I’m doubling my coffee intake today ☕ (lesson inside)

I’m struggling a bit this morning.

Let me explain.

For the past few years, I’ve noticed that I get my best, most productive work done in the mornings. I struggle to accomplish good stuff in the afternoons.

Call it doldrums after digesting lunch ... or just the cycle of the day ... or me being more of a morning person, but productive afternoons & evenings have eluded me.

I’ve tried many different ideas to fight this over the years.

Yesterday, I tried something new:

Wake up as early as it takes to get ALL my productive work done BEFORE lunch.

(admittedly, yesterday wasn’t the best day to start that based on my particular schedule, yet it was good in the since of “might as well start now.”)

Basically, this has meant shifting my wake-up time to five a.m.

... there’s an adjustment to make.

My body is unhappy with this new arrangement.

But I’m confident that it’s a better long-term solution for me.

The lesson?

If there’s something you know works well for you (or doesn’t work well) and you want to improve it, then find a way to make it happen.

I needed to find more high productivity time and forcing myself to just be productive in the afternoons or evenings wasn’t working. So now I’m starting earlier. 

Even if it requires more coffee (but, is that really so bad?)

Yahoo Finance

Why it matters …

Contrary to this quote, from the article…

“Oil futures jumped over 5% after the US placed sanctions on Russia's giant producers, piling pressure on President Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Brent crude rose to near $66 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate moved closer to $62.

Tesla shares fell over 3% in pre-market after the EV maker posted mixed third-quarter results on Wednesday, kicking off the “Magnificent Seven” earnings cycle.”

It’s no surprise that TESLA’s earnings are down. Taking away government subsidies for EV’s certainly hurt sales. I am of the opinion that reliance on government subsidies is not a good business model. This will force them to become more efficient in production in the long run. Competition/capitalism is a great model, not a perfect model, but the best we have.

Also, expect oil prices to rise a bit on the sanctions. There is an oil glut but the prices will rise on news. $62 is really a good place to be as it is decent at the pump, and decent at the well.

Comments: Sideways green day to start the morning. I’d rather have a sideways green bull day than a sideways red bear day (exception: Mondays). The macro economic outlook is interesting this morning, but it’s early yet to see how it affects the stock market.

 Anyway, just keep trading the system.

An Alpha scan trade at about 1.34% return on risk into next Friday’s expiration.