There is a lot of advice on how to be a better trader. I once put together a list to help you with this. For the most part, trading is having a right process. The following list provides excellent foundations on which to immigrate the right processes in your trading career. Have lots of fun with it.
1. Use a diary
- Add something every day
- Archive setups that make sense for you
- Document the best trade of the day
- Make notes about your good and bad trades and what mistakes you made
- Check your diary weekly and monthly
2. Record your trading screens
- Make notes of the key moments in your markets
- Look at the most important moments of your month again
- Watch your recordings again and again to improve your “tape reading skills”
- Watching your market closely is the best way to learn how to trade
3. Train yourself to be observant
- Be aware of how you feel: angry, sad, happy. Different emotions can trigger good and bad trading
- Many traders do mindset training and meditation to calm their minds and increase their focus
4. Take care of your sleep
- If you are tired, you will trade poorly
- Develop an optimal sleep routine
- Always go to sleep at the same time
- Measure your sleep and watch it in relation to your performance
- Reduce your risk / position size if you have slept poorly
5. Pay attention to your diet
- Develop an eating routine that suits you best
- Some foods slow you down and make you sluggish. Some foods keep you focused. A lot of fast food before a trading session can worsen your performance
- Every person is different
- If you are not disciplined in your diet, how can you be disciplined in trading?
6. Have a mentor
- If you have a mentor, you're in luck, most don't have one. Take full advantage of this
- If you don't have one, find one who is both a trader and a good mentor. Some traders are not good mentors. Some mentors are not good traders.
- Be present and prepared in every session
- Ask good questions
- Learn something new in every mentoring session
7. Preparation
- Prepare 30 minutes before opening: news, levels, spreads
- which market do you want to trade today?
- Was du handelst ist wichtiger als wie du handelst
8. Talk to other traders
- Learn from Junior Trader
- Learn from Senior Trader
- Gather trading experience with joint trade review
9. Schedule for large trades:
- What is the next big trade?
- How will you react?
- Risk?
- Target?
- Exit?
- Trading plan? If Trump rules out a China deal, what would you buy and what would you sell?
10. Daily gratitude exercises:
- write down three things every day for which you are thankful
11. Relationships:
- Allow time for your friends
- Plan time with your partner and children to achieve excellent performance
- Science says that happiness improves your performance
12. Learn every day
- read books
- Listen to audio books
- Register for a seminar / course
13. Go through charts
- Develop a daily system to go through charts
- Both daily and weekly charts
14. Challange:
- Create a daily routine full of effective habits
- Develop it yourself
- What you do to improve yourself determines who you become as a trader!
If you don't have any of these habits, it's difficult to implement all of the habits and routines at the same time. Start with 1-2 and if you have migrated them add more.