trading isolation

KCalhoun said:
Great topic. Having hobbies and family helps. I don't miss corporate life much, other than dating the occasional hot secretary :p
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No point 'dating' them if you don't gloat is there :)

I miss that aswell, bad year this year, really hurt 1's game :(
 
I spent 7 years doing it solo. It helps to have one or two people you can really connect and can hang out with on-line or in person. One true friend is worth a bunch of "acquaintances" imo. I have friend now for 35 years and we talk stocks often.
 
Tradex said:
Do you want to make big money in your pajamas or do you want to work in a cubicle (after a stressful 90 minute commute) with 100 annoying co-workers for some greedy boss who will pay you just enough to get by and treat you like dirt?

Come on.
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Yeah. Be thankful you aren't grinding away like others. Its not easy and electronic communication isn't a great way to interact with people.. perception and social media bs and all that. Make friends at restaurants , gas stations , wherever and then go back and be glad you don't have those jobs
 
Turveyd said:
See your not arguing about the 100 annoying co workers LOL

90mins each way 1 hell of a commute but I'm sure some people not by choice had to do it, I've done it a few times but only for £50 per hour, can't imagine doing that on min wage.
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I only had 20 annoying co-workers and tolerated most of them. Hated only a few of them. The worst part was the mandatory lunch every day where you had to make conversation with people where the only common ground you had were being humans and working at the same company. :)

I think the OP raises a valid point though. There's no need to compare his current situation with office life or asking if he'd rather go back to the 9-5.

The question is how he can deal with the feelings of isolation and loneliness that he's currently experiencing. I'm sure some of those answering haven't either felt it or maybe aren't full time trading independently.

I'm a very independent guy and love being on my own and handling problems on my own. I always hated team work. Still, being lonely and isolated all of the time is a challenge long-term. I'm feeling it myself.

The obvious solution is to get out of the house as often as you can. Have a more social life. And so on.

But even still. It's challenging to be running a business where you're completely alone about it. No customers even. Nobody to talk to about troubles. Nobody who understand the sacrifices you've made.

I've talked to some independent professionals in other fields and it's definitely not restricted to trading. One girl I met actually got a part-time job in addition to her consulting job - just to get out of the house and feel like she was part of society.

Others solutions could be to get a shared office environment. If you can't find one which have traders in it - you can still have an office shared with other independent professionals and at least get out of the house.

I'm sure there are some who don't mind the isolation at all and even enjoy it, but for most people it will be a challenge.
 
When I was working in a corporate office environment, I would rush back home and have zero desire to interact with other human beings.

Now that I'm working 100 % from home (remote work arrangement + full time trading) - it's the other way around. After a day of work I really just want to see some people and get out of the house. But having a busy daily life - it's hard to find time for much socialization at all. Hell, I don't even have time for my girlfriend.

Pre-covid I had a gym routine which was really beneficial. I'm a social guy so I had a circle of training friends. I find that excercise is really important and if it can fill your social needs too, then great. Gyms in Norway have opened up lately, but I'm not really feeling the desire to get back in yet.

Current socialization is pretty much limited to hitting up the local coffeeshop, running some errands and meeting friends on the weekend. Long term - I think getting a shared office space would be a nice solution. We'll see. Mastering trading is priority number one. Handling loneliness will have to wait... :)
 
sn0wblind said:
How do you deal with the isolation of trading by yourself? I’ve been trading futures solo for a few years, and it is starting to drive me crazy a bit. Chat rooms end up a bit useless if not talking about the same approach, forums seem stuck somewhere between active and dead and full of cynicism, and most people outside of the computer don’t understand what you do. The community feels fractured all over the place. In such a high-stress but often solo profession, how do you think this could be better?
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You need a cat :)
 

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vanzandt said:
You can kiss that goodbye.
I'll bet ya $200.
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If it costs me $200 per month to increase my focus and stop me going nuts then it's worth it.

But he'll trade only with me and my logic so 50% of the time all winners, 50% all losers and zero middle ground.

Hopefully get him off the drugs and onto better drugs lol
 
sn0wblind said:
How do you deal with the isolation of trading by yourself? I’ve been trading futures solo for a few years, and it is starting to drive me crazy a bit. Chat rooms end up a bit useless if not talking about the same approach, forums seem stuck somewhere between active and dead and full of cynicism, and most people outside of the computer don’t understand what you do. The community feels fractured all over the place. In such a high-stress but often solo profession, how do you think this could be better?
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@Laissez Faire said it best...
  • The obvious solution is to get out of the house as often as you can. Have a more social life. And so on.
Its also about the activities you're doing during your trading day that will ultimately have the most psychological impact on how you're interacting during your day as a trader.

For example, a trader that has an office in his basement that's really not an office while trading via a desktop (not mobile) versus a trader that's mobile via laptops and can move from room to room as the sunlight changes outside...

The trader in the basement will have more problems.

Another example, a trader that uses his / her lunch breaks to eat / socialize in person with someone / phone call / Facetime will have a better outlook on the trading day than someone that's glue to the screen from start to finish without any lunch breaks.

Also, you stated...
  • Most people outside of the computer don’t understand what you do.
Sometimes that means that whatever you're doing, you're not approaching it as a professional or you're talking about people that's never been self-employed or never done any computer work for a living or you're just not successful in their eyes in which they don't understand why you continue doing it....could be just a little of all of that.

That's why I often tell people to not quit their jobs the early years of their trading until they've proven they're consistently successful for several years in which the income is better than their job. During this time period, most people will view you as a hard worker, dedicated or as someone making a lot of money from trading while having another job and a serious hobby that one day may become the job.

Regardless, there's a lot of missing info from your story that would explain why you feel isolation while trading.

Myself deal with the isolation via mandatory lunch breaks, mandatory social breaks during the trading day and either early morning workouts or evening workouts with others during Facetime with workout buddies.
  • The key is to keep a schedule / routine that involves some sort'uv socialization with those that has nothing to do with trading.
Family time is important too and a simple walk around the block as a routine is what's needed to get it started in preventing the feeling of isolation as a trader.

wrbtrader
 
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