Busy, busy, busy

Work has been busy for me the past few months. I have still been trading and evolving in between work. I am always surprised with the amount of correct info that i learn of as i continue my journey. I thought i "had it" then i would get smacked around a bit and realize i was still missing something. I have revisited some books that i read a while back to refresh myself of the things that i thought i knew. I have been tweaking my approach to the markets as i learn that what i was doing didnt work. i still use the same methodology but just use it in a different way.
 My morning trade plan has become more concise and actionable as opposed to just stating the obvious. I feel as if im getting a better read on the market day after day. Its really tough to self coach because you have to be on your toes and realize when you have done something wrong either with your mindset or strategy. And you have to be willing to make the necessary adjustments in order to continue your development. I have certainly realized the trap of thinking that by starring at the charts all day is constructive learning when i fact all i was doing was just that ,starring at the charts and waiting. So i continue to march forward...

Work issues.

    I usually get to work at 7AM and that gives me an hour to do some prep work. Lately the boss has been coming in early as well and this has been eating into my pre market prep time. I do my pre market analysis as best as i can but sometimes cant post it on time. Ideally i would like to post it by 8 AM and make some minor changes based on the price action leading up to just before the cash open.
 Throughout the day i constantly get pulled away from trading to handle work related issues. As of lately we are going through some major expansion projects and it takes alot of my time from trading. A few months ago i had a lot of extra time to trade with very few interruptions. I have to balance work and trading for now but would like to ultimately make the transition to trading full time after im 100% sure that i can make a consistent living from trading. I have goals that i want to achieve in order to prove to myself that i can in fact make money trading. I will do a post later on about the goals i want to hit along my way to being consistent.

Trading my plan and planning my trades

   Over the past few months since i started this blog/journal i have been realizing a few things. Like the need to have a routine, morning trade plan, and record keeping ETC.. And all has been going well with them issues. But i never really realized the importance of having a developing trade plan that guides me throughout the day as the market unfolds. I think i am starting to understand another one of them well known market axioms "Trade your plan and plan your trade" I started doing planning in the morning by typing up a trade plan for the day but that's where it stopped. I never continued into the day. Although since I have started my morning trade plan i don't know how i ever tried to trade without it before. And i am starting to realize that i don't know how i have been able to place a trade without ever doing a developing trade plan throughout the day. Since i have been doing the morning analysis and trade plan i have been noticing a change in my market approach and can see myself develop over this time by having this routine. I can only assume that if i do a developing trade plan throughout the day that it will help me to better understand the market as it unfolds. I have heard other traders say they can read the market like a book. I don't read the markets like a book lol. So how can i try and trade the market when i cant even read the price action that is unfolding in front of me? How do other traders seem to have a crystal ball and know what is going to happen next and be in position for it? How is it that experienced traders are exiting a trade when amateurs are just getting in? This is all because they have a plan and i don't. I was thinking back to when i traded with a good consistent trader, and i realized this is exactly what he was doing. He always knew where he was gonna trade and wouldn't do anything unless the market got to that area that he would have predetermined. I remember asking him once "You always know where you want to trade?" and his response was absolutely! He even would make comments to his "Master plan" Which i realize now was what he had in mind for the bigger picture.

    So what i am doing to get over this and other issues i have is im keeping a journal of just market action and laying out trade ideas based on what i see unfolding on the charts. I will come up with trade ideas and try to figure out how i would trade them. I have been doing this the past two days and it is a little difficult at first. I really believe it is helping me to come up with trade ideas and identifying where i want to trade before the market gets to an area i want to trade as opposed to being passive and reacting when the market is ticking in my area. Because then there isn't enough time to analyze what is taking place. Bottom line is i am not planning out my trades before hand and this will simply not do. I wouldn't go into battle or try and build a house without having plans would I? Then why am i doing it while trading. Time for changes!!!

Having rules and then Having rules...

Do you have a set of rules? I do but up till know i never really had a set of rules. I kept them on my trading rules page but never really realized the importance of having and trading by a set of rules. I figured , OK i need rules let me through a few together and then i have rules. But im starting to realize that isn't how it works. Truly having rules means that you foloow them and you fully understand them and live and die by them. If you dont then you will fail. Just like if you drive a car around on the street you have to follow the rules or you will get into an accident or get a ticket. Same with trading. If you dont follow your rules you will get smacked again and again untill you realize it. Thats where i am right now.So what i have done is print out 5 copys of my rules and put a copy every where i am the most (work desk, home desk, truck, back pocket etc..) I read them every chance I get. And i made a rule that if i take a loser trade i read them again 10 times. My goal is to really know them and add to them as needed. I want to know them well enough that i can recite them by memory.

