Getting sidetracked while trading...

I never answer the phone during the day. I don't check email and I don't surf the net either. Imagine how much you would make at any job if you screwed off all day like that?

Personally, I sit there pretty much all day, everyday. Many times I'll watch stocks I have no interest in trading that day just because I might learn something handy for future use.

Im up at 7am reading the news and ready to trade by 7:30-8:00. I can make 20 trades in a day or none depending on whether or not I see anything I want to get invovled with.

I assume the guy on the other side is working just as hard as me too. If he's not, well thats good for me I guess:)
 
Great responses so far guys!! It's becoming more and more clear that this has been a major hinderance in my trading. In a way, I think it is my subconcious mind sabotaging myself so that I don't have to take the blame when I make bad trades (if that makes sense). It's so easy to blame trades on outside factors, when in all fairness, there is nobody to blame except yourself.
I know many of the great traders here are scalpers, but that isn't necessarily the style I'm going for. I'd enjoy trading off somewhat larger timeframes and catch the longer trends. Still, I think it would help to dedicate my time watching smaller timeframes, because, "price action is price action" right? No matter what the timeframe.
Now, I'm trying to think of different ways to go about this. The first thought that comes to mind is engulfing myself in the chart and concentrating on nothing but pure price action as it approaches S&R areas, while logging my thoughts into an ongoing journal about what I thought would happen, and what actually happened. On days when I can't be at the computer, there is a great little thing called market replay. I can literally open any chart at any time and watch it play out as if it were live.
I've got hundreds of hours of screentime... but that's all it ever was. Looking at the chart, but never really taking that extra step to figure out why price is doing what it is.
This thread was hard to start, because it's basically me admitting my downfalls. It's also a relief, because admitting the problem is the first step toward a solution.
That's where you seasoned traders come in. I'm asking you to help me find the best solution. So far you've been great, and I hope there are more helpful posts to come.
Ok, I'm done rambling...
 
Quote from ProfitTakgFool:

Been down this road and I agree, you need to spend 6.5 hours watching price move for a while. The good news is....once you clear this "price action" hurdle you can go back to email, chat, skype. Heck, even a little porn would be ok but not right now. :D

Trading comes down to this....support and resistance (major and minor) and the "how" the market gets there, not the simple fact that it did. The behavior of price is tremedously important and indicators don't offer any answers to what the market is capable of doing at any given time, only what it did a while back. Study that and also study what you are doing when you lose money. If you pay super close attention to that and you can recognize it then you have a window into the markets that most traders tend to ignore. Study your defeats and no porn for a month!
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No porn!!!! Dang! haha
Thanks for the great response. Like I said in my last post, I've stared at tons of charts, but never looked into why price was doing what it's doing. There is a constant battle between bulls and bears, and it's my job to find out who's winning the battle and jump on for the ride.
Would you say that once you learn price action, it's like riding a bike (in a sense)? I think it's one of the greatest skills I could ever hope to attain. It's the key that unlocks my door to a life of freedom.
 
Quote from austinp:

[B
Since the dawn of organized military, vigil watch periods are never 6.5 hours of unbroken stretch standing guard while watching for the enemy. [/B]
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Interesting point of view.

I don't consider myself on watch or on guard during the day whatsoever. I liken it more to a Lion stalking it's prey. I can patiently lie in the brush for hours before striking yet if the opportunity(set up) isn't well enough defined hence creating unwanted risk I can just take a pass.

Although, judging by my performance I should pass about 31.8% of the time I strike since I only win 68.2%..LOL!
 
Quote from Champion:

Its easy to see in the above post why most amateurs in trading are going nowhere. Here you see this culprit feeding on a diet of shallow crap from the net - a substitute for real success.

This game is serious. If you are not in it to win and make your fortune there is no middle or lesser way to go - anything other than the dedication and savvy to grab and hone success is a journey, sooner or later, to the dark side - into the abyss of disappointment and defeat.

Also monitoring the screen continuously while trading is going on is important in helping you learn more.
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Yep. It's so easy to think of trading as the easy road to riches. But as majority of people find out, it's not. This is a business that needs to be taken very seriously. I know I have the dedication and drive it takes to succeed. I've just been focusing on the wrong things all along.
 
