How to Work 80 Hours a Week And Still Have a Life

The executive mantra: "Work hard, play harder."

Business Insider

By Kathleen Elkins

Wall Street executives, entrepreneurs, and consultants are known for working crazy long hours.

Logging 80 hours a week is not uncommon for them, and that number can hit the triple digits during especially busy weeks.

But some have figured out how to have a life outside of work, despite their insane schedules.

We talked to several people who routinely put in 80 hours and successfully balance work and life.

Here's how they do it:

Tomasz Kucemba, CEO of KARORA Cosmetics

This CEO logs 100 hours a week at peak performance, and lives by the mantra, "work hard, play harder."

He achieves a work-life balance with help from his smartphone. "I do make time for a life outside of work. For example, right now I am coordinating a launch event, preparing for two international conference calls, and planning to take my girlfriend to the Dallas Food Festival. In this day in age we can do a lot of multitasking with our smartphones."

His best survival hack is paying attention to his body. "I eat clean, take good supplements, and exercise regularly. I have noticed that since I switched to a vegetarian diet last year my energy levels have doubled."

His career advice is to keep calm. "Don't panic and get good at managing your time, and you will make it.

Louise Fritjofsson, Cofounder and CEO of Vint

This young entrepreneur is familiar with the startup grind, having experimented with several business ventures. She now oversees Vint, an on-demand fitness service, and works 75-80 hours per week.

She achieves a work-life balance by putting "me" time in her calendar. "I make sure to get in a workout every day, a long morning walk with my dog one day a week, and a couple of dinner or drink dates with my husband and friends each week. I also make sure to have private phone calls scheduled in my calendar. It sounds boring and some might argue 'fake,' but it works! Consider 'me time' appointments in your calendar as important as your board meetings, and suddenly you're forced into a work-life balance that makes you more creative, happy and clear-thinking."

Her best survival hack is a Swedish tradition. "In Sweden, all workplaces have a 3 pm fika. Fika means stopping what you're doing, getting together with your coworkers, and taking a 15 minute break. A proper fika is enjoyed with coffee, tea, and a pastry of your choice (think cinnamon buns, soft ginger cookies, cupcakes). Add a bit of Swedish culture to your life."

Her career advice is to get creative and have fun. "Do things because you love them, or because you really believe in the vision. Work should be an outlet for creativity, problem solving and having fun. If you truly love what you do, working long hours won't drain you, and should in fact energize you."

Deuce Thevenow, Cofounder of RECESS

The cofounder of this touring music festival that inspires college students to become the next generation of world-changing entrepreneurs, consistently logs 80 hours, and puts in several more when RECESS hits the road for a tour.

He achieves a work-life balance by blending his career and personal life. "My work life and personal life are very mixed. Even when I go out at night with friends, it's with people in the music or startup space. Those friends introduce me to other people and I'm constantly pitching our business and looking for business development opportunities. We like to say that real business gets done outside of the office."

His best survival hack is to make a zero-work day. "The weekends are my sanctuary. I usually try to make one day where I do zero work, and I really cherish this one day. I also enjoy camping, and the opportunity to get away from a computer and have no phone signal is a blessing."

His career advice is to find, and help create, a positive company culture. "Each job is different, but the key to having a career in a business with demanding hours is to keep a positive office environment. We order food, listen to music, do yoga, drink beers, etc. Being able to actually enjoy being in your office rather than counting down the minutes until your 'day ends' is an indication that you may be in the wrong career."

David Bonaventura, CEO of TSOVET Watches

This CEO - who works 80-plus hours per week - found a passion for watches 15 years ago and has been designing and building them since. He starts each long day with coffee and email, and tries to squeeze in time for a quick surf when he can.

He achieves a work-life balance by prioritizing his family. "Finding a balance is always difficult for me, but I do my best to find time to spend with my family regardless of my schedule. I never miss my daughters events."

His best survival hack is to deal with minor details outside of the office. "I prefer to tackle emails at night prior to bed and follow up again first thing in the morning in order to clear off as many incidental items as possible before arriving to the office. I try to stay as focused as possible on the tasks at hand, and eliminate any potential distractions or new opportunities until the bulk of projects and work is completed."

His career advice is to pursue your passion. "Do what you love and love what you do. There will always be stress, but if you love it, then it becomes part of the process and not a job."                                          

Get a better job, more pay during April-June job search

April through June, here's the information that can affect your job search or salary offers.

The second quarter of 2015 is here, and if you're planning on taking a step to earn more money or find a new job between April and June, there are opportunities to take advantage of and trends to be aware of that can help move your goals forward.

Here are the six things you should know about hiring and pay for April – June.

