Finding your Zen: How To Stay Focused While Trading Forex

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Staying Focused While Trading the Markets

Professionals in 2021 are relentlessly bombarded with distractions, hindering them from being productive and fulfilling their full potential.

We are constantly tempted to peek into our friends’, families’, and even strangers’ lives with the help of TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. Moreover, notifications relentlessly invite us to participate in several online chats with friends, family, and colleagues. On average, we will spend a whole 6 years and 8 months of our life on social media as compared to just a year and 8 months doing housework. (Broadbandsearch.net Research)

For online trading to be successful, traders need to stay focused while taking calculated risks. So, how can you, as a trader, stay on top of your game despite all these distractions? 

Read the below guide packed with practical tips on how to stay focused and make sure you stay ahead of other traders. 

Tip #1: Practice Meditation

Gone are the days when meditation was synonymous with just Buddhists or hippies. Nowadays, the importance of meditation is widely recognized in mental health as well as professional development. Goldman Sachs even employs a meditation instructor that teaches their traders breathing practices. And did you know that the founder of Bridgewater Associates (the world’s largest hedge fund), Ray Dalio, has been meditating for 42 years?

Trading can be a thrilling and immensely satisfying occupation. However, it triggers a fight or flight response that can cause anxiety and mental health problems. Meditation can restore a positive balance to your thought processes as well as enable you to take a step back and focus on the task at hand.

Tip #2: Stand up

Online trading is inherently a desk job. Sitting down for long periods of time studying a graph can take its toll on your physical wellbeing. Not only that! When you are sitting down, the body is tricked into thinking it is resting and so the brain tends to automatically relax and seek less challenging tasks (such as checking messages on your phone).

Desks nowadays come in a variety of sizes and heights. Buy a desk that allows you to adjust the height so that you can stand up when you are analyzing the markets. It is no wonder that in most brokerage firms, brokers are constantly pacing or talking to customers on their phones while standing up. Keep yourself mobile and alert while trading and your mind will follow suit.

Tip #3: Switch Off Unnecessary Technology 

Working in an office might allow some time for daydreaming or quick checking of messages. However, with the markets changing in a split of a second, every trader needs to make sure his brain is solely focused on predicting the markets’ next move correctly. It might be a good idea to log in to your Sage FX account from your laptop and switch off your phone completely. If you are trading from your laptop it is much harder to get distracted by notifications, calls, and messages as you can not open certain sites and you are not inundated by notifications. Make sure your family and friends know you will be unavailable and open your web browser on your Sage FX trading account only. Your funds will thank you for it! 

Tip #4: Keep Your Trading Journal Close 

Our article Trading Journal: A Wise Direction Behind Your Trades shows how important it is to keep a journal where you record your daily moves and strategies when trading.  

Most office jobs require employees to list their tasks and prioritize accordingly. Your trading journal works in a similar way. It can make sure that you stay focused on what stocks to monitor before you start trading and keeps you on track for future possible strategies. Your brain will automatically switch to trading mode and will avoid getting distracted by activities that are not connected to the markets. 

Tip #5: Talk To Yourself 

Yes, you read that right. No, we are not losing our mind! As all professional traders know, it can get quite lonely and suffer from a lack of socializing. When we are stressed and are pressured to make quick decisions, as needs to be done when trading, it helps a lot to bounce ideas off someone else and rationalize our thought process before we take a decision. 

This is why it is important to talk to yourself if you are a solo trader. Talking through all the possible outcomes for all your future possible moves makes sure that not only do you stay focused on the task at hand but also reinforces the reasons behind your decisions, making you 110% sure of your decision. 

Wise Words To Remember: 

1. Start practicing meditation. It will help you stay ahead of other traders by keeping you calm and focused and decreasing stress levels.
2. Buy a standing desk.
3. Trade on your laptop.
4. Read your trading journal constantly.
5. Speak to yourself when taking important trading decisions.

We hope you loved our practical guide. Still unsure where to start? Check out our trading page to see what all the account types we offer.