Something that a lot of people tell you when you start out or let them know that you are thinking of reading is the amount of time that it is going to take, and it is true that to become a successful trader does takes a long time, but what we want to look at is whether or not you can become a successful trader if you are doing it on a part-time basis.
Most people look to get into trading as a part-time thing, something to do after work to make a little extra money on the site. Doing a little bit before work, after work, or just before bed, or maybe you just have not done enough to have the knowledge or the confidence needed to get rid of your job to trade full time, and that is perfectly understandable as it is a huge step.
The problem is that it can be incredibly hard to fit all of this around your job, not many people will want to get up early before heading out to work, or to get home from work and then immediately start working on your trading, you need a break and you will be tired. Most people also have a certain routine before bed that they probably do not want to interrupt with a bit of trading. Your family, your job, and education are all things that take up a lot of your time and would also take time away from any potential trading activities.
A lot of people who work spend a lot of their time sitting down, of course, this depends on the job that you do, but if you do, then it probably isn’t the first thing on your mind to want to come back home and then sit down in another chair for an extended period of time. Instead, you probably want to do something that is as far away from a computer and a desk as [possible, this is where the additional motivation and discipline needs to come in. Are you able to sit down again and are you able to motivate yourself to do it, this is something that a lot of part-time traders can struggle with.
The next thing that you need to consider is your time, we briefly touched on it above, but do you feel that you have enough time to put into trading. You do not need to spend the hours and hours every day in order to learn, something that you often hear from people telling you how hard and time-consuming trading is. In fact, there have been plenty of people who have been trading and started trading by just studying an hour a day or even an hour every two days. You won’t learn as much as quickly, that much is obvious, but there is nothing saying that you aren’t able to learn just as much as anyone else, it will just be over a longer period of time.
One real positive to trading part-time is that there is no expectation or necessity to make money, if you were to be trading full time, there would be a lot of pressure and stresses that come with the trading. When trading part-time, you are doing it as a hobby or to earn a little bit extra, you are not relying on the money to pay your bills or to pay your mortgage, so the real pressure of being successful is not here. This allows you to concentrate on learning and improving and will not have your mind focused on the profits and nothing but the profits. It will also help you get over loose, as that is not taking food out of your mouth, any loss as a part-time trade is more likely a learning experience rather than something that could potentially hurt you.
One thing you need to consider with trading is that when you are doing it part-time, you are needing to make some sacrifices, we mean this in regards to spending time with your friends. If after work you are used to hanging out with friends or going to the pub, you won’t be able to do that at the same time as trading, you will need to make some sacrifices in regards to how you spend your time and this could potentially increase the risk of you being in a form of isolation. While not total isolation this can have a negative effect on your well being and mental health, so having that balance between trading, social life and work life is vital.
Try and think back to the last time that you wanted to try something new, how did it go? Did you manage to fit it around your life, or was it too much for you to fit in, many people take up hobbies and then subsequently find out that you do not have enough time for it, or it is too much work to handle, this is fine, trying is the first step, but understanding what it is possible a vital part of starting and understanding the limitations of what you are doing.
If you are thinking of trading part-time, you really need to consider whether you are able to make the sacrifices that are needed, whether you are able to fit in around the other things that you are doing in your life. It will take time to work, it will take a lot of dedication and discipline, but you can certainly be successful when trading and learning part-time. So if you are up for it, go for it, take that first step, the worst thing that can happen is that you work out what it is not for you, but you may find that it is perfect, you won’t know until you try.
