How to Become a Self-Disciplined Trader

23 March, AtoZ Markets, London - When you first start you are overwhelmed by the amount of information available, where do you start? You join Forex webinars, load up different platforms and take a course or two, three, more, all to increase your knowledge about how to trade, strategies, risk to reward ratios and about emotions and whoosh> all too much to take in right? Have you ever been there when you started your trading journey?

Your journey starts out with a Forex strategy or two that is going to make you money, from people who just call themselves educators and don’t really trade. You start trading make a few wins and you think you know the market, and then losses begin to take over. What do you do? Cry foul? Do nothing? This is when you have to look back at your trading and review your trades and trading style? DISCIPLINE yourself and become a pro-trader! Great everyone talks about DISCIPLINE, what they really mean is SELF-DISCIPLINE!

The journey to becoming a self-disciplined trader

You are in a place with your trading where you do not want to be. How to become a self-disciplined trader? Here are a few tips, to help you to get back on that journey. Firstly, before starting on your road to becoming a SELF-DISCIPLINED trader, stop trading and spend a day or a weekend doing this. The Easter weekend is here, so what better time than to start improving yourself now.

1) Look at your day to day routine. Get rid of distractions (not always possible, especially if you have a loving partner).

2) Plan and make a trading timetable for the coming month, week and day.

For example, if you like trading the major news events, check that you are able to do so without interruption. Pencil in the dates and exact times of the all the events you are going to trade. Do not pencil in your calendar the news events; otherwise this will cloud your mind and psychologically overwhelming. Your sub-conscious mind looks and all the ones you could not trade and may have a negative impact.

3) Breakdown when you are going to analyse the market, for example you hold a job and the only time you can look at markets are in the evening. Write down on your timetable when you are going to analyse the market and place your trades.

4) Initially, only look at a handful of instruments to trade.

See also: Why most Forex traders fail

5) Understand your trading strategy thoroughly, DO NOT trade unless you fully understand it, are there any nuances to the strategy you missed?

6) Follow your strategy,

a. if the conditions are met, place your trade,

b. if the conditions are not met, do not place the trade

c. if unsure, do not place the trade

7) Always review your trading in accordance with the time you have allocated in your calendar. Some say you should do it daily, weekly, monthly. Download here for free the pre-formatted Forex trading journal, to keep track of your performance. I say you do it when you have set an allocated time that fits your lifestyle. There is a life out there!

8) Share your trades (good and bad) with others to ensure you have not missed a trick or two.

In conclusion, make (write down your own not someone else’s) a “cheat sheet” setting out your daily , weekly and monthly routines and FOLLOW IT for the next 3 months or until becomes part of you. When that happens you know within you, that you have become a SELF-DISCIPLINED trader!