The journal of steady, dull and uninteresting trading

December update:

Monetarily, it was my best month since trading again in 2020.
I outdid March, however, that month was shortened as I started part way through.

Learned plenty of lessons and developed a few more strategies that tend to work in this environment.

No question, there is froth in this market. For that, I recognize that my gains were inflated some because of it.

I traded a lot. Pre-market, regular session and after hours.

My new job thankfully takes usually less than 2 hours to complete each day, and am seeing results.

Two days this month, I felt completely lost in trading. Everything I touched went sour. I traded too large and ended up taking sizable hits. It's disconcerting when that happens. It's like I am blind to the markets and can't seem to do anything right. Thankfully I was able to rebound.

Looking forward, I need to continue to trade the process.

Maybe the market turns south fast in 2021. I have to be completely ready to step back if need be.
At least I am not in a frantic mood to generate earnings.

Looking forward to making it to mid-March to mark 1 year on the comeback trail. Plenty of lessons to learn before then.
 
JoeF said:
December update:

Monetarily, it was my best month since trading again in 2020.
I outdid March, however, that month was shortened as I started part way through.

Learned plenty of lessons and developed a few more strategies that tend to work in this environment.

No question, there is froth in this market. For that, I recognize that my gains were inflated some because of it.

I traded a lot. Pre-market, regular session and after hours.

My new job thankfully takes usually less than 2 hours to complete each day, and am seeing results.

Two days this month, I felt completely lost in trading. Everything I touched went sour. I traded too large and ended up taking sizable hits. It's disconcerting when that happens. It's like I am blind to the markets and can't seem to do anything right. Thankfully I was able to rebound.

Looking forward, I need to continue to trade the process.

Maybe the market turns south fast in 2021. I have to be completely ready to step back if need be.
At least I am not in a frantic mood to generate earnings.

Looking forward to making it to mid-March to mark 1 year on the comeback trail. Plenty of lessons to learn before then.
More...

JoeF,

Do you maintain two trade journals...one private with more in-depth details and one public (very generic) such as the one here at Elitetrader.com ???

I ask the above question because you make a lot of general statements in the journal here at Elitetrader.com in which it would seem very difficult to get any feedback info for yourself if you would to review what you stated today...lets say 1 - 2 years from now.

For example, you stated today the following:

I traded a lot. Pre-market, regular session and after hours.

Months from now or next year...how will you know what "I traded a lot" mean ???

Does it mean you took trades outside your trading plan, does it mean you had an additional 10 valid trade signals, does it mean you were you using an additional new strategy with your current strategy and it generated more trade signals, maybe it means your strategy is only suitable for the regular session and you decided to apply it to pre-market / after hours...

My point, there's a lot of general statements with no clarification unless you had another trade journal that's private in which you keep all the details (e.g. trade statements, trading plan, trade day review of each trade etc).

Simply, as stated...months from now it will could make it difficult for you to understand your own public journal unless you're documenting other important info that fills in the blank sort'uv speak such as info in a private trade journal.

Happy New Year and wish you continue success.

wrbtrader
 
wrbtrader said:
JoeF,

Do you maintain two trade journals...one private with more in-depth details and one public (very generic) such as the one here at Elitetrader.com ???

I ask the above question because you make a lot of general statements in the journal here at Elitetrader.com in which it would seem very difficult to get any feedback info for yourself if you would to review what you stated today...lets say 1 - 2 years from now.

For example, you stated today the following:

I traded a lot. Pre-market, regular session and after hours.

Months from now or next year...how will you know what "I traded a lot" mean ???

Does it mean you took trades outside your trading plan, does it mean you had an additional 10 valid trade signals, does it mean you were you using an additional new strategy with your current strategy and it generated more trade signals, maybe it means your strategy is only suitable for the regular session and you decided to apply it to pre-market / after hours...

My point, there's a lot of general statements with no clarification unless you had another trade journal that's private in which you keep all the details (e.g. trade statements, trading plan, trade day review of each trade etc).

Simply, as stated...months from now it will could make it difficult for you to understand your own public journal unless you're documenting other important info that fills in the blank sort'uv speak such as info in a private trade journal.

Happy New Year and wish you continue success.

wrbtrader
More...

Hi wrbtrader,

Interesting question.

Yes, my most important journal is a hand written one.

That one, I have very specific information.

I utilize ET to do recaps with broad strokes.

My written one, has lots of highlights, notes in margins, ideas, theories, etc.

It is where I write the stocks I want to pay most attention to, in the coming days.

To me, it is very valuable as I flush out a lot of ideas from observations I make in the markets.

It is a daily thing whereas ET is now monthly.

Appreciate the comment.

Happy new year to you as well : - )
 
January 2021 update:

I moved to a new country (for a few months).
Getting everything arranged on both ends certainly was a distraction.
It was a lot of work as I had a lot of other activities and responsibilities to get handled.

Despite that, was able to slightly outdo December on a net basis.

5 negative days for the month. Would like to see it down to 2 or 3.

Obviously there is a lot of craziness in the market.

For me, I have to be patient and wait for good setups based on my own criteria.

Maintaining a level head is important.

With nearly 7 million on the WSB Reddit forum, clearly this volatility and volume should continue for a while.

Very fascinating times. CNBC is actually interesting to tune in to.

