Does Your After-Work Routine Affect Career Success?

The basic need for downtime with loved ones may be the secret to personal and professional success.

(Photo Credit: dSeneste.dk/Flickr)

Six top business thinkers answered BloombergBusinessweek’s question: What is your after-work routine?

Maneesh Goyl admits to being quite fond vodka gimlets, high-end snacks, and schmoozing at cocktail parties. However, the things that these executives all had in common, however, were more basic and quite common to us all.

1. Family Time

All six executives make a point to spend time with family. While most mention spouses and children, one executive’s family time included calling mother on the phone, and another mentioned walking down the block to read the grandkids a bedtime story.

2. Exercise

Only a couple of the executives make a point of exercising every day. Exercise is something that perhaps we should all do more of; every family or group of friends seems to have the one who exercises the most. The executives, as a group, seem to be no different from the general public.

3. Much Work to Do and Lack of Sleep

They all get to bed late and rise early in the morning. Some are working on six hours of sleep per night. Perhaps we call all relate to having a lot to do and not getting much sleep.

The themes in these executive’s descriptions of their personal time sound quite universal. Spend some time with loved ones, unwind, relax with a glass of wine or a favorite television show, check emails at late hours and finally get to sleep, just to wake up the next day to do it all over again. But if you love what you do, then it’s all enjoyable.

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What is your after-work routine? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.