Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
I’m struggling with time management right now. I’m trying to balance my W2 job, exercise, family, investing activities and education. It seems like I could use a 48hr day instead of 24. I’d love to hear what experiences everyone has had or is having with the challenge of working full time and giving enough time towards the investing. Eventually I will be a full time investor but I’m wondering, what sacrifices did you make to make it happen? Do I need to quit exercising for a period of time? I don’t watch TV and I’m about as active as my grandpa is on social media. I don’t feel as though I’m waisting much time. How extreme do you have to go? I’d love any feedback.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Back in the early '80's (single & no kids) I worked every spare hour, every vacation & drove a POS car. (On the rare occasion I had time for a date the girl would insist on driving her vehicle.) Yet I made 2x what my colleagues were making (passive income is a dream). I rented every room I could in every home I owned, including the multi's as I converted them to student slums housing.
My friends & colleagues laughed at me & told me I'd never make money. One was with me @ 1am one night when the cops pulled us over after collecting students rents & they thought I had to be a drug dealer with so much cash on me. That friend realized that my REI was a $$$ cow & he became one of the few partners I had.
Most of those who doubted me worked until 65 to afford retirement & now work menial part-time jobs to supplement their income. You either sacrifice the time when you're younger (to build that portfolio) or work it off painfully in old age to afford retirement.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
I have 3 kids I work 55-60 hrs in manufacturing and self manage several apartments one hour away in different directions too so it’s a lot of driving and budgeting of time . I get up at 3:30 each day like clockwork I only have time to learn my craft ..not wasting time watching stupid crap on tv or grown men playing children’s games aka football . Time has more value when you have less of it so it can’t be squandered on loser people or time wasting activities that offer me no benefit
Rental Property Investor · Olympia, WA · Member since 2010 · 127 posts · 76 votes
7y
Wow, what a great thread--awesome question and even better advice. But you guys waking up at 4:30 to hit the gym—you're beasts!
I've experienced the same quandary you have, @Trey Knight, both my wife and I work, have 2 small (needy) children, volunteer our time on committees and community, and own 27 units, actively managing 23 of them!! We grew a lot last year and we're feeling a bit of growing pains associated with that. There are long term fixes we need to put in place while we're doubling our time with W-2 jobs AND investing heavily, but ultimately our plan will likely end in very early retirement to focus on investing. But in the mean time it feels sometimes like we're playing a protracted game of whack-a-mole, putting out fires one after the other. And it's not fun turning down your friends' invitations; I know for me it makes me feel not so very friendly.
The silver lining is knowing that these pinch points can be springboards for further growth if you frame them correctly and act on them appropriately. That and knowing that however difficult it is, everything is temporary! and I WILL figure it out. I've learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses in these times.
So, I can't offer a whole lot of advice because I'm where you are, but I'll offer this as a commiseration :)
Manteca, CA · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 3 votes
7y
@Trey Knight
Hi Trey,
Take some time and figure out what 20% of tasks bring you 80% of your success, and then focus on that 20%. If you want to go really into it you could do that whole exercise again on that 20%.
Focusing on that will really help you see what is actually bringing in results.
A lot of what we think is important is not actually crucial to our success. And as other people have mentioned, see what you can outsource. Sometimes paying someone a little to do a task will free up time to make money that will pay for that other task plus more.
Last thing is don’t put family to the way side. In the long run family is more important than an extra $500 dollars a month.
