Local News, Productivity Hacks & Juggling Emotions
What I Learned This Week
Hey y’all,
I’m feeling a bit drained — short of words (and even thoughts) this week. We all have a lot more on our plates than normal. I’m hoping it is teaching us to find a cadence of sustainable rhythms in our lives that allow us to recharge and feel nourished.
Here are some topics I stumbled upon this last week…
In the Words of Entertainers
I find myself going to comedians more and more, when I want a unique perspective on a complicated issue.
Here are my three favorite videos from the week, talking through the horrific, painful events (and realizations) unfolding in America right now:
The Market
I haven’t written about the stock market in a while. The reason? Well, not to make light of the precarious position our economy is sitting in right now — but the highs and lows have been boring the last couple months, since the massive swings of March.
But yesterday caught my attention again. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 lost over 5%, and the Dow almost 7%, making it the worst drop since March. Many are pointing to the recent Coronavirus spike numbers as the cause.
There were others that believe much of the volatility in the market is being caused by retail investors (aka inexperienced side hustlers trying to day trade based on r/wallstreetbets “tips”) who now have access to the market, via tools like Robinhood. A great example of a bizarre stock behavior, is the recent spike in Hertz’s stock price: an increase of 680% in under two weeks *after* it filed for bankruptcy (last month).
Skin in the Game
What does having “skin in the game” mean for your performance in a job? Well, here’s a great explainer of one perspective. After consulting for the last 9 months, I don’t entirely disagree. But I’m not here to offend any consultants. And I don’t think this applies to every consultant/consultancy.
TLDW:
“You never get to really taste it if you don’t do it. Own the result.”
Organizational Hacks
I came across Tiago Forte via the newly created “Everything Bundle” (a fascinating group of writers bundling their work together and selling it as a subscription via Substack). As a side note, I love what Jim Barksdale said during his IPO Roadshow for Netscape:
“In business, there are two ways to make money. You can bundle, or you can unbundle.”
I digress.
Tiago created a popular organization system that he calls “PARA”. If you are someone who is always looking for ways to optimize your life, both big and small, you should check out his system:
The PARA Method: A Universal System for Organizing Digital Information
Here is the description that lured me in…
He’s not about organizing for organizing’s sake — he’s all about organizing for action. The question is not, “What’s the best organizational system?” That’s a question that has no answer.
Instead Tiago asks: “How do I organize this stuff, so I can get my best work done?”
Juggling Emotions
It feels awkward, lazy and disrespectful to have such trivial topics like “organizational hacks” mixed in with such a heavy topic as racial injustice. But that is also the challenge of daily life.
We read a super heavy article, then have to jump into a work meeting to talk about digital ad spend on the latest campaign (or whatever). Then later you revisit that heavy topic. The switching cost is exhausting. But finding the right balance is super important. I hope you are finding ways to weave the heaviness into your daily life, instead of ignoring it, due to the inconvenience.
Find time to digest everything this weekend. And relax. I’ll see you next week.
Cheers,
Brendan J Short