Taking Advantage of a Trading Pause

Ever since I started trading full-time one and a half year ago, I haven’t had a day of pause. Don’t get me wrong, because I took some days of vacation from time to time. What I mean is that I always had the possibility to trade either in my office or while I was on-the-go (here is my previous article about it here). This time is a little different though and I am not giving up on trading by any means. So, what’s the reason for me to not being able to trade? Easy, I am switching broker.

In fact, some weeks ago Warrior Trading announced an amazing partnership with LightSpeed trading (here is the blog post about it) allowing us to have access to a very convenient group rate. Since then, I’ve actually thought about dropping my current broker (SpeedTrader) in favor to them. It took me a while to realize that the advantages were way more important than what I’d miss if making the switch. So, now I’m in the process of funding the new account and having no chance to get trades executed.

So, I thought that this one forced pause can be turned into a good opportunity to focus on side businesses that usually I’d do in my own free time or, most likely, ending up postponing. The idea is that this time needs to be invested in both activities that would give immediate results as soon as I’ll be back on trading (a few days from now) as well as other initiatives that can bring value to me more in a longer-term perspective. In fact, it will be important to keep an eye on the wider horizon in order to win the trading marathon, not just the sprint (read here for more).

Key point is about being a forward thinker

So, here is a list of activities that I have been going into detail during this “frozen” time: 

• Reviewing trading statistics in-depth in order to better understand what I am good at and what I am not as good at. This one analysis needs to include at least which one strategy, price-range and time of the day are taken into consideration in order to come up with a readjusted plan that has more focus on the techniques I’ve been proven to be best at;
• Readjusting the trading station in order to fit the evolving needs of my trading style. To me, it all starts with a nice spacious desk where I can accommodate a PC and a laptop that I use just for the chat-room. I am also planning to mount some new display racks for adding a couple of more displays to the setup;
• Keeping on trading with a simulator because you don’t want to get out of shape from the trading arena. So, there is no shame in keep trading on the simulator even if you already trade live. That’s also the best environment where practice with new strategies even if you have the ability to trade. Getting losses just because you have not enough experience with a strategy is not fun;
• Watching contents about the new broker platform helps a lot in reducing the timing to be fully capable of trading once everything is set up to go live again. So, every broker has its own tools and platform and there is no better time than this one to study how to adapt to the changing environment.

The key here, instead of just waiting, is to be a forward thinker that can anticipate the future conditions and get immediately ready once there isn’t anything that prevents you from trading anymore. And to possibly to build it up even stronger once you’ll be given the next one opportunity. Sounded a lot like real life, eh?

“The more you take responsibility for your attitudes, the more you can adjust yourself in a forward-thinking manner.” – Deborah Day

See you in chat-room.

Trade safe,

Roberto Barbaro