Describe your trading day

I'd love to hear experienced traders outline their daily routine in regard to trading. Not just generalities (wake up, read the newspaper, check some charts, wait for setup...) but details of some of the nitty gritty; what are you doing for the first 30 minutes when you startup your computer, how busy do you get and how do you manage your time when you're not busy. Also is your routine exactly the same every day?

Ok, I'll start with mine.

Startup computer.
Open demo charting software.
Stare blankly at screen for several minutes.
Discern whether EURUSD is trending up or down or going sideways.
Check news calendar.
Draw lines and squiggles all over chart.
Change the colours of lines and squiggles to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
Add various indicators and then remove them again.
Read latest posts on Forex Factory forums.
Stare blankly at charts for several more minutes.
Read up on technical analysis and price action.
Have eureka moment and place entry stop order.
Make cup of coffee and wait impatiently for order to get hit.
Watch price hit and continue in wrong direction with alarming speed.
Watch emergency stop get taken out several moments later.
Stare blankly at screen for a number of minutes.
Pace around for a bit.
Check Forex Factory forums for new posts.
Get an idea.
Open a position according to new idea just to see what happens.
Watch it go in wrong direction.
Become disillusioned with new idea.
Stare blankly at screen for a while longer.
Open bottle of wine and watch movie.


Ok, next!

Like it! Exactly the same as you but instead of;


put "carry on looking at forums and articles whilst slightly grumpy wife sits behind saying things like 'so this will make us millions' and 'are we going to watch a movie then?'"

LOL, Welcome to the club, well at least to reception. The "successful traders club" that is. It's very exclusive, and at reception stage very easy to be blackballed. The only way to gain full membership is to prove that you have studied, learned, and failed, studied some more, learned some more, failed some more. (repeat) until eventually you develop all the attributes a successfull trader needs. The quickest way to the door marked 'membership rejected' is the 'This is easy, I'll be a millionaire by next week' attitude. I don't think that there is a successful trader anywhere that hasn't done exactly what you describe. I wish you all the success you are willing to work for. Like the old saying goes, "You have to put up with the rain if you want to enjoy the rainbow"

this has made my day !

1. I run my trading robots on a hosted server, so I don't have to start my machine per-se, it's always up & running
2. I have a web page that updates me with my current balance and positions. I check that about 5 times/day. Nothing more than just a quick glance, takes less than 15 seconds. The page also lets me know the last time my robot checked in and that number should never be higher than 30 minutes. If it is, I investigate, otherwise, I just close out that page
3. I have programmed my robot to send me an email when there is a change in positions. When that happens I will verify that position locally with MT and make sure there's no errors in the order entry.
4. That's basically it - I spend a total of about 20 minutes a day tooling with my account and robot.
5. Spend the rest of the time studying for the Series 65 exam or dealing with the huckleberries on FF

Good stuff. These are the kinds of things I'd like to hear about. My own post might have seemed funny, but it really is what my trading "day" is like. Still looking forward to hearing what other mysterious things go on inside other traders dens.

http://x.myspace.com/images/spacer.gif 38 Steps To Becoming a Trader
I came across this post on a commodities trading forum some time ago. I thought it worth re-posting.


38 steps to becoming a trader

They are as follows:

1. We accumulate information - buying books, going to seminars and researching.
2. We begin to trade with our 'new' knowledge.
3. We consistently 'donate' and then realise we may need more knowledge or information.
4. We accumulate more information.
5. We switch the commodities we are currently following.
6. We go back into the market and trade with our 'updated' knowledge.
7. We get 'beat up' again and begin to lose some of our confidence. Fear starts setting in.
8. We start to listen to 'outside news' and to other traders.
9. We go back into the market and continue to 'donate'.
10. We switch commodities again.
11. We search for more information.
12. We go back into the market and start to see a little progress.
13. We get 'over-confident' and the market humbles us.
14. We start to understand that trading successfully is going to take more time and more knowledge than we anticipated.

MOST PEOPLE WILL GIVE UP AT THIS POINT, AS THEY REALISE WORK IS INVOLVED.