Rental Property Investor · Chubbuck, ID · Member since 2018 · 532 posts · 466 votes
7y
yeah, life can get a little busy sometimes. sometimes your job requires more time, sometimes it is your family. Some days it is a property. Every once in a while it comes from all directions and seems unbearable. Just stay focused, prioritize, try not to be scatter brained, and take a deep breath. I have a demanding job, a side business, currently flipping a house, manage rental, and family. Right now is the busy time for my business and I am trying to wrap up the flip. So I haven’t exercised a lot the past few weeks. And it is okay. I still do when I can, just not at the level I want to. But I will start up again in a few weeks, and will also have more time for my family. Just take a deep breath and know that some days you can’t do everything and it will be okay.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Alina Trigub
Thank you Alina! I had miracle morning on the read list and now 10X is there too. I like the weeks to days planning. I’m not as committed to this as I should be. I do okay with the days but will try the weeks addition as well.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Rachel Luoto
Thanks for sharing Rachel! Great idea about your big 20 and then picking 5. I’m going to implement this. I love hearing that your days can get so crazy as to be lucky to eat or shower. Haha, I can totally relate. I’ll throw you a little golden nugget as well. I follow Steve Weatherford. He has a great guide to eating healthy at all of your basic fast food restaurants. My go to is Chick-Fil-A. Grilled chicken sandwich rapped in lettuce, grilled nuggets and the super food!!
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Mike Acri
Thank you for commenting Mike! Glad you appreciate the topic. I just figure if I can model what other successful folks are doing it’s only a matter of time!!! Nice to hear that you carve out some down time. I feel guilty sometimes when I do it but I feel like I know when it’s time to let the fire simmer down and so I can reset and poor gasoline on the next day.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Jimmy Deringer
Thanks for commenting Jimmy! The majority of my investment efforts goes to educating my self. I know at some point I’ll have to jump off the diving board. However, I want to be sure I’m articulate when talking with other investors and professionals. The largest majority is my job. I’ve just changed positions and feel the need to lock it down by producing in the new role.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Ronald Gladden
Ronald I couldn’t agree more! I feel like both careers are helping to propel each other. There’s definitely a lot of cross over. Thanks so much for sharing your, things I do. I love to see into others routines so I can try to model after them.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Michael Sontheimer
Thanks Michael! You nailed it. I am definitely an audible guy. I have a lot of windshield time every week so it’s my mobile library. I’ll add Ferris to the list!
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Dennis M.
Dennis, thanks for sharing! 3:30!!! What time is bed time for you? I’ve nearly cut out all TV for sure. I have to admit, I still fold on that habit for NFL season.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Tyler Blackwell
Tyler thanks for all the positive words and a look into your world! I haven’t even added the kid element yet. I admire all your involvement in so many different pieces of your life. I’m curious, was your wife always on board with the investing?
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Bradley Luse
Thanks for sharing Bradley! I love that 20/80 concept. Reminds me of the book “The one thing”. I suppose I need to pick the one thing that contributes to those top 5 pieces of my life.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Craig Jeppesen
Thanks for sharing Craig! I definitely relate with the exercise piece. Some weeks are better than others. I just recently got married and that time period sort of shook the routine. I just try not to let myself make excuses. I figure even if it’s just a mile run. Most everyone can run a mile in under 10 min. We all have 10 min.
Detroit, MI · Member since 2018 · 148 posts · 38 votes
7y
@Trey Knight As Paula from the finance podcast puts it: “You can have anything but not everything. Every yes to something because a no to something else. This implicit trade-off doesn’t just apply to your mind. It applies to your life, to your energy, to your focus. Time is a limited resource so now you have 2 questions. What matters most to you and how do you align your daily decisions in accordance.”
Rental Property Investor · Amityville, NY · Member since 2018 · 351 posts · 441 votes
7y
@Trey Knight
I know what you mean. Currently remodeling a kitchen, flipping a house and have a rental being demo'd. I do a lot of it myself because cant find competant workers. Like others said make a daily routine and adjust accordingly.
Regarding the exercise portion. You can exercise 3-4 days a week under an hour each day and BE EXTREMELY FIT its all in how you exercise not how long. Message me for more info (not selling anything just dont wsnt to derail the thread).
Rental Property Investor · Huntington, NY · Member since 2016 · 102 posts · 74 votes
7y
@Trey Knight you've started a great discussion here. My biggest hurdle in my own business is time. I have a wife, 4 kids, a full time W2, and am growing a REI business. Here are some things I do/sacrifice to maintain momentum:
Miracle Morning. It’s been mentioned in this thread already and for good reason. I get up at 4:30am each day (I’m usually in bed by 10ishpm) and accomplish reading, meditating, exercising, writing and one BP post! None of those takes more than 10 minutes as I need to be in the shower by 5:30am to get ready for W2. My exercise suffers some. It’s basically push-ups, planks, and mountain climbers.
