I'd like to create a trading style/method that utilizes my ADD personality as a 'strength', rather than a weakness. I'd appreciate any feedback as to ideas on particular methods or styles of trading that would allow me to utilize this personality characteristic that I view as a positive as opposed to a problem that needs fixing. I'm sure many of the people who will read this have the same personality as I do when it comes to ADD. I'd very much like to hear of their experiences as they tried to find a system or method that fit them. Thanks ahead of time to those who help me.
to the OPP, add tends best to swing trades. find good trades w/ your intial focus. and then when you're bored. play games, go for a walk, eat, etc i'm going through an intropection period aswell, and would agree thus far that add is best served by swing trading. u can be long or short. but swing. scalping actually is our achilles heel (hush)
True, and one of the characteristics of ADD is short attention span. IMO folks with ADD can focus, but not for long periods of time. It's been awhile since I got my degree in Sociology/Pysch so I could be a bit off. Or maybe I am just suffering from ADD now?
One thing I find that is useful about Attention Deficit Disorder is that oh cool a butterfly flew by my window! is that when you see a trade you , lol my cat just fell from the couch, stupid cat. When I trade I try to look only at oh shit that was awesome but each set up is different. The best one I trade is taking the morning, did I trade it this morning? well mostly in the morning. My screens are crooked.
I believe your answer, while very difficult for someone with ADD, is the right one. Very few scalpers make it. I will add it may assist them in their conquest for bigger profits and a better R to R to step away from their trading room and do something else. But now I am digressing into MM.
I agree. Wanna go ride bikes? Seriously. I'm like a quarter horse, go like hell for the 1/4 mile but screw the long races. Hence, swing trade. Seems contradictory but it fits my personality.
Although I don't buy into psychobabble bullshit jargon, I have some of the characteristics associated with so-called "ADD" i.e. I have no interest in focusing efforts on anything dull, but find it very easy to focus intensely and apply lots of effort to stimulating and interesting tasks. Based on my experience, I would say focus on anything with frequent action (the wilder the better), that does not require lots of grunt work, and gives results in a reasonable period of time. I would suggest the following: i) volatile markets ii) intermediate-term/swing trading iii) long-term investing in growth stocks iv) options (directional punts with long puts & calls) Avoid: i) scalping in normal or quiet markets (the lack of action will drive you nuts) ii) value investing or small caps (takes too much boring research)
I found that once the enjoyable [for ADD types] learning curve part was over I found it increasingly difficult to maintain the level of concentration required for daytrading i.e. watching every print to get a feel as to how it got there or waiting for the 2-3 setups per day. I suspect this is why many daytraders seemingly lose their edge or seemingly fail to adapt, I suspect what is hapening in many cases is that they lose their ability to concentrate to rthe required level and probably take low probablityy trades through boredom. Looking for setups across multiple markets only helps marginally as markets are all moving tohgether or not moving. I find that what works best is trading the accumulation ramp distribution cycle in stocks. I don't lose out if I start wandering on the net as I have 2 days rather than 2 seconds to get the trade on and as there is always something going on somewhere in the stock market I maintain interest and feed the 'finding out' desire. I can pick it up or drop it as my mood takes me. Absolutely having to be there to stare at screens all day got tough. I find the times where all I have to do is watch stock I hold that go up day after day no problem at all . Also plenty of time for afternoon delights.