Trading: It’s Not About Trading Your Free Time

Trading your free time is, sadly, all too easy. Trading can be addictive. We will admit it. In fact, we're happy to admit it. Because we don't want you falling into the trap of becoming a trade-aholic. There is more to life than trading. If you find you are day trading your free time to sit and stare at a computer screen (when you really don't have to) you might have a problem. Forex trading is even worse for this since it runs all day every day with no breaks. That means you might not take a break. And that's bad news for you and your friends and family.

How To Not Become Addicted

Easier said than done, right? Well, it can be hard, but it's not impossible. If it was, all the traders in the world would have a problem and the powers that be might want to make it illegal. So there must be a way to stop price action trading your free time when you're trading the markets.

The easiest way to conquer this (potential) addiction is to never place a trade when it doesn't make sense to. And, to add an extra tip to this useful and simple piece of advice, don't mess around with the trades you've already placed. Leave them. You placed them for a reason, they matched with your trading chart, and you just need to let them get on with their thing. The worst thing you can possibly do when it comes to trading is watch your trades. This way madness lies. This way losing lies. This way missing out on sports days and nights out and taking a bit of 'me time' lies. It will drive you insane, it won't make you happy, and you'll miss out on life itself.

I Don't Know What Else To Do!

If you're already trading your free time and you are worried that stepping away from the laptop will leave you with nothing to do, it's okay. You're not so far in that you can't be saved. You just need to find a hobby. You just need to get out of the house. It'll come naturally to you soon enough. So why not try this? Set your trade and leave it alone. If you feel as though you need to be near the laptop, using it to search out a new hobby, or to look at movie listings. Use it to write an email to a loved one, or to do your online shopping. Anything other than looking at the trades.

Stepping away from the trades is good for a number of reasons. Firstly, watching your trades is a great way to lose money. Seeing all the little ups and downs that don't mean anything in reality but do when you are seeing them happen in front of your eyes often results in the trader abandoning the trade, pulling out too early, losing a ton of cash. If they had just waited - or never even known about the fluctuations in the first place because they haven't been trading their free time - they could easily have turned it all around.

It Doesn't Matter What You Do As Long As You're Not Trading Your Free Time

For some people, if they are feeling bored or have a few spare minutes, they might take a look at their phones, check their social media, look at a few emails. That can soon become an addiction, and they can't go more than a few minutes without desperately checking to see what is going on. But although it's annoying, and it means they're missing out on things, at least it's not costing them any money. When the same thing happens to a trader, it's annoying and it costs money. So do anything other than check your trading otherwise you are definitely trading your free time and that isn't fair on anyone.