A Day In The Life Of A Full-Time Forex Trader
The life of a full-time trader from home can be lonely, as is often the case for work-from-home activities such as freelancing or blogging. It’s not for everyone. As you’ve all come to know our mentor Lerato is a full time forex trader and today he will be sharing his daily routine with us for those of you that aspire to be full time forex traders and some key daily activities that ensure he is always in top condition for the market.
Predominantly his day will start off with a cup of coffee and laptop on his work station. Checking moves from the London session, any expected news feeds to see what might be affecting the markets. Once he has a clear view of the day so far and what the day’s news calendar looks like, he’ll review his watchlist to scan through the trading pairs he has already analysed and share those that are close to his ideal entry price with the MYFXMENTOR trading community.
When everyone else is getting ready for their morning commute, a trader is already working. A traders commute might be from the kitchen to the sofa or work station but they are already on the job and usually even before the day begins they’ve been up in the AM to scan through anything they anticipated. Heres some of the things he has shared with us on how he keeps in check on a daily basis as a full time trader.
Lerato Masigo
Lifestyle Choices
The 24-hour forex grind can be tedious and proper lifestyle choices are needed to build discipline and focus, in turn improving the bottom line. As a result, the full time trader takes as much time working on relaxation and personal health issues as watching world markets. Traders also know how to have fun, taking regular time to get away from their trading screens and unwinding with friends and family.
Many full time traders take physical and mental conditioning even further, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol use and maintaining a healthy diet that keeps weight under control and the mind in an alert state. They also understand that problems with interpersonal relationships can translate immediately into performance shortfalls, so adequate time is taken to deal with spouses, parents and children.
Research & Patience
Research is key, due diligence paramount, and patience is often the thing that keeps it all together. There’s no hurry. A trader might spend the whole day viewing charts without making a single trade. Savvy traders choose their battles wisely. If something catches the trader’s eye in the morning, they’ll place an order or two. The day is starting well, time for a break.
Your money is working for you now, even when you are not there. Take a shower, do the dishes, go jogging. Your trades will be waiting for you when you get back. Of course, you can stay home and keep a close watch too!
There are ways to protect yourself from unexpected price shifts. Two musts are the Stop Loss and the Take Profit. When traders place an order, they can set an amount they’d be happy to earn. There’s no rule for this, it’s a personal preference. Same goes for Stop Loss. How much are you prepared to lose? These two functions are automatic and activate when orders hit the parameters you set. This lets a trader open multiple orders throughout the day without having to keep a minute by minute vigil.
Opening multiple positions is often referred to as diversification (not putting all your eggs in one basket). This way, you can still meet your investment quota of the day, but your results won’t be tied to one decision. It also means that you can use your free time to do other things. Watch a movie or some trading tutorials, read a book, or exercise.
The day is running. Time to check your laptop and see how your orders are doing. Check the graphs and see the movements for the morning and maybe add a few more orders on anything that caught your eye.
The Bottom Line
The trading day ends with a performance and session review, noting characteristics that may impact future strategies and outcomes.
I study my trading journal and try to answer these questions:
What did I do right today?
What did I do wrong today?
What can I do better tomorrow?
Finally, i take a last look at forex pairs not closely watched that day, checking for trading opportunities they may have missed.
Once the trading day is complete… the rest of the day is spent empowering our trading community and family time. :)
Happy Trading
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Risk disclaimer: The information presented on our blog are for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing on this website serves as investment advice or recommendations. Trading is risky and you can lose more than your initial investment. MyFxMentor cannot be held responsible for any decisions visitors make. Please consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Risk disclaimer.
