"A simple trading process is the best business you can own. It's 1 of the best perpetual income streams you can have."
--The Trader
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Have a regular, consistent plan for your day.
One of the best mental disciplines for simple traders is simply putting together a consistent daily schedule or task list and actually executing it. From making your to do list each morning to what you do regularly each day, life becomes much better when you have a daily program. Check out a couple of suggestions for things to add to your daily list as a simple trader.
First thing in the morning (maybe between dressing and that healthy breakfast that you're now having each day), look at and prioritize your schedule. In truth, you should probably delete half of your list as unnecessary, but in the event you’re one of the few people who actually MUST do everything on that extensive To Do list, get as many of the must dos out of the way first.
Next, get centered.
If you’re a day trader like me (no I don’t know why you’ve read this far if you’re not interested in trading at all), make sure your trading hours have as few distractions as possible… under threat of physical violence if you must… Not really violence of course, but it IS that serious (more on that later). If you're not a day trader, you still need to make sure your market and trade analysis time is distraction free.
While you’re at it, be sure to schedule short breaks throughout the day to eat a healthy snack and keep your energy up. And dude… you know doughnuts don’t qualify as healthy.
At the end of your trading day (or week if you're a swing trader), take the most important step of the day... Journal your day. You need to record the day's trades... why you took the trades (the setup), the outcome(s) of your trades... the day's news, price action and your results. Finally, make sure to record your feelings about it all. This last bit (your feelings) will become as valuable as any winning trade setup.
The final piece of your daily plan? Prep for tomorrow. I remember reading in Market Wizards about a trader being interviewed who referred to "putting his numbers in" during the interview. I didn't fully understand what that meant until I developed my own process and price action tools.
Whatever pieces you make a part of your regular daily schedule, the important thing is that you have one... Once implemented (and followed consistently) you're likely to see immediate, significant results.