Quote from austinp:

<i>"3. Trade off a higher time frame so you only have to look every so many minutes, maybe a 5 min or 10 min bar/candle or higher. Alternatively only take trades on a smaller time frame after you have seen a corresponding signals on a higher time fame, like 15 min so you only have to really focus for a few minutes 4 times an hour. Then you got lots of time to let your mind wander or get up and go do something else for 13 min or so and come back.

Sure you should do your best to stay focused at all times, but you got to work with what you got to. It's unrealistic for most to have laser focus all day."</i>

Since the dawn of organized military, vigil watch periods are never 6.5 hours of unbroken stretch standing guard while watching for the enemy. Guard duty is doled out in brief periods with frequent breaks. Why? When many lives depend on focus & concentration to spot danger, the guard on duty must remain sharp.

In the animal world, no sentinal for a group or herd ever stands on watch for long periods of time. That life or death duty is split up into brief stretches amongst most or all of the animals involved. Why? To keep them fresh in all regard.

Trading is no different. Staring at dull volume charts all day with no respite won't teach you anything but bad habits. Watching a higher timeframe for action points to be approached AND then focusing with laser-sharp attention on the smaller timeframe is akin to precisely how military and animal kingdom vigil has been done for eons.

Why fight basic nature? That never works. Go with it instead... the results will be what you seek.
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Great analogy. Hits home for me since I served 5 years in the Marine Corps (Oorahhhh!!!). I hated standing guard, but it sure teaches discipline and patience.
 
Another thing I've decided to do recently was narrow down my instruments so that I can concentrate on a few instead of constantly flipping back and forth between charts.
I've since decided that I want to trade one futures contract (YM) and one currency (EURUSD). I'd like to be able to learn these two instruments inside and out, how they move, how they react to certain S&R, etc. I hope to get to the point where I can "feel" them moving and get myself "In the Zone".
 
here you go ... good luck

find your market "edge"
find the hours you make money in that market
find the size that is right for you to be comfortable with
and try to limit any prior past errors ( i.e. too much trading
trading too much size , taking too much risk in any given day
- add your personal OOPS list here -

* remember you are in this for the long run *

or you will not be in the biz down the road

ps try to be humble and take vacation time
eat well sleep well and give back to others (friends and family included )
when you become successful

:)
 
Yes, definitely. Once you get that feel you will always have it but that doesn't make you immune from making mistakes, or remove the hectic movement from the market. You will definitely find yourself in a zone where you, "just know" the market is gonna fly. Catching the move is an entirely different thing altogether but when you get yourself into the state of "knowing" or "feeling" (feeling is a better word) you have made great progress. I get feelings about the market all the time and my instincts are pretty good but my timing is ALWAYS off. Be sure to incorporate money management into your trading plan. All setups are not created equal. When the market offers you that "can't miss" trade you increase your size and when you make your coin you trade to keep it. Money Management solves a lot of the problems associated with timing.

Quote from SoCalTrader619:


Would you say that once you learn price action, it's like riding a bike (in a sense)?
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Serious question to all: Is anyone here able to make a living from trading <b><i>without</b></i> routinely achieving the state of mind called "flow" (aka "in the zone")?

IMO, achieving <i>flow</i> while trading is absolutely essential.
It's that state of mind where you're so engrossed in your activity, that nothing else exists in the world. Csíkszentmihályi (psychologist who first studied and named the concept) identifies the following as accompanying an experience of flow:

1) Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one's skill set and abilities).
2) Concentrating and focusing, a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).
3) A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.
4) Distorted sense of time, one's subjective experience of time is altered.
5) Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).
6) Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).
7) A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.
8) The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action.
9) People become absorbed in their activity, and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging

Not all are needed for flow to be experienced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

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The second issue is that trading for a living is nothing like your typical white collar job. Half-assed efforts don't pay the bills.

Behind every (self-made) rich trader is a powerful burning passion to the point of obsession towards money & success. Their mind is never far from their career, even while engaged in completely unrelated activities.
 
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