I am trading less hours now as I am trying to get more balance in life.

Also the time zone change makes it harder too.

Who knows what February will bring. I will just show up each day and attempt to trade correctly based on my own criteria.
 
February is in the books.

Been working on a new strategy for overnight holds which is promising.

Finished slightly lower than the previous month.

7 negative days which is too much.

I was not as prepared on a daily basis as I should have been.

I feel like most of the big distractions are out of the way. Had visitors for 3 days.

My day job got super busy, which in a way is good but would prefer it to be slower.

Not pleased with market action final week of Feb. Maybe it is a sign of a market turn.

If so, I feel confident in my ability to short.

I get chopped up in whipsaw markets it seems.

Always analyzing and readjusting how I do things.

Being prepared each day by doing proper chart scanning is important.

I might do a review mid March. That would complete one full year on the comeback trail.

A lot sure has happened during that time.

I traded a lot more size in February...1.6 million shares vs 1 million in January. Been trying to work with bigger size. It has not proven to be fruitful yet...as there is an adjustment period to trading bigger. It may be better to reduce size again. We'll see.

March also has 23 trading days. Long month. Plenty of lessons to learn, I'm sure.
 
Ugh! Sums up March

Well, it was a memorable month but not in the way I would like.

14 negative days. Negative month. Gave back roughly 60% of Feb gains.

I got slack, went too big on overnight holds, and went on a tailspin.

I believe I may have had the rona...or something. I got zapped for a few days. Zero energy.

Was very disconcerning to not see the market well.

The heat was not helping. I've since upped my A/C game.

Some errors I made:

Not basing trades on TA. That is how I trade. It makes the most sense to me.

I mentally had bit of a rough time with seeing some traders make massive amounts and also a friend of mine make a million in a week trading crypto. I got into comparison mode which is a killer.

Need to ensure well prepared for each day. Base hits.

On a positive note, crypto gains plus work gains outpaced US market losses, thus still made financial progress for the month. Crypto though is paper at this point as most are in holdings.

It's also been a year back into trading the markets.

It is rather anti-climatic due to how March transpired.

Overall though, it's been a huge shift since beginning a year ago.

It has meant being able to let go of my full-time job in October to take on a part-time job instead (commission only).

I'm now in Central America (last couple months) and will likely be here for a while longer.

Having multiple value streams is huge.

My goal is to continue to grow my accounts bit by bit. Net forward progress each month is what I'd like to see.

I'm also to reduce stress and just do what I can based on my own ability. Continue to learn and apply. Be mindful of negative emotions. Be fresh each day.
 
April Update

On the comeback trail.

Positive for the month on light vol (250K) with 7 red days.

A couple days I did not trade at all as I focused more on work instead.

The value for how I trade has not been there for most of the month.

COIN direct listing on day 1 was decent.

My nightly charting has been showing me a lack of legitimate setups.

Saw some heavier volume in some of the low priced crappy stocks yesterday, which could be a sign...or it is just because of end of month.

Last year, April and May were very light months and then things got crazy with EV and vaccine stocks.

I focused more on a personal project over the last month, dedicating a lot of hours.

I find narrowing the focus on a few stocks rather than 100 can make a difference. I can get a read for a stock.

One stock I traded Friday, I lost money on, but gathered very useful information, which has potential next week.

May I am looking to continue for consistency. Routine charting and preparation plus being in good health are all important aspects.

I got rid of a lot of noise in the past in the past month. Ending a subscription program because a lot of it had fundamental commentary which doesn't help one bit on the technical side of things.

A note on crypto...it was a volatile month. I got into trading for a while and lost trading that dumb DOGE coin. Overall my accounts finished up 2.7% for the month despite a heavy pullback for a while there.

It's useful to do these month end summaries in addition to my daily notes I write in my journal. Helps to analyze and organize thoughts and ideas.
 
May Update

Was a tough go.

I found myself distancing from trading.

I thought about doing a 2 month break but realized that I am most successful when this is the number 1 priority.

Just a couple days ago, I made the switch back.

Friday, although just one day, was a clear example for me.

Going into June, trading will be my #1 priority again.

My sales job I have improved efficiencies so that it can take a lot less time during the day.

I'm also going to go for bigger moves when warranted.

I've set a clear goal for Dec 31st. I know it is doable. Just a matter of putting in the work.
 
June Update

I followed the plan of making it the #1 priority.

It turned out to be my best month since working this comeback trail last March.

I'm glad I did not take that break and realized what I needed to do.

The market seems more conducive to overnights again, so I will be doing that more.

Invested in a course to see if I can really bump production.

Also trying to avoid news and social media.

The plan for July is to work hard, study, do more overnights and become a better trader.
 
JoeF said:
June Update

I followed the plan of making it the #1 priority.

It turned out to be my best month since working this comeback trail last March.

I'm glad I did not take that break and realized what I needed to do.

The market seems more conducive to overnights again, so I will be doing that more.

Invested in a course to see if I can really bump production.

Also trying to avoid news and social media.

The plan for July is to work hard, study, do more overnights and become a better trader.
More...
Progress.
Ya Gotta Love It.

Fortune Cookie Say: Follow through with your plans and don't look back.

James Clear
Articles - https://jamesclear.com/articles

Weekly wisdom you can read in 5 minutes, for free.
His weekly email is Time Well Spent.
 
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