Routine

Routine.  An oxymoron really if you ask me.  Is there such a thing?  How long before routine becomes mundane or there are outside factors impacting your so called routine to change.

In the Forex world, "routine" is perhaps next to impossible.   It's like organized chaos, sober madness.  But that doesn't mean you cannot and should not try.

My "Routine"

(at least today it was)

My "Routine" doesn't really seem to be too routine if you compare it to your average 9 to 5 routine.  You know the get up in the morning, shower, dress, gulp down breakfast, get yourself a Double Double (Canadians will get it), and then rush to work only to punch in late, somehow make it to lunch, then quitting time, some drinks with friends, perhaps the gym, or a quiet night infront of the TV.

The elements are there in my routine, however they are much simpler, they involve Coffee.  Good coffee.  I even started drinking gourmet decaf at night time. Mind you I drink double espressos at night and can sleep but I figured 4 double Espressos per day is plenty and then switch to decaf somewhere throughout the day.   Coffee plays an important role in my life, perhaps because I'm from Vienna and that's where coffee was cultivated.  More on that another time.   But where I have that coffee and how is uncertain.

Fitness.  A healthy body fuels a healthy mind.  Nothing better than feeling fit and alert.  Sweating out some toxins and of course looking good.   Yoga does it for me.  Not the meditating kind but the real yoga that makes you sweat and gives you a hard work out because you use your body weight, in my case a good 84kg or about 185lbs.  It's always good to look in the mirror and see that six pack coming in.   Of course first thing in the morning before overeating.

Food.  Quality food. Regular meals.  I tend to shift between cooking at home and eating out.  I always make breakfast at home, lately it's been 5 scrambled eggs with herbs.   I love to cook but I hate to clean up and why go through that hassle when you can get yourself a really good Pad Kaprao or Pad Thai from a local restaurant for just a couple dollars.   I do pick up fruits from the local market and make my own yogurt, of course I add a raw egg or two and some vanilla extract.

News.  www.ForexFactory.com   I just check what is going on today and glance at the remainder of the week.   I also have a news indicator that alerts me of any major events.

Trend Lines.  In my books, trendlines are key to making intelligent trades.   Trendlines are perception and you will get traders arguing about the validity and rules of trendlines, just like jitter chatter, block it out and do your thing.  Right or wrong, you'll know...   In my case, more right than wrong.

Identify Opportunities.  Next I identify which currency pairs are optimal and whether there are opportunities and then set my trading platform to monitor my proprietary conditions and enter or stay out.

Monitor Trades.  If a trade is triggered then I monitor that trade, as best as possible. Albeit sometimes it's best to just set and forget and let my proprietary code manage my trade.  Other times it's best to intervene and exit out early based on the current market conditions and ongoing trend analysis, upcoming news etc.

Hobbies.  If anything you need to keep busy.   As a trader you don't have a job that keeps you busy and alert.  The clock is yours to manage.  It doesn't manage you.  In Vienna I enjoyed several 40km bike rides, walking countless kms in the inner city.  In Rawai I enjoy badminton, taking pictures, and riding around on my motorbike.

Now that's my typical "daily" routine, but then again what is daily...  Typically my week starts Sunday night when I review the upcoming week, then Monday I observe mainly and get back into the swing of things, Tuesday I start trading, maybe, if the conditions are right, and Wednesday Thursday I start trading more and programming my Trading Platform.  Friday is usually a day off for me as are Saturday and Sunday.   All in all really I don't spend a lot of time infront of my computer.  Maybe an hour or two on trading days. Sometimes just 10 to 15 minutes per day.

"Routine" for me is nothing but regular.  My routine has the above elements but other than coffee in the morning, regular meals and exercise at irregular times, and trendline analysis before bed.  Everything in between is a big question mark.   Sometimes it can get dull, sometimes I'm too busy travelling.  Most times I sit back and say "life is good".  But one thing is a must for me. Coffee in the morning.

Coffee is Life

A few years back when I was living in the Netherlands I was consulting for a multi-national Fortune 500 company and responsible for managing a project with parties from England, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Italy.

It truly was an enlightening experience.  With all the history in Europe, subsequent long standing rivalries between some of the countries and different cultures & lifestyle, it made for an interesting project.

One evening I mingled with the Italian delegation, the most lively, friendly, and animated characters you could ever meet.   We shared one passion.   Coffee!    As you probably have gathered from my Forex Blog, I am from Vienna Austria where coffee was cultivated and brought to the Western World. 

 

So as we shared that cup of coffee the senior manager said "Coffee is Life" as he poured a tube of sugar in his espresso.   "Don't stir it! Just let it settle at the bottom."    An interesting philosophy.  Life sometimes is best seen as a journey, not a destination.  Stirring the sugar would just give you a consistent taste.  While leaving the sugar at the bottom will give you a little bit of a bitter, a little bit of sweet, and a lot of sweet at the end.  Similar to life.

In any event, the reason I'm writing this post today is to share another interesting perspective.  I was talking to my student Brendan who had some bad trades with the fear & greed factor dampening his ability to make profits.   If you have ever traded Forex or been in one of those situations where your emotions get the better of you, it's similar to having drank too much coffee.  Your heart is beating and you have no control over it.  You have this adrenaline, this want & need to do something.  You are restless.  Not thinking and acting clearly.

So what do you do?  Sometimes you just have to wait it out.  "Abwarten Tee Trinken" is a German expression, that means "Drink Tea and Wait".    That's about all you can do sometimes when life gets your emotions going. When your emotions are getting the better of you when you are trading and you are experiencing trading psychology first hand.