Issue# 2687
- WEALTHY: Opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies (Ted Peroulakis)
- HEALTHY: A quick, high-intensity exercise you can do at home (Yarixa Ferrao)
- WISE: Paul Gauguin on productivity
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The bad news about multitasking (Alex Mandossian)
- Doctor… lawyer… entrepreneur? (Craig Armstrong)
- It’s Good to Know… about worm therapy
- Add “querulous” to your vocabulary
* Highly Recommended *
This Is the Kind of Technical Know-How You Need to Succeed
Can you log on to your Internet connection?
Do you know how to use a web browser and send e-mail?
If so, you have more than enough technical knowledge to build your own working website and create the foundation for a business that throws off a solid, safe, and steady long-term income stream.
And you can do it in just 5 days. Find out how right here.
Invest in India Now
India is one of the world’s fastest-growing (and most stable) economies, with strength in its agriculture, textile, and service sectors. Services are its main source of economic growth, accounting for over half of India’s output with less than a third of its labor force. And India is on track to open up its retail, insurance, and banking sectors to more foreign investment.
The Indian economy has been growing an average of 7 percent over the last 10 years, reducing poverty by about 10 percent over the same period. India had GDP growth of 8.5 percent in 2006, 9 percent in 2007, and 7.3 percent in 2008.
Since the election victory of the free-market-oriented Congress Party, the Bombay Stock Exchange has taken off. I expect billions of dollars’ worth of investment capital to flow into Indian stocks, and India’s economy is going to continue to soar.
You owe it to yourself to invest in India. Keep in mind, though, that developing markets tend to be volatile, so put only a small portion of your portfolio into any emerging market.
My favorite way to play India is with the PowerShares India Fund (PIN). This exchange-traded fund (ETF) has excellent profit potential. It has seen a great short-term gain of 32 percent since I first recommended it on April 9th. You don’t usually see big profits that fast, and it’s on track for more.
The fund is traded in the U.S., holds a nice basket of Indian stocks, and seeks to mirror the Indian stock market as measured by the Indus India index.
[Ed. Note: Ted Peroulakis brings his passion for the markets to his role as investment analyst with Investor's Daily Edge, Early to Rise's sister publication. You can read more of his great advice every day by signing up for free right here.]
“Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite.“
- Paul Gauguin
Why Multitasking Destroys Your Productivity
Most entrepreneurs I know are proud of their “multitasking” ability. But maybe they shouldn’t be.
The term was originally applied to computers – to describe the way a CPU solves problems by scheduling tasks and switching back and forth from task to task until each one gets done. Well, that may be an efficient way for a computer to work, but it’s anything but efficient when it comes to your productivity.
Dave Crenshaw wrote my favorite book on the topic, and I recommend it to anyone who still thinks and feels that multitasking is cool. On page 29 in The Myth of Multitasking, he writes:
“Around the end of the twentieth century, some wordsmith saw the connection between our increasingly hectic world and the world of the computer. A catchword was born.
Newspapers began peppering their articles with the word. Talk show hosts began using it with frequency. Magazines began publishing articles about how to multitask more effectively.
Multitasking quickly became as popular and accepted as the automobile and the hamburger.”
Dave Crenshaw has a more accurate word to describe flipping back and forth between two (or more) activities. He calls it “switchtasking.”
Multitasking or switchtasking reduces your efficiency (your ability to do the right things) and your effectiveness (your ability to do things right) because it forces you to keep changing your mental focus. During the switchover time (less than a second, in most cases), your concentration diminishes and the number of mistakes you make dramatically increases.
In fact, many states (including California) have outlawed multitasking on the highway by making it illegal to speak on a handheld mobile phone while driving a car.
“A mere half second of time lost to task switching can mean the difference between life and death for a driver using a cellphone, because during the time that the car is not totally under control, it can travel far enough to crash into obstacles the driver might have otherwise avoided,” reported Dr. David Meyer from the University of Michigan.
Okay, so let me ask you a candid question. How many of the following common multitasking activities do you engage in?
- Writing e-mails while speaking on the telephone
- Checking voice mail while speaking to your spouse
- Reading the newspaper while listening to the news
- Watching TV while having a family conversation
- Tweeting while instant messaging while…
I’m guessing you’ve done “all of the above” at some point in your adult life. But my point isn’t to nag you about multitasking. It is to make you conscious of how destructive it can be.
It’s not only mentally stressful to splinter your attention (and make mistakes along the way), multitasking sets you up for failure… and the guilt of not completing everything you set out to do.
Stacking vs.Multitasking
Now if you do two things at once but can keep the majority of your attention on only ONE of those things, that’s a whole different animal. I call this stacking. Dave Crenshaw calls it background tasking. (You can call it whatever you wish.)
