keep on plodding

• If a couple whose income is $100,000, which increases by 4% a year, saves 5% of their income every year, with 8% interest, they'll have $523,000 after 25 years.
• If they increase it by 1% every year, to 30% in year 25, they'll have $1.6 million.
• If they go the other way, starting at 30%, decreasing by 1% every year, they'll hit $2.1 million in 25 years. In addition, they'll have contributed $133,000 less than if they had used the former method.
  

A penny invested early is worth more than a penny invested later.

Source: Decreasing Contributions Strategy

While this idea of investing money early, alone, is very powerful, it can just as easily be applied to time.

Consider a two students. One who begins study with great intensity, early in his life. The other also studies with great intensity, but not until later in life. Of course, by the time the second has started, the first has already learned a great deal. They will also have a well developed learning method, and a knowledge base that ensures future learning is faster still. Even if they stop studying feverishly, through the simple act of calmly living their life, being exposed to bits of news or experiences here and there, being with friends, talking to people, overhearing news, his knowledge base will continue to grow and compound almost exactly like money. The second, even though they will be learning quickly as an older, mature person, will always be at a disadvantage to the first academically.

Even on a smaller scale, such as in a school course - a person who studies at the beginning of a course with great intensity versus a person who studies at the end around test time is at a great advantage. His initial investment of time compounds as he continues to go about uni life - he learns more from classes than the second person without even trying. The second gains little or nothing from classes, as he has no base to build on.

Time is another form of money, with a great interest rate. Invest it early.