15. We get serious and start concentrating on learning a 'real' methodology.
16. We trade our methodology with some success, but realise that something is missing.
17. We begin to understand the need for having rules to apply our methodology.
18. We take a sabbatical from trading to develop and research our trading rules.
19. We start trading again, this time with rules and find some success, but over all we still hesitate when we execute.
20. We add, subtract and modify rules as we see a need to be more proficient with our rules.
21. We feel we are very close to crossing that threshold of successful trading.
22. We start to take responsibility for our trading results as we understand that our success is in us, not the methodology.
23. We continue to trade and become more proficient with our methodology and our rules.
24. As we trade we still have a tendency to violate our rules and our results are still erratic.
25. We know we are close.
26. We go back and research our rules.
27. We build the confidence in our rules and go back into the market and trade.
28. Our trading results are getting better, but we are still hesitating in executing our rules.
29. We now see the importance of following our rules as we see the results of our trades when we don't follow the rules.
30. We begin to see that our lack of success is within us (a lack of discipline in following the rules because of some kind of fear) and we begin to work on knowing ourselves better.
31. We continue to trade and the market teaches us more and more about ourselves.
32. We master our methodology and our trading rules.
33. We begin to consistently make money.
34. We get a little over-confident and the market humbles us.
35. We continue to learn our lessons.
36. We stop thinking and allow our rules to trade for us (trading becomes boring, but successful) and our trading account
continues to grow as we increase our contract size.
37. We are making more money than we ever dreamed possible.
38. We go on with our lives and accomplish many of the goals we had always dreamed of.

Most traders will identify with this list and should be able to place themselves within these steps. Keep in mind that very few people progress through these steps in an orderly fashion. Developing your trading skills is an iterative process. For example, you may reach Step 13., find that although you were making money, your basic premise for trading was flawed (you might have been benefiting from the bull market, rather than your own trading prowess and then have been rudely awakened when the market entered a bear phase) and you may drop back to Step 4. and start 'climbing' the steps again. Having the proper mindset, attitude and psychological makeup becomes increasingly important as you progress through the steps. The focus
of the earlier steps is on external issues, i.e. developing proficiency in the mechanics of trading while the focus of the latter steps (particularly from Step 30, on) is on internal issues, i.e. improving ourselves mentally and psychologically, maturing as
traders.

So MysticDiver, what is it you do when you first sit down in front of your computer on a trading day? Don't say it's a secret!

I'm not looking for answers here, just insights. Or perhaps something that sounds familiar. I figure there are many successful traders here, but for each their daily trading routine is completely different, just as the life of a baker and an auto mechanic are completely different. While each is engaged in commerce, their day to day routines have little in common. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to bake a cake when I'd be better at changing a carburetor, know what I mean?

I live in New Zealand, so my night is the Markets day...

1. At 8:30 PM NZ time I check all systems are up a running for London open.
2. At about 9:30 PM I check we are in and trading with no problems.

...goto bed and sleep...I may be woken via SMS if something goes wrong.

3. Wake up about 6:30 AM check how things went.

I may add/remove strategies, fix bugs etc over the course of the day.

MysticDiver - Did you read the first post?

I never turn off my computers during the trading week.

07:00 GMT
I first check the index futures across the world, paying close attention to the Dow futures and the S & P futures. If I see a change of 1% or greater I know there will usually be good opportunity in the EURUSD. I then turn to Oil futures and Gold, and the Dollar index.

Then I look at a Daily chart briefly to get a general feel of the EURUSD.

I then just follow the price levels that continue to repeat during the London session and when I see the congestion building at a level range, I plan my strategy to take advantage of who wins the the skirmish.

I do this over and over and over through out the session and until about 17:00 GMT

I constantly keep an eye on the indexes, when they are open, because they are closely interconnected with currencies.

I live in Europe so I get up in time to trade the London open. Then I setup some orders and take a couple hours and go to the gym. Back in time for lunch and the NY open and an evening of trading before I go to bed and do it all over again the next day.

Lots of movies, tv shows, and forum browsing while in front of the computer waiting for setups.