Starting your Trading Day

This topic should be a no-brainer for most and a review for those without a routine. How you begin your day can have an impact on the days trading results.

How you start your day is important and creating a daily routine can set the tone and MA (mental attitude). The first thing is waking up from a great sleep. I have heard so many times when loses occur and I ask, “How did you sleep last night? I usually uncover the trader has not slept well. 

Sleep is so very important for trading and having your mind clear, alert and ready to go is critical. But I could talk about sleep in one article, so I will hold that for another time to get into details.

Let’s assume you had a great sleep, next you want to have a good breakfast not just 5 cups of coffee. In fact I recommend you not drink coffee at all. If you are taking vitamins and then drink coffee, the vitamins don’t work because the caffeine affects how the vitamins are absorbed. So, no coffee. It may be a challenge at first but eventually you will not crave it. The best thing is to hydrate your body with good old H2o.

Water is great for the mind. In fact have you ever experienced the trader’s trace? Where you are looking at the screen and not really seeing anything because you’re in a daze.  That is a psychical warning sign that your body needs water, and your mind goes blank. 

OK now you have had your sleep and breakfast and are ready to trade. Here is where a routine comes in. No matter what markets you trade preparation is so important.  Some traders can prepare the night before saving some time in the morning. So reviewing your “3 new things list” to start with.

Each day when you finish trading write down 3 new things you learned that day in your notebook. Then in the morning re-read they. Add this to your daily routine.

Use questions to get your mind working, like:

What was great about your trading yesterday?

What will you repeat?

What will you focus on for the day?

What is your goal for the day?

Re-read your list of rules?

Questions in the morning are great to get you in the right MA. It’s also good to rate your emotions. In a 1-2-3 scale 1 = Totally in control 2=50/50 in control 3= out of control. 

Next create a routine for yourself to get into the best mental attitude you can. Imagine how you feel when your trading is ON and how good it feels.

Create a trade criteria check list. These are the data points that must be in place for you to take a trade. It’s important to write them down and get in the habit of using the list before each entry. After awhile it will become second nature. An example would be: 1) The trend has to be clear for at least 5 one minute bars. 2) The Dow and S&P have to be in the same direction of my trade. And so on.

Your morning routine can be anything you like as long as it works and it gets you in a great MA to trade at your peak.

Should you be “off” then know you are off and take sometime to get back on track.

Remember: great trader’s know when NOT to trade. Routines are a good way to create consistency and certainty in your trading.

You and only you are in control of your trading and anything is possible. So create a morning routine and stick to it.

And Great Trading!