I took the week off - feel lost

[james_gsx]

So I took the week off since I knew there was a holiday it would probably mean light trading, so I took the opportunity to study for my series 7 and catch up on some sleep.

Now I feel a bit lost, like I lost my motivation and "edge". I know that taking some time off to clear your head is a good thing, it's in my trading plan. But do any of you have any suggestions on how I can jump full swing back into things?

[Soultrader]

Hey James,

I hear you completely. What I like to do when I feel totally out of sync with the market is to spend 2-3 days taking notes and observing instead of trading. This helps me get back on track. For me the most important thing is to be in harmony with the market. This means understanding the language of the markets, seeing all important levels, and having a clear view of the short term profile of the market. If I can not develop a solid trading plan for the following day, I usually note in my journal "apply a conservative strategy by waiting for a developing profile".

[torero]

Getting back into the daily routine usually get you back on track. Doing a checklist before the market opens each day eventually get your mindset back.

[MrPaul]

I feel that way sometimes over an extended weekend.

My solution is to pull out a bunch of different time frame charts I have printed out and start noting different aspects of them. About a half an hour of this on a Sunday night has me ready to go and focused on Monday morning.

[walterw]

I agree in taking two or three sessions of observation, then go live... you must remember that the last market you where trading maybe slightly diferent to the one you are looking right now... no hurry... you have many many sessions to make good money... cheers Walter.

[brownsfan019]

I'm going to go in the other direction here - so you took a week off, big deal.

I say get back on the horse Monday morning and do your job. If trading was a 'job' that someone else was paying you to do, you could not sit on your hands all week b/c you are 'lost'. In all seriousness, it just sounds like an excuse to not trade and/or laying the groundwork for any possible losses next week on something other than you.

Sorry if that's not as sugar coated as other replies here, but if you are running a serious business, then there's no question what you do Monday morning. If this a casual hobby for you, take the rest of the week, month or year off then!

[james_gsx]

	Quote:	brownsfan019
	I'm going to go in the other direction here - so you took a week off, big deal. I say get back on the horse Monday morning and do your job. If trading was a 'job' that someone else was paying you to do, you could not sit on your hands all week b/c you are 'lost'. In all seriousness, it just sounds like an excuse to not trade and/or laying the groundwork for any possible losses next week on something other than you. Sorry if that's not as sugar coated as other replies here, but if you are running a serious business, then there's no question what you do Monday morning. If this a casual hobby for you, take the rest of the week, month or year off then!

Thats the answer I like to hear

I'm going to start reading some books and looking over charts tonight and tomorrow so I can get back in the swing of things. If it doesn't work, well then lesson learned.

[cooter]

There's 250 trading days in a calendar year.

You should be trading at least 180 of those days.

If school kids in North America can stay in class for 180 days, you ought to be able to trade the same amount of time yourself.

Just my two ticks' worth....

[brownsfan019]

Excellent post Cooter!

Here's how I see it - when daytrading the US index futures markets you have a limited window of opportunity each day. And of those days you are going to lose on some of them. You simply cannot eliminate the good days b/c you took time off or WHATEVER reason (excuse). I'm glad james agrees with my sentiment b/c as he said, this will be a lesson learned - good or bad. Either way he's going to realize something. What that something is will be found on Friday.

Just trade this week james as you would any other week and you'll be fine. Do NOT let taking time off be a hindrance to you as you will then program your brain to think that taking time off is bad and costly. That's a slippery slope to go down b/c then you will feel like you can never take time off or if you do, you are doomed when you come back. Not a fun game to play with your brain in my opinion.

[james_gsx]

Well I just went ahead and wrote a plan for next week. I looked over all the technicals for the YM, ES, and NQ. Checked the charts for all my swing trading stocks, then did research on all of my investments. Then I put together a list of what I'm looking for as far as trades go, and basically how I'm going to trade the whole week. It definitely helped and now I'm back in the proper mindset and ready for tomorrow.