Rinse and Repeat
Ding!
The lift doors opened.
Rach was holding her can of Coke from her lunch on her right hand as they walked into the lift. She pressed the button to take them to the ground floor while Rian rest her back at the lift's rear mirror wall as she would usually do.
Rach was holding her can of Coke from her lunch on her right hand as they walked into the lift. She pressed the button to take them to the ground floor while Rian rest her back at the lift's rear mirror wall as she would usually do.
"Any plans this weekend?", Rian asked.
She was fiddling on her slender fingers a pack of cigarette that she bought from Zoom the day before.
It was a quick ride from the 23rd to the ground. Thanks to the high-speed lift.
They walked out of the lift and down the lobby and stopped on their usual spot on the side of the building for Rian's cigarette break.
They walked out of the lift and down the lobby and stopped on their usual spot on the side of the building for Rian's cigarette break.
"Buti nga pinauwe ko muna sila Marc.", Rian said. "Pabalikin ko na lang sila sa winter."
She took out one stick of ciggy, put it on her lips and started clicking on her lighter.
There was a warm wind blowing. The sun is out as it usually is in the middle east.
Rian tried to turn around and put her other hand around her lighter to light her ciggy.
Rian tried to turn around and put her other hand around her lighter to light her ciggy.
Rach sipped a little from the can of Coke and checked the time on her phone.
It was 12:32PM.
It was 12:32PM.
Finally lighting her stick, Rian started smoking.
Putting away her pack and lighter inside the tight pocket of her usual black jeans and started puffing smoke.
Putting away her pack and lighter inside the tight pocket of her usual black jeans and started puffing smoke.
"Ikaw? nandito pa rin ba mag-ama mo?" She asked as she puff away.
"Oo.", Rach replied. "Hanggang Eid pa. Tapos sabay-sabay kami uuwe sa pinas sa holiday."
"Nice!", Rian exclaimed. "Ayos 'yan. Makakapag-bonding pa kayo. Mainit nga lang."
She told Rach to take advantage of the season-switch and while it was still not that scorching hot outside. Recommending some good spots to go and see around the emirates.
"Nice!", Rian exclaimed. "Ayos 'yan. Makakapag-bonding pa kayo. Mainit nga lang."
She told Rach to take advantage of the season-switch and while it was still not that scorching hot outside. Recommending some good spots to go and see around the emirates.
Rian walked towards the black colored bin and flick her first ciggy butt in.
Rach don't smoke. She just go down with Rian for the small talk and just to have a bit of stretch. To get a break from the stress of their toxic work place.
Rian lit her second stick.
"Si Ems medyo nasasanay na sa Pinas eh," she said. "Natututo na mag-Tagalog sa mga pinsan niya."
She puffed again.
The wind blew once more and grazed their naked faces. Rach can feel the warmth of the summer creeping in already.
She moved to Rian's opposite side as the wind blows her smoke right into her direction.
Rian told her how much staying in the Philippines made significant changes to her daughter. She misses the kid. Like any other overseas parents would. Rach could see the seriousness on her face.
"Eh 'di single ka ngayon?", Rach jokingly teased just to break the serious tone of their conversation.
Rian went on saying how harder it is being 'single' and away from your family. That's why she's working hard to invest more on their business back in the Philippines.
She lit her third stick. Rach already finished her can of Coke.
They went on talking about their families as cars drove by. Their office building sits right next to a busy junction.
By the time they were ready to get back up to their work stations, Rian already finished half the pack of her ciggy.
"Naubos mo 'yon?", Rach exclaimed.
She knew Rian was a smoker, but that was the first time She saw her finished half a pack.
"Madali lang pag araw-araw mo na ginagawa.", Rian explained. "Parang pag-a-abroad lang yan 'tol. Sa una mahirap, pero katagalan nasasanay ka na."
It was already a quarter past one when they started walking back up.
"Yaan mo tol. Someday, makaka-uwi na rin tayo." Rian said with an obvious fake enthusiasm on her voice as they reach the lift lobby.
Rian lit her second stick.
"Si Ems medyo nasasanay na sa Pinas eh," she said. "Natututo na mag-Tagalog sa mga pinsan niya."
She puffed again.
The wind blew once more and grazed their naked faces. Rach can feel the warmth of the summer creeping in already.
She moved to Rian's opposite side as the wind blows her smoke right into her direction.
Rian told her how much staying in the Philippines made significant changes to her daughter. She misses the kid. Like any other overseas parents would. Rach could see the seriousness on her face.
