Be HONEST !!! Do you stick to your trading plan during the day? What helps you do it better and what takes you off it?
========== Helpful questions. Aim @ sticking to it over 90%, mainly; because like trade /invest occasionally . And do enough research to see how could be ruined if disregard plan. Have been known to remove even a good rule, which i don't consider that a rule breaker , if planned & it contradicts a a 50 day moving average/trend; like ''don't sell short the 6 th day'' Removed that rule before i did short after planning. Some times think about ignoring my stops on longs, usually don't , even more prompt on shorts; not good business to knowingly increase business expenses.
It's funny you should start this thread......I am a newbie day trader with some position trading exp. previous and I am having a reall challenge following my plan when things are boring, no set ups. In fact, yesterday I was so bored, surfing ET and watching Fox News I missed one of my 90% plus winners, damn it! Then I tried to get back at the market and cheat, scalping for a couple of quick ticks and I got whacked! I am working on my written trading plan and my goal will be to have a boring day. Because after talking to many experienced pros the bored traders are the winners! The adrenaline junkies are gambling losers! My mantra will be trading should be booorrriiinngg, I will make money
Sticking to your plan is only useful if the plan is any good in the first place. Don't make the mistake of only making a plan because everyone says you should. Your plan has to be robust. If your plan is not robust, why would you stick to it? It should contain information about how you will enter, exit and manage trades. It should also have information on money management, products, margins, hours and anything else to help you keep discipline. After all, that is what a plan is for, right? All this information is difficult to come by as your trading should match your personality and your trading plan should be based on your trading. I think it is very difficult for new traders to devise a good working plan around their trading personality without experience. It seems like a vicious circle. Make a plan and don't be afraid to change it and once you have something that you think you can work with, you can tweak it to optimise it. I would also say that I strongly believe that once you have laid out your plan, only ever change one aspect of it at one time. If you change more than one thing, it can be very difficult to know where the changes in your results have come from.