Today you should only be doing some "koekhappen" and "tompoezen eten"!
I made one trade earlier in the US session but now i am preparing for a barbecue with the neighbors, with applying to social distancing rules of course.
Staying focused while trading
- Thread starter DevBru
- Start date
I made one trade earlier in the US session but now i am preparing for a barbecue with the neighbors, with applying to social distancing rules of course.
Trust fund babies don't live in an apartment in the Netherlands, most live in Monte Carlo or the French Riviera.
I am kidding of course. 
Consider trading stocks. Also consider that someday a transaction tax may be coming down the pike, which would kind of wipe out daytrading. You might have to figure out how to swing trade for a living. You can swing just ES of course, but if you swing stocks, you can spend your day scanning charts, switching between charts, switching between time frames, checking out the various sectors and sector rotations, etc. It will keep your mind busy. And if a transaction tax does pop in on us someday, you will be prepared.
Suggestions:
1. Get an adjustable height desk and standing desk treadmill. I know quite a few traders who swear by that. You'll get several hours of exercise every day and it'll also keep you energized. And/or as others have suggested, do other types of exercise -- kettles, balance board/disk, calisthenics, whatever -- while still at your trading desk.
2. You can practice meditation or breathing exercises at your desk -- you don't have to walk away. Try looking into that. Will benefit not just your trading, but other aspects of your life.
3. As has been discussed, maybe you can find ways to at least semi-quantify your setup conditions via appropriate indicators. That way, you can set up alerts to warn you only when conditions may be setting up, so you don't have to stay at such a high level of focus the whole session. You already noted that alerts could be set for at least some S/R levels. There are also various indicators that can be used to indicate changes in trend, volume, or acceleration. Not to automate your trading, but just to alert you to times/conditions most conducive to your setups.
4. Sub to a news/alert service, if your setups are news-dependent/sensitive (e.g., your /ES trades). Downside is cost/noise, although some services are free (e.g., Benzinga free with (free) TDA ThinkorSwim account). Or maybe you could find someone with a similar style who posts alerts on Twitter -- just one more set of eyes to help you watch for changes, setups and not miss stuff.
5. If there are times when you're fairly certain that a setup just isn't likely to happen for at least the next X minutes, step away -- go for a walk, meditate, etc. Will help to break the monotony and allow you to mentally/emotionally recharge.
6. Use down time for trading development, to do other things supportive of your trading -- tracking/analyzing your trades, refining your edge, developing new strategies, etc. Refine your written trading plan to more deeply analyze what you're doing and why, how you can improve.
7. Find a chat room or trading buddies who trade using similar instruments/approaches. Multiple human sets of eyes can make for some of the best scanning/alert systems. And trading can be a lonely profession -- "working" in the company of like-minded people can alleviate some of that. Downsides would include not wanting to share your system (with buddies), distraction, cost (if paid chat service), and the difficulty of finding the right chat/buddies.
8. Find someone you can teach/coach live, in-session -- your significant other, friend, relative. Will help keep you focused, and you might learn a lot yourself in the process.
9. Study something which won't require losing too much focus from your trading -- e.g., learn a new language. Memorizing new words wouldn't be a huge distraction, and you could quickly shift your focus back to trading. Or read/watch short inspirational/motivational materials.
Best of luck with your trading!
1. Get an adjustable height desk and standing desk treadmill. I know quite a few traders who swear by that. You'll get several hours of exercise every day and it'll also keep you energized. And/or as others have suggested, do other types of exercise -- kettles, balance board/disk, calisthenics, whatever -- while still at your trading desk.
2. You can practice meditation or breathing exercises at your desk -- you don't have to walk away. Try looking into that. Will benefit not just your trading, but other aspects of your life.
3. As has been discussed, maybe you can find ways to at least semi-quantify your setup conditions via appropriate indicators. That way, you can set up alerts to warn you only when conditions may be setting up, so you don't have to stay at such a high level of focus the whole session. You already noted that alerts could be set for at least some S/R levels. There are also various indicators that can be used to indicate changes in trend, volume, or acceleration. Not to automate your trading, but just to alert you to times/conditions most conducive to your setups.
