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Bon Journal

Efficiency and productivity

Today I had another full day of back to back meetings. From 9 am to 4 pm I was on the go, meeting strangers, asking questions, taking notes, and being productive. I felt like I was on stage. Monday was even better: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm.

You can never be 100% efficient though. I tried to pack it all in, but some things I just can't change. I wasted three hours walking like a stray dog trying to find the lock box containing the key to my apartment. It wasn't my fault that someone had forgotten to provide it in the right place. In the end, the lack of efficiency spilled over to the next day.

Net net zero.

Regression to the mean?

Or just a way life balances everything out?

I don't know. But I did once proclaim this:

"If my love is as tall as the highest mountain and as deep as the deepest sea, then surely my love averages to about sea level. Then it's not so special after all."

No matter how fast I run, how early I start working and how late I stop, I end up with the same. I increase people's expectations of me, so I run faster. Eventually, I burn out. And I need a long time to recover.

Today I learned that the average career expectancy of a power trader is 7 years. Being appraised on a daily basis by their profit/loss performance and having to work up to twelve hours, a trader is only human. Like all humans, there are trade-offs to be made. If you work long and hard, you have to quit early. The flip side of the coin is to make lots of money and retire early.

Either way, you can't have it all. It all averages out, you see.

I see. Perhaps I should spread out my meetings and have room to breathe in between.

9 May 2001