Are “Stress-free” and “Day-Trading” Two
Opposite Ends of the Scale?
For many, day trading is the definition of a dream job. You can work from home, control your own hours, and if you’re good enough, make a decent amount of money. But is it all smooth sailing? Usually not.
In fact, as a beginner, day trading will be more stressful than you probably think and incredibly demanding for most of the time. You should expect to fail and make mistakes, and you have to accept the fact that the majority of new traders end up losing money.
That being said, with some basic knowledge and the right mindset, you can cut out a lot of the stress and reach a point where day trading becomes the dream job you were hoping for. Below, we provide some tips that can help you experience a relaxing trading experience as soon as possible.
1. Education
The first step towards a better trading experience is always more knowledge. We would argue that you should never stop learning new trading skills and bettering yourself, and this is especially true for beginners.
The thing with knowledge is that it allows you to make better decisions, which, in turn, will help ease your trading experience.
Now, how you want to acquire all the necessary information is up to you. For example, there are full trading courses that you can pay for, there are many trading experts that share their experiences online, and there are a plethora of books that cover everything from forex trading to how to best invest in stocks.
2. Set a Schedule
If you want trading to become your day job, you should also treat it as such. Many new traders tend to spend too much time in front of the screen, and it quickly gets exhausting.
One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to set a schedule and always stick to it. We suggest you pick a range of hours when you know you’re the most focused and can perform the best, but you also need to consider at what times the markets you trade on are open.
3. Set a Budget
You probably guess that most of the trading-related stress comes from money or rather a lack of money. People tend to get stressed out when they’re doing bad or losing a lot of money. Unfortunately, this is a pattern that can quickly get out of hand and chasing losses is a recipe for disaster.
That is why the first rule of trading is to always set a budget and stick to it, no matter what happens.
4. Know Yourself and Your Limits
Lastly, you also need to listen to yourself and how you feel. Don’t exhaust yourself and take breaks when needed. Being your own boss also means taking care of yourself, and you’re ultimately in charge of keeping yourself from getting too stressed.
With that said, day trading is extremely stressful even for experienced traders. It’s a part of the process and one of the reasons why it’s so exciting to day trade in the first place. Hence, you need to find a balance between healthy stress that will help you perform better and stress that will make you sick.