Top Investing Mistake #13: Not Managing your Time
Although investing does not require a lot of time, it does require us to allocate some time and effort on a regular basis. Many people let their life go by with the excuse “I don’t have time.” That’s why I use the word allocate. It means that we must make time for what’s important.
If we don’t make time for the important things in life, they will never happen. It’s about deciding what will really make a difference in our lives, and deciding that we will create time for it. It does not need to be a long time, just 30 minutes is often enough.
Personally I like to do these important things on a daily basis. This article that you are reading is a good example. Matt and I write a post each day. It’s just something we do. Like bathing.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that humans are naturally creatures of habit. It becomes very easy to do the same thing each day. If you are used to taking a shower each morning, doesn’t it feel funny to not shower? If we create the time to work on our investments each day, then it becomes a habit. And creating the right habits is one of the keys to achievement.
Some people say there is no good time to work on their investments. I suggest doing it in the morning. For people who “don’t have time”, what about waking up 30 minutes earlier? I don’t know anyone who can’t do that.
The point of this whole post is that in order to succeed at investing, we need to develop some other, apparently unrelated skills. Managing our time so that we can work on what’s important to our financial future is one of these skills. Until we are able to manage our time, it will be a major challenge to succeed at investing.
is one of my favorite financial books of all time. It's an allegory about a guy who has a terrible job, and how he overcomes challenges to achieve his dreams.
