How I Work - Braverman Edition

I thought @skylinegtr94 had a great idea the other day, so here's my contribution.

Current gig: Author, Social Commentator, Content Curator,


Location: Paris, France
Current mobile device: Samsung Galaxy Ace (gnarly spiderweb crack on screen, thanks to rough night out with @rufiolove), Kindle Fire HD 32gb
Current computer: HP Desktop (Win 7/8), Acer Laptop (Win 7), Dell Laptop (Linux), Acer C7 Chromebook (Chrome OS)

One word that describes how you work: Purposefully

What apps/software/tools can't you live without?

Since I'm in the content business, content tools are at the top of my list. I use Pocket probably more than anything. Flipboard and Zite run a close second. I use StayFocusd to keep me on track, and it's the most hateful app I've ever encountered. They might as well call the damned thing the ChiveSlayer. Tweetdeck keeps my feeds organized, and I have it pinned in my Chrome browser.

What's your workspace setup like?

Pretty mundane. Desktop computer with a single 24" monitor. Comfort keyboard, because I'm usually cranking out hundreds if not thousands of words per day.

What do you listen to while you work?

Grooveshark is a lifesaver for me. I have pretty eclectic taste in music (at least I think so), and Grooveshark is always finding me cool new stuff to listen to. When I get bored with my own station, I tune into others for variety.

I also subscribe to a ton of business podcasts. My top three are Pat Flynn's, Ryan Hanley's, and John Lee Dumas's, who is an absolute beast in the podcasting world.

What's your best time-saving trick?

Batching, and even I could be better at it. What I mean by batching is taking all the tasks I have and grouping them according to their similarity. For example, if I have three articles due this month, I get them done a lot faster (and higher quality) if I sit down and do them all together.

If I know I have marketing tasks to do (answering emails about the book, scheduling stuff, selling stuff) I batch all that together and do it all at once.

I find that a singular focus helps me to, well, focus and I'm able to knock out a lot of disparate tasks which would normally take much longer if I did them one at a time.

What's your favorite to-do list manager?

Honestly, I think the one that comes stock with Gmail is pretty adequate. I've tried several others, and I will say that Todoist has come a long way, but I still default to the Task Manager in Gmail because it goes wide across all my devices and I can access it from anywhere.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can't you live without?

My Kindle Fire HD is the obvious choice here, but since that's kind of a computer I'll pick something else.

Maybe I'm showing my age here, but the gadget I can't live without is my Moleskine. When all else fails, write it down. You'll never find me without it, and my old Moleskines would probably create several millionaires just with the business ideas written in them. Come to think of it, maybe I should sell them on eBay.

What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else?

Writing. And it's not that I'm particularly gifted, it's that I get the most practice. I literally write every single day of my life. It's a compulsion now, as in, I feel all squirrelly if I don't do it. Nathan Barry says he got himself in the habit of writing 1,000 words a day every day, and he eventually had a 370+ day streak at one point. I can't say I write 1,000 words a day, especially not every day, but I bet I get pretty close.

What's your sleep routine like?

Horrible, and I'm paying the price in cortisol buildup. Going from the Marines to the trading floor got me in the habit of functioning on four or five hours sleep a night, and that's just not optimal - especially at my age. Still, I try to get to bed between 1 and 2 in the morning and my alarm goes off at 6. I have a hard time sleeping more than that without a little help, which usually comes in the form of rum and/or melatonin. Mostly rum.

Fill in the blank. I'd kill to see _________ answer these same questions.

Patrick.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

If it flies, floats, or fucks, you're better off renting it. Of course I ignored that advice. Multiple times.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Just that I enjoy what I do and I enjoy learning how to do it better. I've loved working with WSO because of the community and the feedback I get from you guys. It's easy for a writer to get lost in his head, but you guys call me out on my bullshit and I can't tell you how valuable that is.

 

Regarding your keyboard - you should explore getting a mechanical keyboard. They are an absolute joy to type on. You should research some of them and the various types of switch options you can choose from. I actually just purchased a new one yesterday with Cherry MX Blues. Just something to think about. These keyboards actually do make a difference for people that type a lot and can result in an increase in WPM.

https://www.google.com/search?q=mechanical+keyboard&oq=mechanical+keybo…

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/mechanical-keyboard-guide

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

It came down to the Fire HD vs the Google Nexus 7 for me. A friend ordered the Nexus 7 and let me play with it. Great device, but ultimately too small for a power user. I love my Fire HD 8.9". Whichever you go with (if you go with a Kindle device) get the max memory you can because they're not expandable. Also, my one complaint is the way Amazon lords over the app store. The Kindle Fire HD is an Android device, but because AMZN is basically in a pissing contest with GOOG, they block some of the more useful Google apps like G+ and Hangouts. The screen and the speakers are absolutely superlative for a tablet device, however.

