On... Doing Something

Just because you're 'doing nothing ', doesn't mean you're not doing something. 

In my previous job as a geophysicist, I do spend quite some time thinking and reading, instead of tapping the keyboard all day long. Reading and thinking is actually a very important part of the job. Although when you're thinking and reading, it actually looks like you're not working. Contrast that to jobs that require physical activity like a waiter, labourer, etc., you can actually tell when someone is working or not. 

In the realm of investing/trading, most of the time you seem like you're not working. Except for day trading, the other forms of trading and investing don't really require a lot of time clicking on the buy and sell buttons. Clicking buy and sell probably makes up only 10% of the activity. The other 90% of the time would be spent on reading, looking at charts, listening to podcasts, thinking, etc... Activities that doesn't show youre actually working or 'doing something'. However, without reading, learning, thinking, etc... Do you think you can make a good trader or investor? I would think not. That is why most of the time, trading and investing can seem like an easy job, where you just sit around and do nothing. 

Warren Buffet spends at least 8 hours per day reading and thinking. Besides his other personality traits that make him a good investor, one of the reasons he is so successful is probably due to his habit of reading a lot. I wonder if he only reads 1 hour per day instead of 8, would he still be such a great investor? My gut feeling says probably not.

If you want to be a great investor or trader, you have to put in a LOT of time. But even though you work very hard, it will still seem like you're doing nothing.