Getting Back into Trading After Time Off

In today’s episode we are going to be talking about the process of getting back into trading after taking some time off! Keeping mentally sharp throughout each trading session while battling fear and greed on a daily basis can definitely wear on a trader's psychology and sometimes it's best to take a break in order to prevent burnout from affecting your bottom line. Whether it's a voluntary decision or a forced one - many traders that end up taking a break from trading go about it the wrong way. They simply disconnect from the markets and return on a whim - often expecting different results while doing the same things as before - the definition of insanity! If you are considering taking a break from trading or are currently on a break from trading - understand this - there is work to be done on the "internal operator" before you return to the markets. We've got your back here at TRADEPRO Academy, so we will share some of our own processes today that you can use and implement during your time-off in order to ensure that you are ready to hit the ground running on your return! Before we get into the process of getting back into trading after taking time off, let’s first discuss why you might take time off in the first place:

• Feeling burned out (not in the right headspace)
• Stuck in a rut (not following your plan, self sabotaging) 
• Life circumstances ( health scare or life change <aka kid>) 
• Losing motivation for the process 
• Loss of hunger for success 
• Summer markets

If high-performance athletes such as football stars and hockey players have an off-season, should you too? Think about it - performing day in and day out over a series of 8-9 months will take its toll on you - it will affect you mentally and physically and even spill into your daily life (lack of sleep, etc)  These athletes NEED the time in the off-season to recover their minds and bodies and to also build up the foundation in order to come into the next season stronger and more dominant.  Trading isn’t much different, albeit there is not as much physical activity, there is a lot of mental stress and pressure that goes into day trading and if we ignore our own well-being these things can spiral and affect our bottom line-performance.  Getting out of the daily trading routine is one of the best things that you can do after several consecutive months of the daily grind! Why? Because trading requires constant focus, discipline, diligence and patience.  A proper “break” removes that daily stress and brings the trader back into balance with life: family, relationships and any other hobbies or interests.  More importantly a proper break will bring the trader’s motivation back for the return.  The idea is to add balance back into life, work on other aspects of life (outside of trading) and slowly start to work on the “blueprint” and goals for returning back to trading - like a Reset button if you will.  So you’ve identified that you are going to take a break, what’s the process now? Assuming that you’re on board with taking some time off, let’s look at how you can make the most of an off-season:

• The first thing that we’d recommend is getting your sleep in line. Your body is very capable of recovering on its own, but recovers optimally when it’s not expending energy staying up late!! 
• The second thing is to spend at least a few days doing nothing. Yes, nothing. This accomplishes two things. It gives your mind a chance to recover from the wear and tear of the daily grind and stress and for most traders, it will also create a mental hunger to get back to their trading desks. 
• Finally, after a few days off, start working on your "internal operator" - identify areas of strengths and weakness in your trading and psychology and work on a plan to come back at 150% 

Whether we want to admit it or not, every single one of us has something they can improve and the "off-season" is the ideal time to take care of these issues so they don’t affect you while in competition!  Some Things We Discuss in Today's Show:

• Some reasons why you should consider taking a break from trading 02:21
• How trader's could use an "off-season" that is similar to professional athletes 07:17
• Using time off to mitigate the chances of burning out 12:28
• Hitting the reset button on your trading 16:35
• The importance of getting your sleep in line during your time-0ff 23:57
• Doing nothing and falling out of routine to rejuvenate your mental hunger  26:45
• Working on your internal operator and your values to come back stronger 29:20

Resources

• Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy
• Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast
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