Grouping Things Together

You've made several lists during the previous seven 20 minute tasks: lists about yourself, your interests and skills. Now it's time to start drawing everything together in order to make some sense of it. A good way to do that is to group similar things together.

Your 20 Minute Task

Begin by pulling out your "Market Niche" folder. Look through the papers you've created. Do you see any items that belong together? For example, suppose you wrote down that you have a collection of ancient coins, that your house is full of art deco posters and that the collectibles category on eBay.com fascinates you. You might think of them all as related to collecting things, right?

Your job for the next 20 minutes is to look over all your answers to the various tasks and try to group them. To make it easier, print this page and use the table below. The first five columns in each row are for you to write down items that seem related; you don't need to use all five if you don't need them. Use a pencil to fill them in so you can erase and rewrite as needed. When you have a group that belongs together, give it a name in the final column. Here's an example:

It's okay to use items more than once. Ancient coins, books on Medieval history and an interest in genealogy might make a category you call "history." In that case, the coins would be part of both the "collecting" and the "history" groups.

As you work, you may notice trends or patterns in what you've written previously. If so, make a note of them.

For some people this 20 minute task will be easy and relaxing. For others, it may seem difficult. If it's difficult for you, ask a trusted friend or family member for assistance.

As usual, when you're done, file the sheet in your "Market Niche" folder.

My Groups