How much devotion do day traders put into their work?

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sopodo

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Should a day trader spend all their day on the computer, from market opening to closing time? It's just, I ask because what if you got some friends coming down to stay with you over a 2 week period. Their going to be pretty annoyed to find you on the computer all day and not spending the time with them, and they would think what a waste of time coming down to see me. So what do traders do in these times, I know you set stop losses at times. But you need to be able to see what's going at least a few times during a trading day. Does it have a major effect for a day trader to not trade for a few days or does he have to keep up with the times and be trading every day of his life? well Monday to Friday?

What do you do if say you got a stock and you need to go to lunch, or down to the super market or out to a restaurant, or bar or whatever? if your taking time off, your stock is going to go down and when your back on the PC you will of missed the candle stick charting patterns and have to quickly scroll the time line back and buy the time you done that your stock is probably dropping or rising and you missed the chance of selling, and for a day trader is crucial to make lot's of trades in 1 day to make a significant profit. You won't be able to do that unless your not glue to your computer all day. Do you eat prepared sandwiches at your desk at a specific time for lunch while at the same time watching the market on you computer screen?

I would really like to hear your views on these questions

Any help much appreciated

Many thanks in advance
 
sopodo said:
Should a day trader spend all their day on the computer, from market opening to closing time?
Click to expand...
Not necessary
sopodo said:
It's just, I ask because what if you got some friends coming down to stay with you over a 2 week period. Their going to be pretty annoyed to find you on the computer all day and not spending the time with them, and they would think what a waste of time coming down to see me.
Click to expand...
Don't mix work with pleasure - neither will succeed. If you intend to trade full time you are your own boss - that;s the whole point
sopodo said:
So what do traders do in these times, I know you set stop losses at times.
Click to expand...
Stop losses are not "just for Christmas"
sopodo said:
But you need to be able to see what's going at least a few times during a trading day.
Click to expand...
Good reason for using stops and targets and being able to do some other things during the day without being glued to a monitor
sopodo said:
Does it have a major effect for a day trader to not trade for a few days or does he have to keep up with the times and be trading every day of his life? well Monday to Friday?
Click to expand...
Ask yourself that - do you have such little memory retention and skills retention that you cannot maintain some work/life balance ?
sopodo said:
What do you do if say you got a stock and you need to go to lunch, or down to the super market or out to a restaurant, or bar or whatever? if your taking time off, your stock is going to go down and when your back on the PC you will of missed the candle stick charting patterns and have to quickly scroll the time line back and buy the time you done that your stock is probably dropping or rising and you missed the chance of selling,
Click to expand...
That's what stops are for. Why scroll back - if you missed a trade opportunity you've missed it - so what ! Another one will come around

sopodo said:
and for a day trader is crucial to make lot's of trades in 1 day to make a significant profit.
Click to expand...
That's not necessarily true
sopodo said:
You won't be able to do that unless your not glue to your computer all day.
Click to expand...
This is crazy mentality - you have to wait for good opportunities and setups. This does not mean you have to goggle-eyed, not to mention the possibilty of automated alerts.
sopodo said:
Do you eat prepared sandwiches at your desk at a specific time for lunch while at the same time watching the market on you computer screen?
would really like to hear your views on these questions
Click to expand...
Work/life balance. Eating carefully. Periods when the markets tend to be quiet

Any help much appreciated

Many thanks in advance[/QUOTE]
 
You've got to know your own trading system and what works for you. Your psychology may also dictate how you handle friends staying. If you're in for long term trades, I guess the odd lunch or a night out shouldn't hurt. If you're scalping on a 5 minute timeframe, I strongly suggest you concentrate on the screen ( unless you trade automatically with stops and limits, and can happy walk away). It's down to how you trade, and your approach to trades. Oy you can know.
What do you suggest?

Best of luck, whatever you decide.
 
Rethinking - why not take a few days off? Or trade every other day and explain to your friend that you can't be with them 24/7. I'm sure they'll be fine with it.
 
You guys gonna have an orgy ?

rtr1u9mofv5.jpg


Always a good activity, maybe even more so for a friday afternoon !

Trading wise, some days I only put on one trade, here it's like everywhere else, it's not about the quantity.
 
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