Sugg — Beware oth risk. Once a while, we could spend 10 minutes asking ourselves “Any high-leverage task to start?”
[[effective engineer]] points out that the time software engineers spend often has low leverage. My definition of leverage is similar to ROTI but over longer horizon:
Leverage == projected impact / time invested
My concept of high-leverage endeavors incorporates two key features:
- disproportionate impact due to targeted effort like “
laser-guided drilling“ - usually long term effort, long term impact
Beyond professional career, Impact can be on marriage, on wife, on kids, on grandparents, on health, on fitness, impact on retirement years… (I think the author’s “impact” is commercial impact but I am more focused on my family.) Before 30, “impact” only means personal growth in effectiveness (“biz wing” etc). Nowadays,
- wellness, dev-till-70
- personal investment is becoming important, such as passive income, insurance, …. but the level of effort is relatively small
- Parenting is becoming important …. but the visible impact/tcost ROTI is very disappointing
- Kids’ studies becoming important as an impact target.
The author pointed out that on a high-leverage point, you may need to apply effort for a long time, like drilling through a stone wall. The “overall impact / total effort” defines leverage. Controversial. Judgment call.
–leverage concept is slightly different from ROTI
See leverage^ROTI in the contrasting table in body-build`can hit low visPgress
–some of the low impact activities:
- java study beyond IV requirement, what YH said about self-respecting, or zbs
- vacation planning including staycation
some low-leverage but necessary chores (perhaps should simplify, delegate, pay someone, or buy machines to do them)
* home repair
* paying bills
— questionable:
- localSys learning
- c# study? high leverage thanks to the initial gradient. c# offered some xref xx
- Laser-guided In-depth reading on JGC, micro-service, containers – short-term
- UChicago masters? I invested heavily for the potential leverage, but it may not work out.
- west coast career decision making: Potential for leverage
- getting closer to a HFT offer like SIG and DRW
- engage my son? No disproportionate ROTI
- Research on div stocks
- learning smartphone usage
–some of the high impact endeavors, not necessarily high leverage:
- #1) Property investment decision making: impacts my family, retirement …
- Example — The Blk 177 home purchase actually delivered very high leverage and kind of changed our life
- #3) investment in tech interviews — life-changing
- coding drill
- #2) U.S. home location research — as a result I am now staying in Bayonne
- C++ self study since Citigroup 2010?
- financial domain knowledge — acquired at reasonable tcost, gave me a huge advantage and confidence for a few years
- research on GC — huge tcost
- passive income generators
- ffree + Retirement planning — Result: new perspective on current burn rate
- Research about colleges, school districts
- Quant finance personal studies? Eye openers.
- i feel wellness effort has high leverage to varying degrees
- nutrition research for BMI…
- workout — design and adapt the “infrastructure” including my daily routine
- huge effort put into yoga — fundamental change in perception, but not much visible physical improvement
- chin-up improvement