A daily routine will vary significantly from person to person. Everybody has "life" to deal with in addition to their trading. "Life" includes work / family and friend commitments. The trick is finding a balance to "Life". This balance obviously depends on one's life, priorities and trading system. When developing a daily routine, everything mentioned above needs to be taken into consideration and more than likely, sacrifices will need to be made. A strong determination is required in order to maintain one's focus.
I thought it would be best to outline my daily routine and some of the techniques I use to maintain focus when "Life" occurs. It should be reiterated that every person is different and every life is different, hence, when determining a daily routine it must be realistic and tailored to each person's situation. I will also discuss my thought process in determining my daily routine.
I believe that trading should be monotonous and simple. The more variables that are present, the more open to interpretation and the more likely a system will not be followed. With this in mind, I wanted to create a stringent daily routine with minimal room for complacency. As mentioned in a previous blog, I am currently working full time and am married. After analysing my life and trading system, I felt that it would be realistic if I devoted six hours on the weekend and 1.5 hours daily for my trading. I feel that I need at least 1.5 hours of trading related work daily to feel "in tune" with the markets and my positions. Whenever 1.5 hours and the weekend work becomes difficult - eg. when the mind is tired and trading is furthest from my mind, that's when I realise if I stop and don't do what I have to, this process will continue and I'll never achieve my primary goal. It is imperative that a person has a strong desire to achieve whatever their goal is, and this desire must be so strong that it overcomes all challenges, as those challenges will come...
The 6 hours on the weekend are utilised for preparation. I review all my graphs and determine if any positions will trigger within the next week, two weeks and month. I also gain a feel, from the charts as to the general market conditions. Furthermore, entry and exit points are set for all potential positions. Hence, by the beginning of the week I have a plan as to my trading landscape. Each consequent 1.5 hours is then utilised by only analysing those stocks that may trigger. This does not take long as all of the preparation has been completed. The rest of the time is spent reading general articles and looking for new opportunities (currently reading optionetics and thestreet.com). Any additional time can be spent reading general interest articles and books that deal with psychology and personal development.
I have a tendency to split my 1.5 hours of trading time between the morning (30 mins) and evening (60 mins). I'm a 'morning' person as I feel that I am most alert when I wake up. In the morning I refresh any open positions and read an article or two in relation to pre-market news - both general and stock specific (stocks that I'm following). I am also a strong believer in trading psychology. I believe in visualisation and positive reinforcement. When I wake up, I say "thank you" many times in order to display gratefulness at the opportunities that are presenting themselves to me. While eating breakfast, I read a summary of William Wattles, 'The Science of Getting Rich', or a chapter from Rhonda Byrne's, 'The Secret' or a chapter from "The Art of War" Each of these books puts me in a positive and alert frame of mind. Also, when I rise I turn on my computer and play the following songs; Eminem's 'Lose Yourself', and Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger'. These songs wash away any tiredness that may be present.
During the course of the day, I constantly reflect on my goals and ambitions. This is a wonderful technique as it refocuses oneself when the demands of daily life take hold. It can also be done anywhere. I believe that a person who has control of his/her mind is unstoppable. Maintaining this positivity and focus can be challenging at times. Whenever a negative thought enters my brain, I try to squash it with one of the following mantras; "I have more than enough TIME, MONEY and ENERGY for everything I want" and "I am confident, courageous, disciplined, energetic, inspirational, intelligent, magnetic, magical, omnipotent, passionate, perfect, powerful, sexy, exceptionally successful, unstoppable, vibrant and abundantly wealthy". I have chosen these words as they resonate with me (Note: they are in alphabetical order to make make them easy to remember). It is also important to say one's mantras with purpose, passion and intensity. It is amazing how your physiology and psychology changes after changing your thoughts. This is a very powerful tool and should be practised religiously.
I also visualise my trading day for 20 mins - This has proven difficult initially as the mind is continually racing and at times difficult to calm down. However, by visualising your trading day, you have effectively already completed your day in the sense that when a trade or trigger arises, you will have the confidence and knowledge to react accordingly.
I conduct a similar routine in the evening in relation to visualizing my trading day. It is probably more important to do this in the evening after a day at work and dealing with work / family related issues. It is important to distance yourself from that and focus entirely on your trading. Another way to analyse trading is to treat it as a business which it effectively is, as you have your expenses (losses) and income (wins). How much time and effort would you devote to your business if you knew the end reward is everything you wanted? That's where unwavering faith enters the picture. One MUST believe and have confidence in oneself and their trading methods. The moment you begin to doubt and have fear is the moment you should exit all open positions.
Upon reviewing the days action and analysing all open positions in the evening, I have completed my daily routine. However, this doesn't prevent my mind from continual positive reinforcement. Before I go to sleep, I listen to Mozart in order to calm my mind in a meditational sense. The next point may sound psychotic, however, I have tried it and it seems to work for me. I picked up this technique from Napolean Hill's, "Think and Grow Rich". I have a mental mastermind group consisting of 9 brilliant leaders in their field, and I regularly hold conversations with each of them and ask for the attributes I wish to obtain from them. If this is done continuously, a 6th sense develops, an intuition, it is amazing - You begin seeing things before they occur. My mastermind group includes; Jesus, W.D.Gann, Richard Branson, Thomas Edison, Donald Trump, Henry Ford, Bruce Lee, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates - they all have a seat at my imaginary (In my mind, it is very real) table and coupled with me they are all on equal footing.
I've found that a daily routine can be difficult to maintain as 'life' intervenes. It is crucial that one DOES NOT trade if they haven't prepared sufficiently or their mind is focused on the external environment. Mistakes, or lessons rather will inevitably occur. As for motivation in maintaining a daily routine, ask yourself, how badly to you want that particular goal? Do you want it enough? Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to get there? If you aren't, it is not worth even beginning, as you'll be destined to fail and this trait runs the risk of being repetitive in the future.
Hopefully some of the above points and ideas are applicable to your own situation. If there is one thing to take away from the above it is that whatever your daily routine is - STICK TO IT!!!! unless of course it needs to be improved.
Have UNWAVERING faith in ABUNDANCE!!!!
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