Your Daily Routine
Your average person gets up, makes a morning cup of coffee, pours a bowl of cereal, and makes some eggs—or some variation thereof. Depending on their routine, they will then turn on the morning news, read the newspaper, or surf the internet. Before, during, or after all of this will include showering, shaving, feeding the dog, and other activities that are needed to be done on a daily basis before heading off to work, school, or even for those who stay at home during the day.
Depending on the individual, the order and type of activity will change, but it is fairly common for some type of morning routine to set in for all individuals. Seldom are these developed routines conscious choices, as people often simply fall into certain patterns depending on the interests, needs, strengths, and weaknesses. There is nothing inherently good or bad about routines, as they can be a wonderful addition to someone's life, or they can include negative aspects that are a continual hindrance.
Since you are likely to fall into some sort of routine, you might as well do all you can to maximize the routine you fall into. For those that trade in the financial markets, a solid routine can help someone who still works full time to maximize their time spent trading. For those that trade full time, a solid routine can allow more time to analyze new stocks, spend time with their family, or enjoy whatever other activities that catch their interest.
Whatever you include in your routine, the key to making it stick is repetition. Over the years, I have heard many numbers thrown out to state how many days in a row you need to do something in order for it to become habit. Whether it is 15, 25, 30, or 45, there are two things for sure: first, the number of days undoubtedly varies based on the activity and individual, and, second, if you do a certain activity long enough, it will eventually become habit, so stick with whatever routine you establish religiously.
Write It Down
Since a person starting a new routine is likely going to have to break an old routine, your new routine will hardly be second nature at the start. Whether you go through your financial market activities in the morning or at night, there are likely to be some old habits you will have to break in order to establish your new, more productive habits. One thing that will likely help in this transition is to write down the exact order of how you want your routine to go, and then to follow it each day until it is no longer needed. This may seem very simple, but it is quite easy to forget something that is not habit to us already.
The items below are just a few of the areas that you could concentrate in your financial markets routine. Some people will establish this routine at night, and others in the morning, depending on their other activities going on in life. Both can be successful and both can maximize their remaining time if their routine is systematically followed.
The News
Whether it is at the start of the day or the conclusion, it is good to take a few minutes to at least check the headlines for any financial news that may have occurred. If you want to read more in depth at a later time, then do so, but for your routine, you want to just spend a few minutes to see if there is any macro news that might affect your positions or potential upcoming trades that day.
Check Current Positions
One of the first places any trader wants to go to is to see how their current active trades are doing. Since this will be a likely desire, there is nothing wrong with putting it at the top of your routine. Include it in your routine to make sure that all stops are in place, or make any adjustments you may need on your targets. Make sure this time is productive, and not just spent hoping or lamenting where you want the stock to go or not to go.
Check Your Watchlist
Any solid trader will have a developed watchlist of stocks they have been following for potential trades. The size of this list will vary dramatically, but your routine should definitely include some time to see if any of the stocks on your watchlist have setups occurring that would make them good trade candidates. Too often, traders only check their watchlist sporadically, which is ill advised as you never know when that juicy trade setup is going to occur.
Run Scans
One of the most powerful advantages to stock-trading software is the variety of scans they can perform. With the numerous parameters you can set, even the novice trader will likely have a few scans they feel comfortable with. Running scans for new trade setups or stocks to put on your watchlist is something probably left for the end of your routine, and you can allocate the time you deem necessary on any given day.
Continue Your Education
Unless you are the pro of pros, it is important that you dedicate a certain amount of time in your routine to your continuing financial markets education. Naturally, the greener you are at trading, the more time you should develop; however, even those that have been trading for years still have things they can learn. Take the time each day to invest in yourself, and it will pay dividends down the road.
How long a routine takes, when it takes place, and what is included will vary according to the individual. Whatever your situation is, there is no reason to not start today. What seems like work today will soon become habit, and while bad habits may be hard to break, good habits can be very financially rewarding.