The business of trading is a dynamic and ever-evolving process of growth and development.
You don't ever reach the finished state. Instead, you're always in the process of "becoming" a better trader.
Novices make the assumption that when they find the right system, then the job is complete. Nothing is further from the truth!
As an example, here is a small sample of the tasks on my "to do" planner, as at the time of writing this article (5th March 2013).
Performance
- Transition from US markets to Asian futures markets in order to reduce the impact of chronic fatigue on my personal performance.
- Complete the 8-week meditation course run through local university Buddhist society.
- Research techniques for maintaining good eyesight / reducing eye strain.
Operations
- Work on increasing position size (long overdue)!
- More research into risk-on/risk-off trade management (managing risk through size).
Strategy
- Examine objective methods of identifying and classifying the market environment. Is there scope to use a subjective overlay on this (much as I do with trend assessment).
- Reconsider the use of cumulative delta as a tool to support my assessment of bias.
Education
- Decision making in uncertainty.
Miscellaneous
- Finalise transition of journals and trading logs from hardcopy to electronic.
There are many other tasks on my task-list, which I have not included here. This is just a snapshot to give you an idea of the categories which I use and the kind of tasks within each category.
If you're not tracking and planning your growth and development, consider getting started with a simple spreadsheet or an application such as OneNote or Evernote.
And use your task-list to drive your monthly, weekly and daily focus items – https://yourtradingcoach.com/trading-business/3-simple-steps-to-accelerate-your-learning/
As a trader there is no perfection to attain. Only a process of becoming.
The question is… what are you becoming?
Are you driving the process towards improved performance, or are you leaving it up to random chance?
Lance Beggs