1. More employers are hiring
The slowly-but-surely recession-recovery pace we've endured is continuing to yield good news. In the second quarter, 32 percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees, up from 26 percent last year.
2. Employers are still resizing their workforce
While an improved job market is good news for both hiring managers and job candidates, the second quarter is leaving some employers reassessing their needs and the people required to complete those roles: 8 percent expect to downsize staff, on par with last year; 55 percent anticipate no change while 5 percent are undecided.
3. Small-business hiring is upWhen smaller businesses are able afford hiring more employees, it's a sure sign that the economy has stabilized and even improved. This quarter's forecast echoes that sentiment, as 23 percent of companies with 50 or fewer employees expect to add full-time, permanent staff over the next three months, up from 18 percent last year.
4. Some industries are outperforming the national rate of hiring
2015 is putting a focus on upgrading our internal structure with industries that are crucial to everyday life, like transportation and health care. Industries expected to match or exceed the national average for adding full-time, permanent headcount in the second quarter are:

• Information technology - 49 percent
• Transportation - 44 percent
• Financial services – 40 percent
• Health care (50 or more employees) – 32 percent

5. Pay is getting more competitiveThe study also shows wages may get an upgrade as companies grow more competitive for skilled talent in the face of shrinking labor pools. Twenty-four percent of employers expect to increase salaries at least 5 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year; 44 percent anticipate there will be an increase of 4 percent or less while 1 percent expect a decrease and 4 percent are undecided.
6. Employers willing to wait for right job candidate
As the job market continues to grow more competitive and salary offers grow with the demand of skilled workers, employers are willing to wait for the right job candidate to get the most for their money. Forty-three percent of employers have job vacancies that stay open for 12 weeks or longer. This can affect your job search if you're the answer to their long-vacant position, and gives you more bargaining power during salary negotiations. But be careful—it also means that they're going to expect that you're able to handle the workload that will come with it.
"The brisk hiring anticipated for the second quarter comes against the backdrop of stronger sales, new product development and market expansion among companies of all sizes," says Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and co-author of The Talent Equation. "Small businesses have been playing a larger part in the solid stretch of job growth the U.S. has experienced over several months. When you pair that with the fact that hiring has increased in a variety of industries and regional areas, it bodes well for workers seeking new and better-paying employment prospects."

How to answer 5 tough interview questions

Here are some of the questions job seekers most dread, and tips on how to handle them.

We all have interview questions we secretly pray a prospective employer won't ask us. Whether you find them vague and confusing, or you think they are uncomfortable topics, or you simply aren't sure how to approach answering them, for some reason these questions always trip you up and jeopardize your chances of getting hired.
But with proper preparation, a little practice and the right approach, you can master even the most daunting questions from across the table.

Here are some of the questions job seekers most dread, and tips on how to handle them.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself
This question is asked in nearly every first-round interview, yet many job seekers still struggle with it. Given the question's open-ended and broad-scope phrasing, plus the fact that it's often the very first "official" interview question, its not surprising interviewees stress over finding the "right" answer. The key is preparation and brevity.
"Don't waste time talking through your entire resume down to every detail, as they already have that information in their hand. Avoid personal and irrelevant information as well," says Jennifer Lee Magas, vice president, Magas Media Consultants. "Instead, provide your elevator speech – a concise 30-second overview of who you are, what you have done—jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities, sports, leadership roles—and how this can help a future employer."
2. Why should we hire you?
This common question often trips up candidates because it's blunt and to the point. Once again, this question requires a bit of preparation—in particular, a clear understanding of the job description, requirements and expectations.
"People don't do well with this one because they don't review the job qualifications ahead of time. The interviewer wants to know what you will do specifically for this position, not general statements about yourself," Magas says. "Organize your thoughts using the PAR acronym, or Problem, Action, Results. Quickly illustrate your worth by outlining a problem you dealt with at work, what specific action you took to solve that problem, and how your solution ultimately benefited the organization in terms of saved money or time."
3. Why are you leaving your current company?
Past actions are a good indicator of future ones, so discussing your current employer during a job interview can be tricky. The best way to approach this is to not dwell on the negatives.
"Absolutely 100 percent stay positive when asked why you are leaving your current company. It should be about opportunity [and] growth," says Ricardo Estevez, director of Career Services at The Art Institute of Washington. "Make sure the job you're applying for is moving forward. If you are changing careers, you can express how passionate you are about the new field into which you are transitioning."
"You should never bash a previous supervisor, or employer in general," agrees David Bakke, career expert at Money Crashers. "You could say something like your old boss was a stickler for details, but that it ultimately made you a better employee."
4. What are your salary expectations?
Discussing money is something of a taboo in our culture, so it's understandable that so many job seekers struggle when the question of salary comes up in the interview. It also happens to be one of the most crucial—raises, bonuses and even future job offers are usually based on your salary.
"Usually you know what your value on the market is, or at least a range. You also know how much you need to live comfortably and pay your bills," says Heather Neisen, HR manager at TechnologyAdvice. "Ultimately, this question is best answered with 'Here's what I'm aiming for in my search and why—I now have my master's, I now have the experience, etc.' Just like every part of the interview, you and the employer are looking for a fit. Don't waste their time or your time. State what your salary range is and if they can't be flexible, you have the ability to end the process."
5. How many ridges are there around the edge of a quarter?
Or, if you were shrunk down to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out? What about, how many traffic lights are in Manhattan?
Sometimes interview questions are just plain weird. If you're faced with a question that seems both unrelated to the job and more like a brainteaser or riddle than an interview question, don't panic. In many cases the interviewer is less interested in what your answer is than in how you answer.
"Companies like Google are famous for asking very unusual interview questions, so don't be surprised if it starts happening more and more with smaller firms as well," says Tim Backes, career adviser, resume expert and hiring manager at Resume Genius. "They are looking for someone who will give an answer and not just stumble over their words and repeat the question a dozen times as well as someone who shows both a clear train of thought, no matter if it's based solely in logic or it's creative. They also want to see confidence, but not arrogance. No matter what you do, remember to keep your composure and answer any unusual question to the best of your ability."