I’ve recently taken a break from trading in order to focus on writing and on some other investments that need attention. While I do miss the day to day price action and the commentary, I’m finding some things out that I need to work on.
Discipline has been talked about a lot in trading, and it is a big part of life whether we’re on a fast track, slow track, or no track. In order to survive at our most basic level, we all need to learn something about discipline. It’s almost a craft that needs to be practiced and studied.
I’ve long been a fan of day books and lists, and planning every detail. The problem is, getting bogged down in the details can happen easily and often. It takes practice and persistance to achieve listed goals and even more determination to do it consistently. Distractions and disturbances can plague those of us not involved with a traditional boss in a traditional workplace, holding down a nice, regular paying job.
In a review of where I should be according to my plan, and where I am in reality, I see a discipline problem. It’s not as if I’m just sitting around. I still work ten hours or more a day, most days of the week, including weekends. I have numerous projects started, many not finished, waiting for research, or just plain stalled. It happens!
But what is the answer? In my case, I need to rework the priorities and sharpen the focus. If writing articles is top of the list, than a higher completion rate would be a worthy goal. In research, again, a limit on the scope would provide an opportunity to establish how far I go into each topic. There is no advantage to gathering information that never gets used. What is gathered needs to be filed or indexed or stored so it can be easily retrieved.
Skimming the surface can be fun and supply lots of ideas and things to follow up or expand on. However, the nuts and bolts are what make things work, not the shiny paint on the outside that grabs our attention. Fewer topics, greater effort, and more concentration seem to be the direction that will lead to more meaningful production.
It’s never too late to make adjustments in life. By ramping up the discipline just a little bit, I expect to see positive change both long and short term.
Merry Christmas and Best Wishes in 2010!
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