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Any requirement for management consultant?
Is it just me or?
Not an accounting meme.
Everyone I know the last 2 weeks
Comp at AlixPartners and Alvarez... go!
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Dude, I felt this in my soul. You are describing the classic "Consulting Adrenaline Addiction." When your brain is trained to constantly release stress hormones to meet insane deadlines, the absence of those hormones feels like a threat, not peace. It's totally normal to feel restless and guilty.
Here’s the simplest advice that actually works (for me after 18 years in SAP deployments) for rewiring:
1. Your calendar is your boss. Start scheduling mandatory, non-negotiable "Low-Effort Blocks" 30 minutes to an hour of walking, reading fiction, or just staring at a wall. Do not call it "Rest" (your brain sees that as a lie). Call it "Deep Focus Prep" or "Cognitive Maintenance." Frame it as essential for better work later.
2. Find Your "Anchor" Habit. You need a clear activity that tells your brain, "The emergency stop button is pressed." This has to be something that demands focus but isn't productive:
A serious hobby: Powerlifting, painting, playing a complicated board game.
The 5-Minute Brain Dump: Before leaving work (or closing the laptop), take 5 minutes to write down everything you need to do tomorrow. Once it's on paper, the thought is "archived" for the night.
3. Change the Guilt. The goal is no longer "finish the task." The goal for downtime is "optimize recovery." When you're resting, tell yourself: "I am being highly productive right now by improving my future performance." You are investing in your human capital something billable later.
TL;DR: Your brain is addicted to crisis-mode chemicals. Schedule mandatory "low-effort" time (call it maintenance) and find a demanding, non-work hobby to act as your mental emergency stop. It takes time, but you can unlearn the urgency.
What's one thing you could schedule for 30 minutes tonight that feels useless but fun?
I go up in the hills and shoot watermelons
total agree and it takes a long time to undo that wiring
Yes, but you can retrain your brains and break free of the chaos. However, it requires sacrifice giving up wha lt you believe you are gaining in the current situation.
Bowl Leader
100% I used to approach work as just part of my daily life. Taking calls while sitting on the slopes snowboarding no problem. Family time, still have my laptop out working into dinner and then after dinner. On vacation I’ll check my emails and think it’s weird nobody is looking for me. Problem is if you’re not careful it can lead to burnout.
My suggestion is start practicing carving out some time for yourself. Do something you like or is relaxing. Spend time with your fam and non-consulting friends. Workout or whatever hobbies. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t normalize working 24/7. I know it’s easier said than done for a lot of us, but you have to try. The physical/mental toll is there whether you realize it or not.
You perfectly summarized the feeling i have been having for last 2-3 years… I feel like I want to be in tue firedrill all the times, else I don’t know what do to…
I’m feeling this in the way that I’m struggling to find something to do. After losing my job and trying to launch a consulting business I am not as busy as I was. If anyone has too much to do, I’m happy to offer my services as an IT professional with 15 years experience.
In same boat, following!
this
It can take a long time to figure out how to calibrate your mindset so that down time/PTO/time away from work feels good--especially if you went straight from college into consulting or a similar grueling business atmosphere. Sometimes life dynamics (like getting married, having children, taking up a new hobby, etc.) can have a funny way of forcing you to take inventory and reprioritize what matters most to you.
I actually feel like it’s trained me to embrace the boredom. Things like driving, fishing, and movies have gotten a lot more enjoyable because nobody’s blowing up my phone and all I have to do is sit