The Power of Free Time

One of the key difference between Rich, the Poor and the Middle Class is how they utilise their spare and free time. How are you spending yours?

I'd realised the power of free time at a time when TIME becomes a premium. There are so much to do (or rather to read) and yet there is so little time. All of us have 24 hours a day. Some monsters will tell you they have 25 hrs a day. I cannot comprehend this part of the calculation so I don't bother. TIME is indeed a premium resource that cannot afford to be wasted away just like that. It is the most valuable asset that each of us have.

How I use my free time basically will determine my future. This is the power.

During my secondary school days, my hobby is to play computer games. Then my father bought a XT computer (the fastest processor speed it can offer was 4 Mhz) to do his work. When he is not using it, I will.... be playing computer games. And I will be playing with all the spare time I can spare lor. I can play until into the middle of the night and will only stop when it is time to prepare to go to school.

Strange... no one really taught me how to use the various DOS commands (then Windows is still not popular yet so everything is by command line) but I know the need to know the employment of the commands, so that I can load my computer game and play it. I even took the initiative to borrow books from library just to learn more about computing. My learning curve was so steep that my computer club teacher realise it and made me the Chairman of the school computer club. Haha... actually nothing to do as the Chairman, just share with my fellow school mates how to programme simple games using basic programming language. During my poly days, my hobby evolved into programming utilities using C++. C++ was a computing language that I needed to learn then as a subject. I had so much fun programming away and spent my free time learning techniques and tricks beyond the textbook. To pass in modules that involves computer or programming was a breeze to me. And I never fail to get good grades for these subjects. Why?

Why?! Pretty obvious right? For 7 years, I'd spent my spare time programming, or do programming related activities. Every books I'd read are on programming. All these because I love programming then. Nothing can stop me. It naturally becomes a natural instinct to me. Programming, programming, programming.

Of course, other then programming, I do continue my hobby of playing computer games. This is where I started it anyway. And I was so good at all the games I'd played then. No horse run siah!

When I started work in my current company, all my spare time was used for work. Other than work, socialising. I have tonnes of friends who can socialise with me too. I was a spender, a generous one somemore. And this attracted alot of friends who socialised to socialise with me. Work performance improves, friends network expanded. I have no time for myself though. I began to burn out. So i thought why not tone down on some activities and I can breathe better. I did... tone down on socialising. All my spare time goes into work. Suete right!

My recent neck injury has triggered me to think slightly ahead about my future. What do I really want in this lifetime. Life became more purposeful with a defined purpose. I try to strike a work-life balance. I plan up to 15 years ahead. Most importantly, I found my first pot of gold and I started investing for my future. I love this new journey.

My first pot of gold is my financial knowledge and I am constantly investing my free time to expand and deepen this knowledge. In less than a year, I'd cleared two consumer loans and changed my financial situation of living from paycheque-to-paycheque to having free cash flow for asset investment. All this can happen because I'd spent my free time to improve my financial knowldege and that's why I understand personal cash flow is very important. Most of the time I will carry a book with me. Whenever there is waiting time in between appointments or meetings, I will utilise that waiting time to red. It works wonder.

So what happened after one year of the new found way of spending my free time? I feel richer now in cognitive and monetary sense. All these just by spending my free time to expand my financial knowledge.

Have you ever observe on how do you utilise you free time? Playing computer games? Talk on the phone? Shopping? Drink coffee with friends? Disco? KTV? What you invest with your free time will determine what you will become in the future. So use it wisely.

Till then, it is time for me to sleep liao. Good night!


Leroy Ang
"When I Stop Learning, I stop Livng"