You check your portfolio dozens of times a day. Is that a problem?

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Consultants often give two directions to anxious clients: “stick to the plan” and “don’t check your wallet every day.”

It is relatively easy to stick with the financial plan that investors pay their advisor to allocate to them. But for some investors, it’s hard to resist checking your brokerage balance frequently.

Some people will even keep track of their wallets every hour. It’s almost reflexive: if they have a spare time, look at the performance of the market and look for those reassuring green indicators.

“We tend to help these clients out of this cycle. It can have a psychological effect, especially if the numbers are going down and that leads to stress,” said Jeremy Kohlin, a certified financial planner in Richmond, Virginia.

Some investors are just curious. They do not tend to place excessive trades and are able to withstand wild fluctuations without hesitation. “For some people, it’s a hobby,” Cohlin said. “They like to score goals. It’s the way they spend their time, keeping track of companies and knowing what they’re doing on a daily basis. It’s not emotional for them, so there’s no problem” watching stocks with that frequency.

However, for individuals who focus a lot on their account balance — and find that market fluctuations affect their mood and even their overall mental health — Kohlin suggests ways to help them cope. For example, it encourages investors to limit their portfolio tracking to predetermined times. “You have to wean yourself from looking several times a day to once a day,” he said. “Then once a week. Then once a month.”

Smart advisors know that compulsively lecturing or scolding clients for their money will not produce results. Few people respond well to a professional who expresses disappointment in his actions or disapproval of his behavior.

Alternatively, consultants may ask supportive, non-threatening questions as a way of getting clients to conclude for themselves that they need to change.

Matthew Schwartz, a certified financial planner in Minneapolis, likes to ask, “How does your daily time checking your portfolio help you achieve your goals?”

“People will do what they think is best,” Schwartz said. “We are not here to direct or dictate. We are here to understand them, and ask lots of questions to help them gain their perspective.”

Like Kuhlen, Schwartz doesn’t worry about investors who feel they are in control of their money and derive comfort from closely following their accounts. He’s more concerned about investors who are preoccupied with the latest stock volatility.

For those who find weekends boring because the stock markets are closed, their advisor may look for deeper issues. For example, clients who feel lonely might use their brokerage account to fill in the blank. Unhappy workers who lose interest in their career may turn to non-stop stock watchers in hopes of early retirement.

“She’s looking for the reason behind their behavior,” Schwartz said. “It is important to understand why. If they do not have a good relationship with money, they may feel anxious or empty and lose the richness of life.”

When Schwartz meets a new client, he begins by asking, “What does money mean to you?” Their answer reveals their priorities along with their personal history of spending and saving.

“This question lays the foundation for our work together,” he said. “It makes them talk about the purpose of the money, and how it will be used to improve their lives. Hopefully they will find meaning in their relationships with friends and family, not what happened today with their stocks.”

More: Increasingly optimistic investors may try to convince themselves it’s OK to buy shares after a surge, Citigroup says

Plus: We look at stocks as pots of cash, and that’s not in the cards

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