You should give your portfolio some deep thought and keep it in the back of your mind throughout your day-to-day, up to a point.

Some investors become somewhat obsessive about their portfolio, and it can cause them to lose focus at their own job, to make impulsive and irrational decisions, and to possibly over-trade. Many other investors need a more consistent system to keep up with it.

With some good software on your side, or an advisor giving you updates, you should be able to keep up with what’s important without becoming too involved. The average investor, left to their own devices, will tend to make decisions based on emotion, and will likely underperform the market significantly.

There is also an opportunity cost to those who have devoted unnecessary amounts of time and energy towards watching and micro-managing their investments. Investing in residential real estate rental properties, for example, can easily become a full-time endeavor, and any other money you might have made with other endeavors or jobs is lost.

A good analogy, especially for business owners, is that the goal is to put your “dollars to work” as if they were an employee of yours, but to let them do their job while you do your job.

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