"Eh 'di single ka ngayon?", Rach jokingly teased just to break the serious tone of their conversation.
Rian went on saying how harder it is being 'single' and away from your family. That's why she's working hard to invest more on their business back in the Philippines.
She lit her third stick. Rach already finished her can of Coke.
They went on talking about their families as cars drove by. Their office building sits right next to a busy junction.
By the time they were ready to get back up to their work stations, Rian already finished half the pack of her ciggy.
"Naubos mo 'yon?", Rach exclaimed.
She knew Rian was a smoker, but that was the first time She saw her finished half a pack.
"Madali lang pag araw-araw mo na ginagawa.", Rian explained. "Parang pag-a-abroad lang yan 'tol. Sa una mahirap, pero katagalan nasasanay ka na."
It was already a quarter past one when they started walking back up.
"Yaan mo tol. Someday, makaka-uwi na rin tayo." Rian said with an obvious fake enthusiasm on her voice as they reach the lift lobby.
Ding!
The lift doors opened.
Rach was still holding her empty can of Coke on her right hand as they walked in the lift. She pressed the button to take them to the 23rd floor while Rian rest her back at the lift's rear mirror wall as she would usually do.
It was a quick ride from the ground to the 23rd floor.
They walked out of the lift and went back to their usual spot in the office to bury their selves again with work. Back to the their version of the rat race.
Rach was still holding her empty can of Coke on her right hand as they walked in the lift. She pressed the button to take them to the 23rd floor while Rian rest her back at the lift's rear mirror wall as she would usually do.
It was a quick ride from the ground to the 23rd floor.
They walked out of the lift and went back to their usual spot in the office to bury their selves again with work. Back to the their version of the rat race.
"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, it’s a habit."
– Aristotle
Marathon runners. They all started somewhere. For them to be able to run that full marathon, them runners go through rigorous series of training, diet and rest. Following an intense routine, to get better day by day. Pushing limits and improving until they make it to the finish line.
Traders are no different. Actually, some traders can relate trading to running a marathon. We start from knowing nothing and grow our knowledge of trading little by little. Slowly building the pace. Adding a few kilometers every time we do our runs.
Routines doesn't always have to be boring. They should be followed to improve one or several aspects of your life. If it's causing you more harm than good, then you have to break the habit.
Rian's habit of going for a quick smoke every after lunch of every single working day, consuming half a pack, is also a routine. But we all know that she's developing a bad habit. One that can cause her health.
We have to be careful in creating our routines. Pick the ones that brings value on our trading process and not the ones that influence us negatively.
I remember having read a comment on one of a social media group that I was in -
"Kanina pa ako nakatitig sa chart pero di ko alam kung anong hinahanap ko."
Staring at charts without knowing what to look for can be very unproductive. But a routine of reviewing your trades, on the other hand, can be very useful way of improving your trading process.
So let's go over them... shall we?
Rian's habit of going for a quick smoke every after lunch of every single working day, consuming half a pack, is also a routine. But we all know that she's developing a bad habit. One that can cause her health.
We have to be careful in creating our routines. Pick the ones that brings value on our trading process and not the ones that influence us negatively.
I remember having read a comment on one of a social media group that I was in -
"Kanina pa ako nakatitig sa chart pero di ko alam kung anong hinahanap ko."
Staring at charts without knowing what to look for can be very unproductive. But a routine of reviewing your trades, on the other hand, can be very useful way of improving your trading process.
My Trading Routine
I have established some of my routines way back when I was creating my trading plan and my system. These routines helped me plan my day and week so that I am not spending time during market hours scrambling what to do if the market surprises me. It let me start my trading session feeling calm, relaxed and prepared for whatever the market throws at me - well, maybe not all of it 😅.So let's go over them... shall we?
The Weekend Before
My trading week starts the weekend before. I would create my watchlist on Saturdays if I'm not busy but normally I would do them on Sunday nights which probably takes me about half an hour or so. I browse the charts. Skipping blues and choppy/wicky charts. Then scan for setups that look interesting to me.
Stocks that pass my parameters would then be added on my investawatcher and on my excel file. I would start charting, plot my lines, look for my entries, cut loss and initial TP. I would then add these notes on my excel file and update my investawatcher to notify me of these key levels on the coming week.
I also check the index in terms of overall market sentiment and add it on my considerations if I'm gonna be conservative or aggressive for the week.
