The Online Investing AI Blog

For some people, money is everything. They are great at tracking their spending, know their net worth, and always get the best prices when they shop. These people are great at managing their money, and don’t waste a dime.

Then, there are other people who are great at managing their time. They are always finding ways to get more things done faster. They never waste time sitting in traffic, and make sure their meetings are quick and productive. These people understand how valuable their time is.

What could be more valuable than our time?

I suggest to you that our effort is even more valuable than either our time or our money. Have you ever woke up on a Saturday morning, and thought, “OK, I am going to do nothing today except for watching TV and sleeping.”

This is typical of people who have spent all their effort. They have a little extra time. They may have enough money so that they don’t have to work on the weekend. But when it comes to using their time and money to create their dream future, they are just exhausted. A long, stressful week of work, complete with overtime and looming deadlines is enough to deplete nearly anyone’s supply of effort.

For people who feel like they simply don’t have enough energy to become a successful investor, here are some ideas:

1. Limit time and energy at work. Don’t work long hours or worry about the job. Every time I have gotten fired or laid off, I found another job soon enough. It’s not worth getting upset about.
2. Reduce stress. Find ways to manage the stress levels both at work and outside. Maybe it’s time to start going to Yoga class again. Or running. Or noticing that the things that we fear are really not that big of a deal, and each problem in the past has been solved. Why wouldn’t that be true of the future?
3. Don’t waste energy on things that don’t matter. That $10 charge from the cell phone company? Lost that new pair of sunglasses? Forget about that stuff and move on (to investing!). Our energy is worth more than any amount of money, and when we harness it to become successful investors our financial future is certain.
4. Manage our diet. Don’t eat foods that cause us to be exhausted. A giant greasy burger and fries and a coke may not be the best lunch. Perhaps a salad or health shake would increase our energy and make us feel better.
5. Find ways to do less. Instead of spending 30 minutes picking up the dry cleaning, find a service that picks up and delivers. Shop at Costco once a month instead of going to the grocery store each week. Buy as much as possible from Amazon or other online sources. Online shopping requires little effort and can be done while at work.

Many people think think that investing requires an MBA or advanced degree in finance. I think that nothing could be further from the truth. One of the keys to investing is consistent action, which can be achieved only if we have enough energy to make it happen on a regular basis. One of the best ways to make sure that we have enough energy to become successful investors is to manage how we spend our energy on other things.

Related posts:

1. Top Investing Mistake #15: Not Managing your Spending
2. Top Investing Mistake #13: Not Managing your Time
3. Top Investing Mistake #5: Not Managing Risk
4. Top Investing Mistake #10: Not Finding Your Groove
5. Top Investing Mistake #2: Failure to Launch

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