Procrastination - An investment in stress for your future

Bolu got to her apartment exhausted, clothes rumpled and sweaty after what felt like the worst day in her life. She didn't even know how she managed to get home. She left for work that morning optimistic but suddenly what looked like a promising day had quickly turned sour.

Source
Two weeks back she was entrusted with a project by her company, she was to prepare for a presentation for a big industry her company was looking forward to working with. It had taken them a long time to get that opportunity so they didn't want any mistakes. She felt privileged that her company trusted her enough to do a good job. She promised not to disappoint them.

She knew how this thing goes like the palm of her hand and thought it wouldn't be difficult plus there was still time for her to prepare. She loves working under pressure so she kept pushing the preparation to the next day and when the next day came she pushed it to the next. Two weeks ran out before she knew it and the presentation was the next day. She pulled an all-nighter just to get it done but because she didn't start preparing on time, she could only do so much.

On the day of the presentation, she arrived early to get settled but her lack of adequate preparation made her disorganized and unsettled. She breezed through the presentation and what was meant to be a forty-five minute presentation was done in 15 minutes. She could see the disappointment on her manager's face.

Immediately after the meeting ended she sought solace in her office but was told the manager wanted to see her even before she could sit. She said a quick prayer before entering his office. There she was informed that if they lose the contract, she should say goodbye to her job.

It struck her that she was about to lose the job she loved because of procrastination. She vowed never to procrastinate again.

Procrastination is a thief of time & money too

One thing I've come to discover is that we humans tend to push over things we can do today to the next day. It's almost like a second nature. Sometimes we try to justify it and be like, I'm so tired, I'll do it tomorrow. Why do today what you can do tomorrow right?

I remember lots of moments in my life when I procrastinated and had to pay for my indiscipline and I'm sure you can think of some times yourself.

I don't remember where I read but someone had said, "One day you'd wake up and find out that ten years have got behind you. No one told you to run, you missed the starting gum.”

Apart from duties we are supposed to handle or work schedules, a lot of people procrastinate over money too. They keep trying to postpone when to invest.

"Next year, I will do it," we hear them whisper to themselves. Next year comes and they come up with several excuses why they can not do it then. They utterly forget the power of compounding and how time helps money grow.

Investing is a skill that anyone can learn but the secret to amassing wealth has been declared to be a secret ingredient called time. And money once invested and given the time to grow often does so exponentially, Our minds are trained to see the linear progress of numbers, so the absurdity that comes with exponential growth is something we can't always seem to understand.

The potential that is associated with compound interest is so absurd to our thinking that we tend to ignore it. When you get upset by how much money you lose in the market regardless of how strategic you were with picking a few stocks, here and then, you always remember that accessing the magic of compounding interest ad becoming a benefactor takes less effort, The only you need to do is, "Wait".

I am not in any way saying learning those strategies is bad. No, what I am declaring is taking a cue from one of my favorite authors to remind you to stop procrastinating, and look at those portfolios that have the largest tendency to work the magic of compounding for you.