This first step of my trading week is very important for my trading process. This step serves as my battle plan for the wars ahead. I set my eyes on my prey beforehand so that there's no need to 'hunt' for setups during the week.
The During Market
My daily routine is kind of different as we are 4 hours delayed here in the middle east. When I started trading, I would wake up at 4:30AM here just to catch the morning session. That routine never worked for me. It gave me more stress and lesser sleep. One of the few good things that it contributed in my trading process is that it made me realize to not force myself on trading the morning session. Eventually I went back to my normal routine - wake up at 7AM, reflect, shower, prep, then commute to work.
I decided to just trade the afternoon session at work. Specifically near EOD to EOD. During this period, very little effort is needed for my trading for the reasons that I already have a watchlist and I already know how to play these stocks if ever my bias unfolds. I'm an alt+tab warrior but I have my Investawatcher to 'watch' my stocks for me. This modification on my routine reduced my exposure from the market. From being glued on the screen to just acting when notified.
If I take a trade, I will write it down in my journal with a note on why I think that my trade idea is valid and how I feel about the trade - if I have conviction? too early? uncertain?
The After Market
Immediately after market, I would finish to journal my day even if I didn't execute anything. I would journal how the stocks on my watchlist moved. Then I would write my next trade ideas based on those moves. Visualize scenarios that the stock can go within the next days. My if-then-else.
I would also update my charts, lines and key levels if necessary by the end of the day to match my trade scenarios.
Running a quick screener at the end of day is also useful trick as it may sometimes catch stocks that moved significantly and may have pass my parameters intraweek.
I can do all this either during my lunch break at work or before my bed time at home. I would normally keep this step short as I'd take the rest of my day spending time with my wife and kid.
The Weekend After
Every weekend, I would go over my daily journal and compile them into a weekly review.
- Did I follow my plan?
- Did I buy the breakout too early or too late?
- Am I exiting trades early? What might be the reason?
- Did I held on to losing trades?
- How often did I followed my plan? For the ones I followed, have I been profitable?
- Was I right about my view of the overall market sentiment?
- How are my emotions? Did any if it affected my trades?
It is like asking - how was your trades this week? I will go over them in details and look for the 'what works and what doesn't'. I'll identify any issues and try to think of a fix for it. Steps that I can take to do more of the right things and to do less of my mistakes.
The End of Month
Well, the title already said it. This is just a general review of my trading performance over the past 4 weeks. I would also do this every quarter. And lastly, every end of the year. This exercise gives me a broader view of my performance as it contains larger amount of data from the past weeks or months. Major changes usually happen during this time for the same reason that you need that large enough data to evaluate your systems performance and also your performance as a trader.
It's basically asking yourself if you're still on the right track and how will you continue going with it. What are the steps you can take to go back on the right track if you feel that you are falling behind it or being derailed.
The 'Trader Development' Routine
This one is a personal choice. This is where I go look for other ways to improve my trading in general. These routines can come any forms. But for me, I try to do the following:- Read a book to develop a positive mindset. Not only a mindset for trading, but also for life in general.
- Chatting on fellow traders (preferably senior or experienced ones) about anything about trading. Most of the times they'll give you advises and tips just by talking with them and even without you asking.
- Watch trading podcasts or vlogs that are related on the current trading issues or emotions that you want to work on.
- Dissect trades of people that have the same profile or system as you.
- Backtest changes or modifications on your system.
Aside from my journal and reviews, this routine is where I also get to discover more effective approaches to my process, tools and other tips on improving my mindset and trading system. It's like having imaginary mentors. But...
On the other hand, this can also backfire at you if you're not careful enough in being selective of your mentors. You have to identify and absorb only the things that will bring you the most value as a trader.
Back when I started trading, I don't have any of these routines. I don't even have a single strategy. Even if I have one, I'd call it 'Lakas-Tira-Lakas-Chamba'. I was only reacting to the market back then. No plans. Chasing prices. No data to check my progress, if there's any.
But when I started following these routines, they helped me to be on track.
- Journal your trades so that you know what to work on.
- Have a trade plan and watchlist so that you know what to focus on.
- Have a regular review of your trades so that you can quantify your progress.
- Take advantage of the Internet and technology to do research and reach out to fellow traders so that you can keep on learning and growing.
Trading is not all about what happens during market hours. There should be more effort given on what we do before and after our trading sessions. Those are the hours that matter.
***
"Madali lang pag araw-araw mo na ginagawa.", Rian said.
"Madali lang pag araw-araw mo na ginagawa.", Rian said.
Comments
Post a Comment