Back when I was in school, my father asked me to do something. I don't remember what it was, specifically ... but it was a normal thing for a father to ask a son to do.
Later that day, while we were talking, he asked how my day went. I told him about all the things I did. Then, he asked whether I did the thing he asked me to do. I tried to explain that because of how busy I had been, I didn't have time to do what he asked.
He frowned, and I still remember the look in his eye when he told me that from his standpoint, I hadn't done anything.
That put things in a different context.
Each day we make a host of commitments great and small. If my to-do list has 15 items on it, and I do the 13 or 14 of them ... then on one hand, I can feel good about how productive I was. Yet, on the other hand, chances are that the one or two things I didn't do were the only things that were supposed to get done for the person whose task got put off until another day.
Getting Things Done.
Stephen Covey makes a big distinction between importance versus urgency. It's easy to lose sight of what needs to get done if you fill your day with interruptions, distractions, busywork, or time-wasters.
By understanding what is both important and urgent it's easy to clarify the value of what really needs to get done.
Understanding why things need to get done is also a big step forward in terms of prioritizing what you commit to do. For example, Scott Scheper suggests your goal should be to balance out your tasks so that 20% are spent on reactive tasks, and 80% are spent on proactive tasks. Why? Because reactive tasks will make you a living, while proactive tasks will make you successful.
Ultimately, there are many ways to sort, sift, filter and prioritize your list.
There is a rule-of-thumb that 20% of your activities will account for 80 percent of your success (this is often called the "Pareto Principle" or the "80%-20% Rule"). In other words, if you have 100 tasks in your task list, there probably will be about 20 of those that are the key ones to focus on. The key is to find a prioritization method that helps you pinpoint these tasks.
Here is an interesting video from Chris Brogan.
A Little Bit of Automation Can Help Too.
I use several tools. Toodledo and Nozbe are both easy-to-use online to-do lists with a great iPhone client. For teams, I highly recommend the stuff from 37 Signals.
In addition, there are some terrific new Visual Thinking, Idea Mapping or Mind-Mapping tools available to help you think and plan better.
Capitalogix Commentary for the Week of 08/30/10
The Fed had their annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last week. On Friday Fed Chairman Bernanke announced that the Fed was ready to dig deeper and take bold actions if the economy continued to weaken. On cue, Intel announced lowered guidance and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading under its 10,000 level.
Market Charts.However, traders say that it's not the news that matters, but rather it's the reaction to the news that matters. In case you didn't see it, the reaction was consistent buying for the rest of the day. Not only did the Dow get back above 10,000, but the markets also erased much of their losses for the week.
Here is a daily chart of the Russell 2000 Small-Cap Index showing the downtrend it has been in since April. The good news is that support held at the July lows. That level is marked by the green highlight. Any move beneath that would be decidedly bearish. On the other hand, it is unlikely the Bulls would feel safe until price clears the resistance level marked by the pink highlight.
Another thing to note in this chart is how dramatically the Russell 2000 Small-Cap Index had under-performed the broader S&P 500 Index since May. It is usually a bearish sign for the market when small caps and technology stocks are under-performing -- which is what they are doing presently.
What is Happening with the Volatility Index?
While the markets retreated back near July lows, the Volatility Index (or VIX) did not show a spike of fear. Many traders view the VIX as a contrary indicator, which means the lack of fear could be bearish.
How Has the Government Spent the Stimulus So Far?
Counting through the beginning of August, Congress has now approved over $1 trillion in spending and tax measures to stimulate the economy. Here is a chart, put together by the Washington Post, which breaks down the spending.
I wonder what that will look like next year?
Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:
Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week
Posted at 10:36 PM in Current Affairs, Market Commentary, Trading | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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