Do you do things differently if having a good yr or a bad yr? how many times in a yr do you take off ? do you take off more when you are in a bad streak or winning streak ? do you take of time when you are just plain tired and do not care anymore? or do you take the weekend off and catch up on sleep ?
Vacation Days Memorial Day weekend. 4th of July Fridays all summer Labor Day weekend Thanksgiving weekend Christmas week. These are always slower For a long vacation...usually July and August are the best time.
Taking vacation is a crap shoot. I always took vacation in July/August. Then in 2002 by some dumb luck I had to cancel my planned July vacation (Actually it was minor surgery on some bone spurs) Well low and behold I made a fortune (along with everyone else) that month. I made more that month than I did this year. And I just cracked 6 figures today. So take vacation when you want to and dont' look at the Market
The last time I took a week's vacation without trading access, I missed more than 15K in trades that made clear signals. So I now always travel with my laptop, and plan my downtime around the market hours. Any lifestyle comes with compromises, and if the independence that trading provides comes with the need to monitor the markets, it is a small price to pay. The only bummer for me is that I love to charter bareboats in the Caribbean. So that's been out of the picture for a couple years. But my current substitute is to fly out to San Diego or SF for the time change, monitor markets in the morning, and sail in the afternoon. Again, a small compromise to make.
Wow, and I thought trading was about freedom. There is more to life than money. I just GO. The market will be there when I get back.