4. Sub to a news/alert service, if your setups are news-dependent/sensitive (e.g., your /ES trades). Downside is cost/noise, although some services are free (e.g., Benzinga free with (free) TDA ThinkorSwim account). Or maybe you could find someone with a similar style who posts alerts on Twitter -- just one more set of eyes to help you watch for changes, setups and not miss stuff.
5. If there are times when you're fairly certain that a setup just isn't likely to happen for at least the next X minutes, step away -- go for a walk, meditate, etc. Will help to break the monotony and allow you to mentally/emotionally recharge.
6. Use down time for trading development, to do other things supportive of your trading -- tracking/analyzing your trades, refining your edge, developing new strategies, etc. Refine your written trading plan to more deeply analyze what you're doing and why, how you can improve.
7. Find a chat room or trading buddies who trade using similar instruments/approaches. Multiple human sets of eyes can make for some of the best scanning/alert systems. And trading can be a lonely profession -- "working" in the company of like-minded people can alleviate some of that. Downsides would include not wanting to share your system (with buddies), distraction, cost (if paid chat service), and the difficulty of finding the right chat/buddies.
8. Find someone you can teach/coach live, in-session -- your significant other, friend, relative. Will help keep you focused, and you might learn a lot yourself in the process.
9. Study something which won't require losing too much focus from your trading -- e.g., learn a new language. Memorizing new words wouldn't be a huge distraction, and you could quickly shift your focus back to trading. Or read/watch short inspirational/motivational materials.
Best of luck with your trading!
Update:
I am changing things up and am switching from ES to day trading stocks until i have enough capital to swing trade in size.
While doing some testing i have noticed that the exact same strategy that i am using for ES also works for stocks if i filter high volume stocks before the market opens, that way i know the stocks will have enough action that day.
Now i get on average 7-10 trades in the first 2 hours of the session, then i call it a day.
Huge improvement! Even the average $ profit amount has gone up considerably without taking more risk.
I am changing things up and am switching from ES to day trading stocks until i have enough capital to swing trade in size.
While doing some testing i have noticed that the exact same strategy that i am using for ES also works for stocks if i filter high volume stocks before the market opens, that way i know the stocks will have enough action that day.
Now i get on average 7-10 trades in the first 2 hours of the session, then i call it a day.
Huge improvement! Even the average $ profit amount has gone up considerably without taking more risk.
Good for you, man!
Care to elaborate on the differences between ES and stocks? Are you following/trading a basket of stocks?
I've been wondering a lot on this myself. There's been some claims that ES is the toughest game in town while single stocks is easier. But I've heard from former stock traders who now trade ES that there really ain't no difference.
I make a selection of max 16 stocks each day (today i am watching 13 stocks), depending on pre market volume. So most of the stocks are different every day, unless some stocks have high pre market volume several days in a row, there are some other filters but volume is the most important one, since high pre market volume automatically means high day volume and a lot of action (most of the time).
The biggest advantage for me is that i am now watching up to 16 different stocks vs 1 futures contract. I was watching 2 important levels on ES, now i am watching 2 important levels for each stock and trade around them. So much more potential entries and most of the action seems to be happening in the first 2 hours of the day. I am still monitoring the rest of the day after i stop trading after 2 hours, i am still logging everything but for now it seems like +80% of the profit will be made in the first 2 hours, so there is no point in staying behind my desk for another 4 and a half hour if the majority of the profit is made in the first 2 hours anyway.
The biggest advantage for me is that i am now watching up to 16 different stocks vs 1 futures contract. I was watching 2 important levels on ES, now i am watching 2 important levels for each stock and trade around them. So much more potential entries and most of the action seems to be happening in the first 2 hours of the day. I am still monitoring the rest of the day after i stop trading after 2 hours, i am still logging everything but for now it seems like +80% of the profit will be made in the first 2 hours, so there is no point in staying behind my desk for another 4 and a half hour if the majority of the profit is made in the first 2 hours anyway.
Sounds good.
This does however seem like a lot more to keep track of - unless you have everything automated. And even still.
Do you feel the price action is easier to trade on single stocks vs ES or is it pretty much the same?