8:30 a.m. — I have back-to-back meetings all day with senior people, and I am told it is not acceptable to check my emails on my phone. At 1, I have a working lunch which involves me working and not eating. I manage to stuff in some carrots and aubergine which are delicious (free), and I have three espressos (free). At 6, I have a compulsory networking session and as I have been in meetings all day I am terrified at the thought of my inbox. I have nine missed calls from my deal team who knew I was unavailable except in urgent circumstances. I start to panic and try calmly to keep it together. I catch the train back to my hotel (5 CHF, expensed), all the while trying to understand what the email chains are telling me; there are just too many to sort through. I get to my hotel at 8, and then start to work. Things aren't as bad as I thought; it's the anticipation of something going wrong that is one of the hardest part of this job — the hardest being when you make a mistake.