Trading can be a long process, it can be draining and it can also be unforgiving. Sitting at a computer for hours on end is never a great way to spend your day, but more often than not it seems like a necessity. When the markets are slow, or you have just lost a couple of trades, it is important to be able to take a step back. Do something to refresh yourself, and then come back. That is why we are now looking at a number of different activities that have nothing to do with trading, but they can still help your trading performance.
Playing Sports
This may be obvious to a lot of you, but you would be surprised how many traders either give up their physical activities in order to trade full time. Without going into the really scientific side of why sports is beneficial for you, the main aspect is the energy that it provides, you may be feeling tired straight after, but the long term effect of exercise includes boosts in energy, better concentration levels which then allows for more patience and discipline. Taking part in sport is also a great way to teach your body different aspects of discipline and preparation, important aspects of trading. Some sports like Boxing are also great for getting id of any underlying frustrations that you may have about the markets and your trading.
Yoga
A little like sports but slightly less physical (no less challenging though). Yoga can be used to help relax and focus your mind. When you have come off a few bad trades, it is hard to get out of that cycle, so being able to refocus your mind and relax is important. Being able to take what you learn in Yoga into the markets can also be fantastic, being able to channel your focus into the markets and your strategy can really help boost your productivity and profitability.
Reading
You probably thought this would be number one, it would be if we were looking at trading related books, but we aren’t, that would still be an activity to do with trading. A good book can take your mind away from your trading, to completely remove it from your mind so you can relax without the stresses.
Having said that, you can often find elements of trading in a lot of books, not necessarily related to trading, these could give you ideas of new trading strategies or ways you can adapt your own, often when your imagination is working (reading books) you can come up with ideas that you never would have before.
Talk to Other Traders
This one may seem obvious, and to be fair it is, but it is something that a lot of people do not do, many traders, especially the newer ones get absorbed into their trading, they forget about the other thousand traders around them that are going through the same thing. Talk to them, if you are having trouble with something, someone somewhere will have a solution for it, talking can help you find it, it is also a great feeling to help others, so giving your own wisdom to others can help the overall trading community.
Travel/Get Out of the House
Heading to a sunny shore or a snowy mountain may seem like a bit of an extreme, but giving your mind that extended break from trading can help refresh your mind. It can also give you a completely new and fresh perspective when you get back, often coming up with ideas you had never thought of before due to being stuck in a routine. If you cant get away for long, just get out to the local park, do something completely different, even a few hours can refresh your mind.
So there are a few different ways that you can help to refresh your mind or gain knowledge away from the trading platform, it is always important to add a bit of variety to your life, trading all day every day is not a healthy habit to get into, how you add that variety though, is up to you.