 

Since you are a content guy - what is your RSS client right now? Are you going to pay for Feedly Pro? Google Current vs. Flipboard. Especially interested in this for reading market news, especially medium-form stuff from Ritholtz, Lex, etc.

 

Eddie, have you tried Pandora? They seem to have a lot more music than Grooveshark.

"It's very easy to have too many goals and be overwhelmed by them... The trick is to find the one thing you can focus on that represents every other single thing you want in life." -- @"Edmundo Braverman"
 

@meabric I've moved completely away from RSS. Twitter basically took the place of RSS for me, and apps like Flipboard fill in whatever gaps were left. Before I moved almost entirely to Flipboard, Zite had taken over for me as a replacement for RSS. Zite is a great app too, but I like Flipboard's UI better.

@Alexander Hamilton I haven't tried Pandora, though I'm familiar with them. Also missed the boat on Spotify when it was free over here.

 
Best Response

I use Feedly as my RSS reader. I tried The Old Reader but it's inconsistent and broken enough that I've moved to Feedly and am pretty happy now. You can adjust the settings so it feels very similar to Google Reader.

Also, you should really check out Spotify. It is the only monthly subscription service I actually pay for and I am definitely getting my money's worth. The one thing it doesn't do is automatically create playlists based on what you like (which is what Pandora does) but it's great for everything else. I love most that you can share and add playlists really easily and don't actually need to download the songs. So for example, I downloaded a 1,000 song instrumental playlist to work to and it took about 5 seconds to add to my Spotify. Anyway, worth checking out.

Oh, and Pocket is by far my most used iOS app. That and Reeder, which is also great and definitely worth paying for.

Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
 
Otter.:

The one thing it doesn't do is automatically create playlists based on what you like (which is what Pandora does) but it's great for everything else.

I don't pay for Spotify and it does this for you for free in the radio section. It's practically the same thing since you can skip as many songs as you want (when you pay) or am I missing something?

This to all my hatin' folks seeing me getting guac right now..
 
Cruncharoo:
Otter.:

The one thing it doesn't do is automatically create playlists based on what you like (which is what Pandora does) but it's great for everything else.

I don't pay for Spotify and it does this for you for free in the radio section. It's practically the same thing since you can skip as many songs as you want (when you pay) or am I missing something?

I've never actually used the radio function so I wasn't aware of this. You could be right though.

Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
 

Relatively new to the site and have been reading your posts whenever I see them pop up- very informative/entertaining.

Batching- dam man, that's genius. I kind of do it naturally (in that I'm still in UG and will do similar work/work for one class at the same time before moving on to other stuff) but will definitely attempt to incorporate this into my life outside school and especially my upcoming IB SA gig, if applicable.

@CRE @Edmundo Braverman @skylinegtr94 and anyone else who has done/will do one of these- another question I'd be curios to hear the answer to- what's your internet homepage set to?

 

Thanks for the write up Eddie.

As for the bro who asked about homepages, I use the desktop add-on in Firefox. It opens within any new tabs. I have mine set up beautifully, so it is very handy. Check it out.

When a plumber from Hoboken tells you he has a good feeling about a reverse iron condor spread on the Japanese Yen, you really have no choice. If you don’t do it to him, somebody else surely will. -Eddie B.
 

I skimmed through the comments so I may have missed it, but I'd be interested in hearing your top 10 twitter accounts you follow. I use twitter mainly for news/source of info and I'm still trying to find reliable/solid sources

 

Omnis odio soluta ut est voluptas. Error voluptatem repellat enim dolore labore. Similique autem enim vel praesentium.

Death is certain; Life aint.
 

Tempore sint saepe dicta ut error voluptas velit. Voluptas aspernatur dolore eveniet odio amet corporis quo. Labore nisi deleniti beatae ea.

Blanditiis enim minima sunt quae repellat et aliquam. Nihil ut mollitia consequatur culpa ut. Dolorum possimus qui et eum tempora. Minus quaerat enim dolores est. Ut qui repellendus dolorem accusamus porro vitae.

Ut aut minima quia doloribus. Fugiat perspiciatis est soluta consequatur et accusamus sed sunt. Quia ut quia modi mollitia ullam atque. Autem dolores eius dolor. Ex quae consequatur pariatur quos et velit. Sit eos et et aut nobis accusamus sit. Adipisci sint incidunt hic voluptas ipsum sint.

Tenetur ipsa quo suscipit eius sunt consequatur ut. Corporis quia voluptates velit pariatur totam. Autem unde quod delectus explicabo. Id quia sequi quis ut reiciendis nostrum et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (85) $262
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (65) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (198) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (143) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
5
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”