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Staring in front of my monitor the whole day is difficult for me to do. It’s boring. It bores me to death. It’s so frustrating because it takes 1 second to backtest a strategy, but then when it’s time to trade, and I have to sit in front of my monitor for 8 hours waiting every 5 minute bar to complete. It simply sucks. Maybe I lack patience.
The worst part is when I will leave my desk to do something else because I’m not seeing any opportunities, or I don’t foresee any opportunities because the way the chart looks, and I will come back to my desk and notice a move a move I missed. This blows.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
Only trade the first hour and last hour of the day, for example. Rest of the day, go live your life or work on more productive things (still related to trading).
Create alarms and alerts to notify you of activity you want to participate in.
If you are consistently profitable, add another market or two to the mix.
If you are consistently profitable, up your size. This will make things more "interesting".
I'm guessing you found a method that tests well, but you also found out that it is hard to trade in real time, because of the boredom factor.
Consider either automating your trading (then you don't have to be there), or change your strategy as Big Mike suggested - make it fit what you like (certain hours, certain number of trades, etc).
If you do nothing, and continue to trade a strategy that bores you, you are on a sure road to ruin. You'll miss trades, or start taking flyers. Your performance will not be close to your historical testing, that is for sure.
The ironic thing is many traders consider good trading to be boring.
Ditto. I would further qualify that "something else" beith not crude and practice for a few months before going live. If you haven't already, I would also recommend that you analyze your stats by hour. I use to trade all day and found I didn't make any money after the first 3 hours anyway, so I stopped.
Really trading should be boring in many respects and you want to keep it that way. It should not be unsatisfying but craving excitement via trading can ruin you. It can cause to start trying to make your life more exciting by getting into trades you should not. Lets face it the euphoria and fear created by being in a trade can be quite addicting. Even fear can be a rush.
All that being said I get what you are saying and I have found automation to be a key for me. I don't want to stare at a monitor all day long for endless hours. I can get so much more done in other aspects of my life by allowing a bot to execute my plan.
"The day I became a winning trader was the day it became boring. Daily losses no longer bother me and daily wins no longer excited me. Took years of pain and busting a few accounts before finally got my mind right. I survived the darkness within and now just chillax and let my black box do the work."
Just cause you're stuck at your desk doesn't mean it has to be boring. Learn a new skill, or language, play video games (my third monitor is now dedicated to my xbox), do probability puzzles, learn more about markets, or about other instruments, The CME Group risk management handbook is always a good read!
You could also automate, or just choose a different line of work, because if your not interested in what you do, it will only get more monotonous as time goes on.
This is the retail educator's mantra, and I hear it all the time, and for some reason people just take it at face value.
I agree in the sense that it's not productive to get angry and make decisions as a result that are harmful to oneself. However, a boring profession is worse than prison. Why would you want to make money, if you are literally bored for hours a day on end? I know that lunchtime isn't the most exciting, so nothing wrong with doing something else during that period, but if trading is not exciting to someone, then I think he needs to consider another profession.
Somewhere towards the middle/end (if I recall) of this video, PTJ talks about this a bit. Whatever the case, it's a fascinating video about the man:
He is the antithesis of "trading is boring" and I would be willing to bet that the ones who do this as a career do not find making money boring, nor are they automatons when losing money. Note how PTJ responds on a 6 million USD losing day--he is not super angry, but he vows that "they" will repay him. Also, on a 5 million USD winning day, he is very anxious and nervous as the close nears. Hardly the "cool hand luke, mr. robot" image that is so often touted as the only way to be. Perhaps the trading educator's "be emotionless" advice needs to be reconsidered, particularly as we are all different and some of us will be bored, and some of us will actually find it exciting and fun when we do something for 8-12 hours a day.
I'll share a couple action steps that helped me, because for the longest time I'd get bored watching chop or narrow range consolidation, or I'd take a few "probe" trades that went nowhere, then I'd take a break and come back to see a strong move that came off a clean signal.
1. Find another trader or two to chat with during chop/consolidation periods.
2. As soon as you feel the urge to step away because the price action's making you stir crazy, give it 20 more minutes (set an alarm or timer).
If you do #1, be careful about discussing stuff where you have to scroll back on your charts, because you'll still end up missing the move if you can't stay focused on the right edge.
Yes it is boring, it bores me to death too
That's why I only trade longer time frames now, daily/weekly/monthly charts; and on top of that I have found that this is where the real money lies... much more than intraday scalps and making my broker fortunes through commissions - but that could be just me.
Also, over the days when I used to wake up in the middle of the night to watch the overseas sessions, over the days I used to sit in front of my screen for more than 15hrs a day, over that over this... Over my 6 screens arrays too, and over my super subscriptions to all possible data feeds, news feeds, websites, platforms, and you name
Those were the days hehehe... yes, when trading was all new and exciting, a lot to learn, and a lot to discover. Waiting for the 5min candle to form live was the most exciting thing ever!
But guess what? Those were the days in which I would be wiped out by news or institution plays too, jump over an earning report or fed releases; and unfortunately the days I used to watch my account shrink month after month.
It is rare to read on this forum that a trader is getting bored; but I would qualify that as a new phase in the process where trading ultimately should become just a tool, a means to an end, to make money and live financially independent
Then you go get yourself a living! Hopefully sooner than later...
Congratulations if you have reached that phase.
Sincerely
Fadi
Successful people will do what unsuccessful people won't or can't do!
