This article is directed towards retail traders who want to be serious about their trading careers.
I personally have suffered from a lack of confidence in my trading. I read dozens of books, tried multiple strategies, bought a few courses, but ultimately my results were still not where I wanted them to be.
I’m someone who needs confidence to achieve my targets. So, I took a break from trading for a month. It was painful but necessary—I missed it every single day. But instead of being in the fog, fighting too many battles at the same time, I came up with a plan.
A plan that would eventually put me back on the right track.
Finally, I found a consistent and efficient process from which I could learn every day, and improve as a trader.
I’ve broken down that system into three easy steps for you.
If you’re struggling with your trading, try this method for a month. Every day, without any exception, and I guarantee you that you’ll see progress.
1. Trade at the same time of the day EVERY day
If you’re an aspiring trader, chances are that you’re still stuck in a 9-5. If that’s the case, your screen time is very limited. I think the biggest mistake beginners do is to trade from their phones.
I’ve been guilty of that for years. What a waste of time… and money! Do you seriously think you can outsmart hedge fund algorithms, experienced retail traders, by trading on your phone when your boss gives you a few minutes of freedom throughout the day? I’ll save you some time, it’s not gonna work.
You need to find a window in your day that is dedicated to trading and only trading. It can be as little as 45min a day. If it means you need to wake up at 4 am, then do it. Everything has a cost.
The benefits are multiple. I’ve listed mine below:
I’m in a deep focus mode trading from 6 am to 7 am every single morning';
I’m really excited to wake up because I know the first hour of the day is investing in my future life;
I am more comfortable with the market I trade because it moves in a specific way during pre-market;
I can’t over trade. Once the session is done, I move on and go to my work.
The latter point is maybe the most crucial reason for my recent ‘success’.
2. Trade one system only
Think of Rafael Nadal, or any sports champion you admire, if any. These people are training hundred of hours, doing the same gests over and over again until they master it. When the day comes, they’re ready.
It would be foolish to think that one can simply trade multiple systems at the same time without any prior experience. Finding one good system, backtesting it, learning how to execute it, is already hard enough.
Pick your favorite system, and stick to it. Period.
3. Review your trades at night
Now, of course, there’s this one last step, which is by far, the most crucial element that will decide your future success or failure.
The journaling part. By trading only one hour a day with one system, you should not have too many trades taken. This will immensely help you in that reviewing process.
Analyze each trade, look at the parameters that made you enter and exit that trade. See how you executed the trade against the plan, and draw your conclusions. Then, when the next day comes, you know exactly what you need to improve.
Maybe you closed too early, maybe you entered a bit too late because you were scared.
Repeat that process every day for a month, and I’ll promise you that you’ll see the difference.
Guys, I hope that helped. I would really appreciate it if you could like this article to support my substack.
wow.. this is stuff i subconsciously knew but never put into action.. this leaves no excuse