As more investors take up day trading, you’re probably wondering what a regular day is like for them. While it may seem intimidating for some, technical analysis and different tasks mean that each day brings something new.
For a day trader, this is pretty exciting. Not to mention, they try to make the most of their day so that even during an unexpected event, they remain focused. Sounds unbelievable? Let’s understand how a day trader spends their day performing tasks and managing trades.
Table of Contents
Mornings
Day traders must wake up early as a head start and analyze the market. This depends on the time zone in your country. However, if you are living in a different country than the trading market, you need to manage the time accordingly.
If your focus is on the U.S. futures and stock markets, the best time to turn on your computer would be the hour before the market opens. Waking up early will help you comprehend the best trading opportunities.
However, if you are on Eastern Time, you should start trading at around 8:30 am. This is the perfect time to wake up when you are trading on stocks.
Similarly, if you are day trading forex, 8:30 am to 9:00 AM is ideal. Even though you need to consider many more instruments in forex trading than stock, this is the ideal time for a day trader. When you start trading around 8:30, you can get yourself a couple of peak hours.
During these hours,, banks and businesses are opening up in the U.S., and in London, businesses are still open. If so, you will find high volatility and liquidity in the market than at any other time of the day.
Noons
After 11:30 am, businesses go for their lunch breaks, and the volatility in the market starts decreasing. Before that time, the market is super active. Many new traders consider that working more will generate more opportunities. However, this isn’t the case for day trading.
Therefore, after 11:30 am, take a break to have lunch and get some rest. Spending the time after that will not offer as much benefit as you already availed from 8:30 to 11:30 am.
If you want to start trading again, choose the time between 2:00 to 4:00 pm EST. After the mornings, the market will be slow until the last hour. During the last hour of a trading day, the volatility in the market increases.
If you feel excited and experience a rush of adrenaline, there is something wrong. You are not sure about the strategy and prepare yourself to handle the risks. No matter what market you are trading in, you should stay ready. When you are overexcited, you put your capital at risk, as excitement will lead you to make bad decisions.
Therefore, despite your losses or gains, keep yourself calm and follow a plan. As a day trader, you have to find simple trade setups and execute your plans accordingly. When you are focused, your emotional highs and lows will not affect your decisions.
Evenings
Trading ends around 4:00 pm EST. Before the end,, take a few screenshots of the charts. You should keep a record of the profits/losses and trade levels for each day. Furthermore, write down the following factors to evaluate your performance.
- Trading hours.
- Number of trades.
- How many trades you win, including points, pips, and cents.
- How many trades you lose, including points, pips, and cents.
- What is the net profit/loss of the day, including points, pips, and cents.
You should not mention your profit/loss in dollar figures as it will create confusion. Instead,, use points for futures, pips for forex, and cents for stocks. Rename your screenshots with month-day-year and save them in a folder. Every weekend, review these screenshots to set up strategies for the next week.
Keeping track of all your records will help you evaluate your performance and improve. Practice will enhance your skills and keep you on the right track. Repeat the process throughout the month. Once you finish maintaining the record, your day trading time is complete.
Conclusion
Trading is not always exciting. Because the market fluctuates, there will be times when it gets boring. That is when you should develop new strategies and practices for the next time the market boosts. If you follow the above-mentioned daily routine, you can easily manage everyday tasks and improve in less time.
