Addicted To Finance And Investments

I am starting to get addicted to short-term dopamine fixes from the finance and investment worlds.

Whether it is reading new articles, checking on the latest stock /crypto prices, consuming FinTweet or updating the portfolio, they are all being done with increasing frequency.

Whenever I feel bored, there is a tendency to just whip out the phone and get “entertained” with new articles or price updates.

Below is the schedule of a typical weekday.

Early Morning:

1. Check closing stock prices of US market
2. Check CoinMarketCap for crypto prices
3. Browse Twitter for FinTweet
4. Visit Collecting Wisdom for international blog updates
5. Check opening stock prices of SG/HK market

Late Morning:

• Exercise + Work Preparation

Early Afternoon:

1. Check mid-day stock prices of SG/HK market
2. Visit thefinance.sg/sginvestbloggers for local blog updates
3. Browse FB groups like BIGS 
4. Check other investment platforms (Endowus, Kristal AI, Hodlnaut, BlockFI etc)

Late Afternoon & Evening:

• Lessons & Work

Late Evening:

1. Receive email update on portfolio from stockscafe
2. Read articles from email subscriptions (Prof G, Not Boring etc)
3. Check opening stock prices of US market
4. Check CoinMarketCap for crypto prices

I think it’s no exaggeration to say that I easily spend 3-4 hours each weekday being addicted to my finances and investments.

Lots of action and breadth but little learning and depth.

Remedies I Am Considering

1. Finance-free Tuesdays & Thursdays

I need to cut down on this information diet. If I cut down the time I spend by half, I am sure I would still retain easily 90% of the utility. Because of the multiple channels that I use, it is unlikely I could miss out on any good article.

And I am not a trader. I do not need to check stock prices daily, not to mention twice a day.

As a start, I might need to ban myself from doing any of the finance and investment related activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

2. Outsource Some Tasks

I am doing much more micro-investing these days, investing small amounts of capital consistently over weeks.

One thing I have realised is how much the Mrs is better at being patient and buying stocks at generally lower average prices than me. I tend to be much more reckless with smaller amounts of capital.

Therefore, I have selected a few stocks and allocated capital for the Mrs to deploy on her Moomoo account.

Since buying new US stocks is no longer my responsibility, that is one thing off my mind and one less issue to consistently update myself on.

3. Improve My Environment

Buy a clock and leave the phone in the living room before bedtime. Wake up to dumbbells or a yoga mat instead of the phone. Otherwise, there is a tendency to spend the last hour before sleep and the first hour after waking up mindlessly looking for dopamine fixes on the phone.

Delete apps from the phone to increase inconvenience of access. I have deleted CoinMarketCap, Endowus and Kristal AI. Well, if I really need or want to, I can always access them on the laptop.

Curate a list of books on my Kindle and carry it along with me at all times. This would make it easier for me to read a proper book when I have pockets of free time.

Conclusion

I have not been playing games or bingeing on Netflix/Disney Plus for quite some time. However, that does not automatically mean that my productivity or mental space has improved.

It is really jumping from one thing to another. The phone, information and update addiction has started to rear its ugly head again.

I now believe there will never be a quick fix or a perfect solution. It will just be an ongoing quest to ponder, reflect and recalibrate to make sure the “addiction” does not go overboard.

Thank you for reading.