I've been trading from home for the last 13 years. During earnings season I don't leave the house till Friday. If you let it, the biggest toll on you will be your eating habits and lack of exercise. As far as trading, you will miss the office since there will be no one to share your experiences with.
yes I am concentrating better at home then I was at my office. Without going into too much detail their were some negative dynamics in my old office. I think a good office is better than trading alone, but its better to be alone then to be in a bad office environment...
Understood. I think we're pretty much on the same page except that I would argue that sooner or later those "negative dynamics" always appear. I just believe that people will be "people" and that an individual should seize the opportunity to be independent as much as possible. Controlling your own destiny is always better than being at the whims of others.
I'm a sales rep and I worked in a satelite offfice which I set up about 3000 KM away from head office (Australia) I worked alone for just under 9 years. Boss never came near me, only visted twice in that time and that was when I was leaving the company. I intend to trade full time shortly (automated trading) and from my experience the ideal is rent some office space close to home and close to coffee shops, park etc. Try and have an office where other small business are also renting in the same building. This way you can meet buddies, share coffee, walk in park and get fresh air, be able to shop and maybe go home for lunch (that was how my previous set-up had been fortunately). I never touch alcohol during the day and made a routine of going out for morning coffee and lunch. Living close to home is important but suggest don't work from home. I rent my accommodation, have always found that suits me best as I can easily up and move more or less.
What about renting your own office space? That's what I do. Best of all worlds. I get to go "somewhere" giving the separation of work and home. And if you live in a big city like NY, SF or Chicago, you can find one with other independent traders (so you can make some friends). My personal experience at home was very bad however. Lots of tv and junk food and very little work.
I'd like to chime in since I do both commute and trade from home. The environment is very different and I much much prefer working out of an office with other eyes watching the market. Despite all the technology that allows for conferencing with other traders, I find the structure in these rooms to be very top-down dictated and the information that comes to you is not as organic. It takes a little more effort to get up everyday and come in to the office, especially when you have the option not to, that also may indicate some characteristics of in-house traders. Perhaps it may be motivational. Doesn't have to be, but I can definitely see that being the case for some. Of course, distance is also a big factor. Overall, I think it's great that trading provides the flexibility to work remotely; however, there's no genuine substitute for an in-house environment.