy model work Saturday, narrative work Sunday. Same hours, wildly less stress.
On my last team, a short Saturday update cut Sunday after 9pm edits by about a third. The analysts who pre-committed a 2–4pm Saturday deep work block and shared a simple checkpoint (e.g., draft exhibits ready) saw fewer last-minute rebuilds. The big lever: reduce ambiguity by fixing structure early. When page order and key numbers are locked before Sunday afternoon, the revision set is smaller and more targeted, which saves energy and sleep.