Definition of a winning attitude

A positive expectation for your efforts with an acceptance that whatever results you get are a perfect reflection of your level of development and what you need to learn to do better.
-Mark Douglas-

Trading and meditaion

I have been realizing something over the last 6 months or so ever since i went on vacation in the end of December. Before i went away i was a mess. My trading was all over the place and i was losing by the end of the every month. I didnt understand why. So i go on vacation for 3 weeks like i said before in a previous post, and when i got back i was fully rested and refreshed. I was trading like i never had traded before. I was just making good trade after good trade and my PNL was showing the results. For the first time i was up by the end of the month and i was very happy. Then something happened. I started taking a lot of losing trades. Why? I have been searching the past few weeks to figure out the reason i did so good then so bad. Like i said before work was getting between me and trading and the daily stress of life was piling back up again. It took about 4 weeks to feel the way i felt before i went of vacation. The only logical reason i could come up with is that my mind was beginning to get filled with so much chatter and unnecessary junk that it started to cloud my judgment. Even though i thought i was clear and ready to handle the markets my results were telling me that i wasn't. So what i decided to do is learn how to meditate. It sounds easy right? But have you ever tried to sit and not think about anything for an extended period of time? Shit i couldn't do it for more than a few seconds. Your thoughts wonder off and you have to bring your self back over and over again. So i decided to learn a method of meditating that makes a lot of sense to me. There is  technique that is extremely useful in meditating and has been around for thousands of years. Its called Transcendental meditation Or TM. I wont go into what it is about here, you can search it on Google and find alot of info on it. Either way the idea is to be in a clear state of mind to allow myself to think unhindered and clearly. I start next week on Saturday and im really excited about it. Part of my trading plan includes a health portion. And with in the health portion is a part about mental and spiritual health. So i wanted to start to meditate any way as per my trading plan. TM will fulfill the mental part of my health plan. I will continue to journal my thought and results of taking a TM program along the way. Wish me luck.

Tracking my progress 10 Trades at a time.

Im going to start an excel sheet on Monday. It is going to aid me in the trade analysis part of my trading. currently i am using Ninja trader trade analysis that is built into the program. But i find that i am only using it to track my PNL over a week, month or YTD. Im not really seeing how my trades are progressing in terms of how they are executed by my trading methodology.
My objectives:
1. To see if I am trading in line with my expectations of my edge.
2. To notice if i am trading by my rules.
3. To be able to make necessary adjustments to my enteries and exits based off of my findings.
4. To see if i am sticking to my entry/exit and target/stop that i lay out before i take a trade.
5. To know my percent of winners and losers for every ten trades.
6. To see when i get stopped out if it was the correct action to happen. After stop, did market keep moving in that direction.
7. To see what time and how long i take a trade for.
8. To see how far a trade moved against or for me before getting out. (MAE-MFE)

Im sure i will refine this as i go on but i have determined that i need to see how my trades are playing out on paper so i can take notice of any trends and make the adjustments i need.

Heres the scoop!

     I haven't been doing to well with trading the past few weeks. Partly because i have had some issues with work. I don't want to sound like im blaming work or any thing like that. Its that i find it very difficult to concentrate on trading when my phone rings and i constantly get interrupted, and i don't have enough time to do my morning analysis to set my levels and feel comfortable with them. I haven't been posting my results either which isn't good for my development. Partially because of work and not having enough time after market close and also due to being so discussed with my results for the day that i don't want to even acknowledge my bad trading.
    In the beginning of the year i was doing really good and i thought for a minute that i have made it. I thought that i have finally turned the corner and that it will all be down hill from here. My PNL was starting to go up for the first time in the past 2 years. But I soon realized that is far from the truth. And that my trading journey is in fact just beginning. I remain optimistic. In light of all the hard times im faced with in trading right now this is the time that i really need to be strong. and keep up the good fight. because i really believe in the fact that i can become a full time trader. I feel im a pretty smart guy. And i see know difference in me or some one that is consistently profitable. Our supreme being (who ever you believe in) didn't come down from the heavens and tap the profitable traders on the head when they were just born and say "Your gonna be a profitable trader" or "Your gonna be a scientist" Or "Your gonna be a sports super star" It was a matter of hard work and a lot of effort that got these people to where they are today. One would say that traders are born. And i believe that to a certain extent. But i also believe more that it is a skill that is nurtured and honed to perfection. Through years of ups and downs. So that one day it can be utilized as needed to navigate the markets on a daily basis to pull profits out effortlessly.
   When i went on vacation to Colorado and spent 2 weeks in the Rockies soaking up the fresh mountain air. I really let the markets go and the learning that went into it for that time. When i returned i felt refreshed and ready to go. I looked at the charts and it all made sense to me. Kinda like Neo did when he realized he was the one. And i was nailing it. Then the past few weeks i feel i have hit the wall. So now im trying to figure out what happened and how i can change that to help me get out of this funk i am in.
     What i plan to do is stick to my rules. I will cut down to 1 lot for the next few weeks. And at the end of the month i will review my progress. If i am satisfied i will either increase back to 2 lots or i will go on SIM. I have to preserve my capital at all cost. And cutting back size or going on SIM are the only ways i can do that. I am in control of that. So that is what i will do. I am also gonna keep a trade sheet next to me and track my trades 5 or10 trades at a time. Just a simple sheet with entry, exit, reason and PNL. I may include a few other little things like context and where we were at with the market structure. I will do this to help see what trades i am messing up on and what i should have done instead. So i will start with that and go from there. I will try and post every day. Ok later on...