When you work for boutique consulting, be prepared to work more than 100 hours as a junior...
New consultants learn immensely from getting thrown into challenging situations. - Is Boutique Consulting Right for You?
Tim Ferris popularized the idea of 4 hours a week but that doesn’t work anymore when you’re consulting. Ever since I have switched in consulting, I have worked 100 hours a week if not more in some weeks. Sure, we have some down time but when you’re in full working mode, it requires more than just regular working hours. So, how did I survive that especially when I work with multiple teams and stakeholders?
The simplest answer? I just survived and I happen to love working. I realized that consulting isn’t for everyone, especially when you hate the idea of working or solving problems for a long time. For those who hate the idea of it, the work can feel boring and overwhelming, especially when you must spend 4-5 hours drafting a document only to be revised and reworked.
When I first started this job, I was extremely stressed. I was gasping for air to survive and tried not to get carried away. I ruined my sleep, my eating pattern, and even that affected my health but these days, I learned these important keys and especially during busy week.
Time management is crucial if you work in boutique consulting
We all have 24 hours and sometimes client expects that we deliver result within 48 hours. So, I must be very conservative with my time these days and I no longer do that just in theory.
Now, I sleep about 5-6 hours, wake up around 3 or 4 Am when everyone is still asleep, do some of my routine, prep for the day and eventually start to work. Since I work in different time zones, I must ensure that before their time zone starts, I have everything ready to be presented or reviewed.
One of the biggest time waster is scrolling on my phone or even having my youtube tab open. So, during my busy time, I avoid checking out on my phone unless there is an emergency call.
I also do not eat until my work is finished. I find that without food and insulin spikes, I think and perform better. So, I only have warm tea or coffee without sugar to power me throughout the day. Once I got my task done, I would typically eat, relax, and eventually sleep.
When you work in consulting, typically you have better choices of food that will help you perform better or get things done faster.
The salary of a consultant is quite decent provided you don’t have mountain of bills to be paid. So, you will have more options to afford better quality food, and you must prioritize eating better. I find that it all depends on the individual but to me, I learned that I have more energy when I do intermittent fasting.
Some consultants I met ate a lot and they like sweets or indulge in some of their vices because that is what helps them perform better or think better. But the underline is that you must take care of your health and be very wise to find food that powers you.
Being physically active helps!
Consulting is about solving problems and sometimes, when you feel like you’re stuck, working out or even short walks helps. These days, I find a lot of my answers through doing that and I would feel a lot more energized too.
These days, I rarely feel sluggish anymore. I have a lot more energy to work, do stuff and even lift my brain fog through intermitted. While I had a dark background story around my intermittent fasting experience, apparently it helps.
When it gets too much, I would call my mom and pray
Rather than getting angry towards my co-workers or people around my job to vent my frustrations, I would call my mom and talk about my frustration. I also prayed and that helped me de-stress.
Recently, I found when I feel extremely stressed, all I needed was to transfer my knowledge to others and teach others something. It might seem like I am adding extra work on top of my actual work but that is my way to destress, and I am happily doing that.
In the past, it was easy for me to lash out. I have a hard time containing my anger but now, I can control my emotions a lot better than before. I also work better under pressure right now and know how to navigate it through better communication which I will be talking about later.
As of now, Happy Weekend and that’s part II of surviving my 100 days in consulting.
 | 𝘊𝘦𝘮𝘺 (𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘤) 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗀𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘱𝘰𝘱 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺; 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴. |
As I read your blog, I realized that this type of job truly requires commitment, because it seems like someone would give up easily if they lack it.
You’re really hardworking. For the type of work you do, it’s definitely good that you know how to take care of yourself. Stay safe!
That's true especially when one is starting out like I do. There's a lot of things I need to learn as well as understand.
I had my stress moment and even just now, it feels a bit crushing at times. But what can I do haha, I need this job 😅