Stacking helps you get more done, faster and better. It is a productive use of your time because only ONE of the tasks you are doing requires mental effort.
Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:
- Eating dinner while watching a video
- Jogging while listening to your iPod
- Driving while listening to the radio
- Writing an e-mail while printing out a document
- Munching on a snack while riding a bicycle
- Listening to the news while showering
- Reading a book while getting a haircut
Stacking doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll become more effective (by doing the right things), but it can practically guarantee more efficiency (doing things right to get maximum results in minimum time).
Stacking & America’s Middle Class
Henry Ford didn’t invent the car, but he did figure out how to produce automobiles that were within the reach of the average American. And I believe he did this by preventing his workers from multitasking.
Prior to his introduction of the assembly line to the manufacturing process, cars were individually crafted by teams of skilled workmen. But instead of having one team work on one car, from start to finish, he created a stacking environment where the cars came to the workers – and each worker performed the same assembly task again and again.
The stacking power of the assembly line reduced the time it took to manufacture a car from 13 hours to less than six. That made it possible for Ford to offer the Model T for $825 when it made its debut in 1908. Four years later, the price dropped to $575. By 1914, Ford claimed a 48 percent share of the world’s automobile market.
What to Do Now
You can stop the insanity of multitasking right now by listing (right here) two or three multitasking activities you commonly engage in at work or at home.
Then, the next time you catch yourself multitasking, stop. Take a moment to think about what you’re doing, and quickly choose one of those tasks to focus on first. Complete that task before you switch to the other one.
I think you’ll find that this automatically makes you more efficient, more effective – and feeling a lot better about yourself for getting multiple jobs done right.
[Ed. Note: Alex Mandossian knows a thing or two about success. He has generated over $233 million in sales for his clients. And in the past three years, he increased his own revenues from $1.5 million to $5 million. You can get Alex's advice and practical marketing tips for info-publishers, small-business owners, and entrepreneurs for free at www.AlexMandossianToday.com.
Interested in making between $50,000 and $5 million - starting this year? Find out how to do so right here.]
The Anti-”Fix and Flip” Foreclosure Profits System
Thousands of entrepreneurs are buying and trying to “flip” foreclosures these days.
But one man has made $3.2 million in foreclosures by refusing to jump on the “fix and flip” bandwagon. He has learned to approach the market in a whole new way.
Go against the “crowd” with him, and learn how you could make thousands a week on “autopilot” with virtually zero risk… a few hundred in start up capital… all while working from home for just an hour day on your home computer.
Reader Feedback: “Rich Schefren has really hit the nail on the head.”
“Just had to say that Rich Schefren has really hit the nail on the head about the media and so called ‘journalism’ in his article ‘How to Make More Money During a Recession.’
“Absolutely brilliant and spot on. They have to fill so many newspaper/magazine pages and so much TV airtime that any ‘news’ item is completely overexposed and hyped up. (Swine flu is a good example.) It also seems that many journalists really don’t know much about the subjects they are writing about. Fortunately, the same cannot be said about Early to Rise.
“Keep up the good work.”
Karen Letherby
Cheltenham, UK
A Summer-Ready Body in 10 Minutes a Day – No Gym Required!
Don’t tell me you feel embarrassed to put on a bathing suit… and then tell me you don’t have time for exercise. That’s NOT a good excuse. You can do a high-intensity workout in less than 10 minutes. Better yet, you can do it at home or in your office, between meetings, while the laundry is drying, or after lunch. All it takes is a dynamic warm-up, 3 to 4 full-body exercises, and a couple of minutes of stretching afterward.
The Squat-to-Press is one quick and efficient exercise that will get your body ready to hit the beach in no time. It requires two dumbbells – 3, 5, or 10 pounds, depending on your fitness level. Focus on your core while you do it, keeping your abdominals tight.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your arms up toward your shoulders, palms facing toward each other. Lower your body into a squat position. Your knees should not bow out over your toes. Your chest should almost touch the top of your thighs, and your elbows should nearly touch your knees.
Now, pressing up through your heels, rise to a standing position. At the same time, reach your arms up straight above your head. Contract your glute muscles at the top of the movement. Then return to a squat position, lowering your arms to their original position. Repeat 10 times.
Alternate high-intensity, full-body exercises like the Squat-to-Press with sprints (1-10 sets of 50 to 100 yards) for the next 4 to 6 weeks, 3 to 6 times a week. If you’re a beginner, start with 1-2 sets 3 days a week and gradually increase by adding either an extra set or an extra sprint each week for the next 4 to 6 weeks.
