How to improve stamina to work long hours?

Hi there and congrats on joining a consultancy! 

As you can probably expect, there is no silver bullet solution on “how to sleep 9 hours in 4 hours” - I so wish there was! But different things will somehow work for different people. 

I can share what worked for me, as someone that also needs quite a bit of sleep and I was very very scared about this. 

1. Real-life project environment goes a long way to keep you awake. In biological terms, it's probably just adrenaline. Essentially, the pressure to deliver, the high-stakes, the super involved team and demanding clients will keep you on your toes. Therefore you will survive / stay focused with less sleep than when doing a “normal” job. 

2. Sleep when and where you can + catch-up over the weekends. People get very good at taking naps in the car on the way to the client, on the planes and there are for sure stories out there of people taking 10 mins naps in the bathrooms (that does sound extreme though). 

3. Caffeine - this is the obvious answer, but also need to watch out and pace out your intake + drink plenty of water and get enough food. In other words, to be used wisely. 

4. Fresh air & regular breaks - again, goes a long way to clear your head when you start feeling foggy and it's getting hard to concentrate. 

5. Nutrition and exercise. You probably know that if you eat something very heavy or drink alcohol for dinner, you will feel significantly slowed down and the quality of your sleep will decrease, so definitely something to keep in mind. 

Many people also manage to work out and promise that this gives them the required energy, so I totally believe them. For me personally, it was challenging to prioritize exercise over an extra hour of sleep - but definitely something to try out. 

6. Last, but not least … setting boundaries. I totally get why this might seem very hard to do, especially early on when you want to prove yourself, but it might serve you well in the longer term. I would usually tell my team from early on (e.g., when setting up the team norms) that I need a good amount of sleep to function at my best.

Then when the project was pushing past midnight, I would say something like “can we have a quick assessment what is still critical for today? otherwise, I would like to catch-up on some sleep in order to be more productive tomorrow.” 8/10 cases it worked well for me, but I am not going to lie that there were also no exceptions to that :) 

Now, there is a whole other set of tips and tricks on how to try avoiding projects in which the team works unnecessary late … that could potentially be even more important for a long-term career in consulting. 

Hope this helps and wishing you all the best of luck in the new role! 

Ariadna 

Hi,

This is a real struggle and I felt it alot more as a new Project Leader when i was ~31/32. 

Having reflected on my time in consulting, for me I think there is no getting around a lack of sleep. It is physiological constraint, and there was little I could do after an all nighter to make my performance ‘good’.

There are temporary stop-gaps, e.g. caffeine, or even ‘power naps’, but I think the more difficult but impactful thing is to try to always push yourself to be more ruthlessly efficient

• Being upfront and explicit on your needs/preferences with your case leadership
• Being ruthlessly 80/20 and prioritizing only what needs to be done
• Being more experienced/better at your job → you will be able to do the same task but at a faster rate
• Knowing how to take strategic breaks in between the day to maintain focus between or during tasks

All the best!

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer!

I recorded a workshop on managing your work-life balance in consulting in collaboration based on my book Consulting Career Secrets.

You can find it in the links below:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/video-tutorials/work-life-balance-in-consulting-workshop-by-florian-40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VK8wL_xsmQ

All the best on your journey!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the upcoming career start in consulting!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, I would highly advise you to wait and see how exhausting your upcoming consulting job will actually be.
• Moreover, if it turns out it is exhausting for you, I would advise you to be open and honest with your team and the staffing manager. You are not the first person to join consulting at a later stage and I’m sure they will find a solution to this.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen