Screen-Time

Is that a hammer in your hand?

No?

Great.

Yes?

Does everything appear to be a nail?

In the markets, I like to keep buttons away from sight, as a start.

Meaning, that the conditions to bring a button out…

…need to trigger first.

How would I know?

For that, there are alerts.

Meaning that we go on doing other stuff, till we are alerted, that there’s action ahead.

That’s when we activate the concerned button to visible mode.

Taking time, we decide whether this particular button needs to be pressed.

No?

Proceed with other stuff as normal.

Yes?

Press.

Do your accounts.

See how you’ve fared.

Done?

Proceed with other stuff…

…till next alert for button visibility activation.

Why all this rigmarole?

Because we don’t wish to be trigger-happy in the markets.

We take calls when they’re due.

We use time-slots in between calls to live life, tension-free, happy.

That’s one approach to the markets.

I’m sure you have your own.

Maybe yours involves more screen-time.

I respect that.

Mine doesn’t involve too much screen time, to be honest.

That’s the way I like it.

That also doesn’t mean anything as far as volumes or output are concerned.

Lesser screen-time leaves me ample space for other stuff.

I get to live a fuller life-experience.

To each their own.

This is my take.

I respect your take too.

Some takes require maximum screen-time.

Some like it like that.

That’s their life.

Fine.

Respected.

This is mine.

And this is my market screen-time…

…perhaps an hour or two a day, sometimes one, sometimes two.

Something like that.

What’s the Advantage of “Out of Sight”?

Trigger-fingers?

We are.

At some stage or the other, in our market-life. 

Is it good?

No. 

Why?

When we are in this mode, we shoot. 

We don’t look too much. 

We just shoot.

Why?

Either we don’t know any better. 

Or, we’re not able to control the impulse. 

We want to do something. 

We want action. 

If we’re not getting it, we forcefully create it. 

Is this wrong?

You bet. 

How do we rectify it?

Simple. 

Huh?

Yeah, just use the “out of sight” principle. 

Pray what’s that?

Well, if funds hit your bank account, pick up your smart-device and transfer them online to your liquid fund account. 

Advantage?

Funds are not present in your feeder account. 

Try firing now.

Nothing happens. 

No funds. 

However, the funds are not far away. In fact they are just a few button-clicks away. 

These few button-clicks are activation-barrier enough. 

They make you stop and think. 

You do your proper due diligence before moving them out of your liquid mutual fund account back to your feeder account. 

You use them for proper investing opportunities. 

You’re not trigger-happy anymore. 

All it took was a simple trick. 

Use it. 

There’s no law against liquid mutual fund accounts. Probably never will be.

Those five or six button-clicks have converted you from trigger-fingers to duly diligent!

🙂