Writing down the most important thing I want to accomplish that day. This might be something small, but is something I then put in my calendar and review at the end of the day to make sure I stay on track.
Taking 30 minutes on Sunday evening to write down what I want to accomplish the upcoming week and reviewing that each morning.
Utilizing travel time efficiently. In the mornings I’m listening to books or podcasts on my commute to work. In the evenings I try to schedule phone calls for my drive home.
Making sure I’m loving the process! We need to find fulfillment in what we are doing now. Sometimes I have to step back and make sure I’m living in the moment and enjoying the journey itself!
Rental Property Investor · Greensboro, NC · Member since 2018 · 24 posts · 11 votes
7y
@Trey Knight
Love this. I believe this was something That came up in a BP podcast not too long ago and also in a Tony Robbins book that helped a ton.
It’s the alleged warren buffet and the pilot story (I would look it up for complete details). Essentially, write down all of your current goals including ones you’ve “always wanted to do” such as lean a language or travel more etc. you then choose your Top 5 that are most important to you now (I promise social media isn’t on that list) and then literally stop trying to do all of the rest of those items. Stick to the core 5 and hit them with all you’ve got. And as you achieve those goals you can move on to the next couple.
It is an extreme mindset of not spreading yourself thin but I found it to be a great exercise. Good luck
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 253 posts · 178 votes
7y
@Trey Knight the toughest thing about being a business owner especially when you are first starting off full time is that it requires you to me more disciplined than the average 9-5 worker. It is even more tough when you work a 9-5. You have to pay the price now to get what you want in the future. It will require you to get up at 4am and go to bed at 11pm and repeat. Key word.... Discipline !
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
Self discipline is the number one delineating factor between the poor and the successful . If you aren’t disciplined in your life you can never be rich and have a “ rich” life .that discipline relates to time . You must be disciplined with what you spend your time on . It’s the reason why you can never get ahold of a ceo of a major company by just calling their phone number and why you can easily call your broke buddy down the street . Their time is focused on what’s important in their lives
Investor · Titusville, PA · Member since 2015 · 298 posts · 150 votes
7y
@Trey Knight
It depends somewhat on how much money you need to bring in for your W-2 versus how much you would gain by having the freedom of bringing in less and having more free time. For instance, throughout the years, I have chosen to have W-2 income the gives me the most free time to use on other things. So, I get paid hourly by my W2 while I am doing my own investing and working on my business. Currently, I drive a motor coach, taking people to a location and waiting for them for anywhere between 5 hours and 9 hours before they need to be picked back up. All of that time in between is my free time that I'm getting paid hourly to be available when needed.
In the past, I have also had jobs as a security guard so that, in between rounds, I would have 45 minutes per hour to work on my own thing. All the while getting paid hourly. While you can definitely find jobs that pay more, it's hard to find a job that pays more and yet allows you to have free time throughout your day.
As far as excelling in your business ventures goes, I agree with some of the other comments that a balanced life is not always attainable in relation to those goals. In order to have ultimate success, you must focus. Focus is the opposite of splitting yourself into different directions in life. It is important to set your life up in such a way that everything leads towards the same outcome. What is the ultimate outcome you desire? Focus all activities on that. I would think that exercise would lead to the same outcome because, why would you want to invest for your family and work so hard on your success for your family if you die young and cannot enjoy that with them?
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2018 · 113 posts · 149 votes
7y
Hi Trey,
I'm not the first to say this, but keep thinking about things that you can delegate or outsource. I don't know how many properties you have, but picture people with 100 doors or 1000 doors. Then think about some of the day to day tasks that you do. Ask yourself, does Grant Cardone spend his evening paying the property tax bill or whatever it is that is taking up your time? The more you grow your business, the more you will need to automate or outsource. Perhaps as you do all of the tasks you do, ask yourself "Is there a way I can outsource or automate this so that I don't have to spend my valuable time doing it anymore?"