When i quit corporate life i promised myself to take a whole lot more vacation. During the winter i go skiing one week every four weeks, during spring and autumn i take a week off at a slower pace, every 6 to 8 weeks, summer i spend at home. For me this rhythm works great.
Probably BEFORE you need one but are due. If your work is a labor that was once fun, then it is time. Or how about, "when you want to." Me personally, I enjoy it. It is a vacation on some level. But alas, spring is here and I will go and ski next week for the final runs of the season. Funny I feel "pressured" because the snow is going away. Yes, I know this is highly twisted. LoL If you think you are "missing" opportunities, that is a sign. What do they say? The market will always be there. (well "always" might be a stretch) But the general comment is not to be overly needy to trade etc. Probably the most relaxing vacation are ones where you "take a break from yourself". So for me that means not cooking nor caring about the food I eat or just caring to much about anything, within limits. I like to fish the early season, ski the early and late season, and sometime I just stay home and do nothing I normally do. Quite liberating actually. And lastly physical exercise is key to a strong mind.
Well, I just take off when I need to. Usually a month sometime in the summer on the boat when the market is usually quiet. And some long weekends here and there. Twice I took trades with me on vacation......and I will not be stupid enough to do THAT again. I have changed to PURE daytrading which makes it easy to take off.
ARRRGHHHHH Now is the time to take a vacation if you have been dealing with NYSE. It's dead, there is nothing to learn and it will save you some money probably. Dammit go to Rio, have a sex fest, get a tan, do a bunch of drugs and come back refreshed. Oh yeah, stop by Vegas on way back to get your mind warmed up. Today is kinda my day off. I'm not even putting on CNBC, just chilling, smoking a blunt, watching Godfather II & playing PS2. I'm still contemplating whether to go out drinking tonight because tomorrow night is gonna be drug fest for me.
After a trader finishes playing a big move up or down, it is generally a good time for him to take his profits off the table and go on a vacation. The market tends to consolidate after any large move, so taking a large gain and then trading immediately afterwards is usually a costly mistake, since it is more difficult to make money in a sideways consolidation trend. Trading in this environment can be the easiest and fastest way to lose all your hard-earned profits. There are times when it is more profitable to stay out of the market and sit on the sidelines. It is sometimes difficult for traders to plan a holiday. Often they will just wait for the market to tell them when to go. It could be any time of the year, but traders should expect to take off the entire month of August. This month is the slowest time to trade in the stock market because a large number of those in the industry are on summer vacation. As the market has a very low volume of transactions, it can be easily manipulated. It is therefore best to forget about trading in August. Day trading as a job is very stressful for both the body and the mind, and regular breaks are essential. Enjoying a few vacations a year will actually make you more money than if you do not take any holidays. Trading when you should not be in the stock market will typically cost you twice as much as you would have spent on a nice vacation.
When the market is really active, you should not take any vacations. When it is normal, you should go on holiday in mid-late December, and during the summer doldrums (July-August). When it is quiet, you should take vacations a lot. It also depends on your trading style. I have no problem leaving on long-term position trades whilst on holiday. In fact I am making this post from an internet cafe in Eastern Europe, and had a great week whilst abroad, with my Yen and silver positions making good money. Back at home I might make 2-3 trades per month on my long-term positions so it is not a big burden to keep up to date whilst abroad. If you are a daytrader then obviously you can't do this. In terms of lifestyle, the long term trader has a huge advantage over the short term active trader.