[Ed. Note: Regular exercise is one aspect of getting fit. But you also need to eat right. For dozens of nutritional recommendations, plus healthful recipes, sign up for ETR's free natural health newsletter.
Yarixa Ferrao is the certified personal trainer and founder of "Get Fit in 6" who has been whipping some Early to Rise staffers into shape. Coach Yari's e-course newsletter series explains the exercise and nutrition secrets that can help you burn fat.
Worth Quoting: Craig Armstrong on Entrepreneurship
“Historically, very few children have thought of entrepreneurship as a career choice. We are hoping this game ["Hot Shot Business," developed by Disney Online and the Kauffman Foundation] will move the thought of owning their own business to the same cognitive level as other more popular career choices. Our children are our future, and since more than 50 percent of new jobs come from small business, it is imperative that we encourage today’s children to be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”
* Highly Recommended *
How to Make $4,000… $19,453… $332,252 or More with a Little-Known Profit Strategy
I can’t take it anymore…
They’re pulling profits out of the Internet like nobody’s business…
One guy made a quick $4,000… Another raked in $19,453 in three weeks… Yet another has stacked up $332,252 – and that’s just so far!
They’ve stumbled upon a little-known money-making strategy and turned it into cold hard cash.
But the crazy part is, these “profit pirates” unearthed their “treasure chests” at no cost to them.
There’s plenty of undiscovered “gold” left for you to find.
Get the map that will lead you straight to massive caches of “buried treasure” right here.
It’s Good to Know: Tapeworm Therapy
If you found out you had a hookworm or tapeworm, you’d probably be happy to pay whatever it cost to get rid of it. But now a company, Worm Therapy, is offering to “infect” sufferers of a host of chronic conditions with “small doses” of the parasites for top dollar (a couple thousand per worm and up).
They contend that the process – “helminthic therapy” – has been shown to help boost immunity and alleviate the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, asthma, lupus, and diabetes, among others. It will also help you lose weight. (You know, because the worm is stealing a lot of the calories rolling through your intestines.)
But before you get excited, consider the side effects: diarrhea, vomiting, headache, severe abdominal pain, and the nagging feeling that you have a foot-long worm crawling around your innards. And, of course, worm therapy has not been approved by the government.
(Source: Worm Therapy and Boing Boing)
Word to the Wise: Querulous
Someone who’s “querulous” (KWER-uh-lus) – from the Latin for “to complain” – is habitually apt to find fault.
Example (as used by Maureen Howard in The New York Times): “Mam is a tragic figure when transported to New York by her successful sons [Frank and Malachy McCourt] – querulous, unable to get a decent cup of tea.”
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]
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Trading in stocks and shares on-line whilst checking emails. Duh. Not smart….. hadn’t really thought about it before
Hey Alex:
Does this mean I can’t read ETR while listening to CNBC & MSNBC?
Thanks for the new buzz word “Stacking”. I always thought I was “multitasking” when I listen to the radio while I work, but stacking is a much better term.
A typical “stack” during my day:
-background internet radio
-start a 200 page print job
-stick a 4 page document in the feeder of the scanner
-quick response to a low priority email
-answer phone and redirect to correct co-worker
-save scanned document
-quick research on city population
-pick up print job & staple
And so on throughout the day. I do my best to give only the amount of attention a particular task needs, no more and no less.
I’ve found that if I try multitasking, I get very frustrated and stressed for the reasons mentioned above plus constantly reorienting my brain to an incomplete task wears me out.
so, stacking instead of multitasking. hum
how would you say that in french?
I also thought monochronic compare to polychronic.
monochronic can only do one thing at the time while most women are polychronic can do many things at the time(being a mother,you have to)
does this make for another article?
I do find it annoying when trying to have an inteligent conversation with someone you can hear the computor beeping as they compete a task or you get those long silence before they answer.
now, lets go utside for a minute and smell the fresh air and the summer flowers.
Based on personal experience and observation, I had long ago come to this same awareness about multi-tasking.
For what it’s worth, one of the funniest remarks about it that I ever heard defined multi-tasking as the ability to screw up more than one thing at a time.
Multi-tasking at home: anyone with small children in the home knows that this completely blows your productivity
Reading email while answering the six year old’s questions.
Scanning through the junk mail folder while the 12 year old complains about his brother
Yelling from the computer for the two youngest to stop fighting while trying to listen to a podcast
And the beat goes on!
Regarding tapeworm therapy: At the turn of the previous century, intestinal worms of various sorts were sold to Victorian ladies and gentlemen for exactly the same reasons–to aid weight loss, to treat intestinal problems, and, if I’m not mistaken, to make the skin youthful (huh?!?).
There’s nothing new under the sun, is there?