My routine as a Day Trader and Scalper; When to eat, sleep, trade, and have fun!

Everyone must have balance in their lives, no matter what career path you chose, and being a day trader requires a specific balance between work, play, nutrition, and of course getting some sleep.

If you’ve ever been tired at your desk, or if you’re looking for more ways to get better rest, and get more done during the day, you NEED to watch today’s video…your doctor, your spouse, and everyone else in your life will THANK YOU!

All types of trading: swing, day trade, scalping or position trading all require BALANCE

Most new traders do NOT spend enough time on the following:

– Daily trading routine
– Daily personal routine
– Daily nutrition routine
– Daily sleep routine

Are you falling asleep? Are you having a hard time focusing? Feeling tired throughout the entire day?

Fatigue is something that every new trader has to overcome.

We don’t dig ditches, we don’t pound nails, and we don’t lift heavy equipment, so why are we so tired?

We lift things in our minds, and our thinking is what costs us the energy.

Most traders…

– Fall in love with trading from the very first day
– Are coming from a boss, with a day job, and a daily commute, so this is HEAVEN on earth!
– Never sleep, not enough sleep
– They don’t eat well, or consistently
– They lack physical fitness so they are always tired
– Lack the balance they need to see success in EVERYTHING THEY DO

o Not worth the money if you’re not healthy
o Not worth the money if you never see the kids or your spouse
o Not worth the money if you’re dead of a heart attack b/c you didn’t take your health seriously?

Example: Joe’s Routine

I live on the West Coast (PST), so you may want to make changes accordingly

– Daily trading routine

o 8am – 1pm EST Monday-Friday
o Market recap 2pm EST

– Daily nutrition routine

o Use nutrition to my benefit, to keep me focused and keep the ‘gas-tank’ filled with fuel
o JJ eats 5 small meals every day

 Wake Up (8am EST)(get my metabolism moving) = tiny fruit and a protein (email JJ for the exact products that I use)

 Hour later (930am EST) add my carbs

• Bowl of low sugar cereal
• Half bagel w/ peanut
• Something with whole grains and CARBS are what my body needs to push me through the day ahead

 Noon-time EST small snack ahead of lunch

• Scoop of peanut butter (low sugar)
• Protein shake & scoop of peanut butter
• ½ sandwich (turkey and cheese on a tortilla, so less bread and carbs)
• ½ salad
• This is NOT going to be a big meal

 2pm EST

• When im done trading, and done my review
• Now time to eat the big meal, and this big meal will hold you over with some small snacks until your dinner
• Heavy in protein, low in sugars, and a little bit of carbs

o Chili: lean turkey meat, beans and rice, tomatoes, and veggies to clean your system (ground turkey)
o Chicken Salad
o Chicken Salad sandwich
o Something larger than your last snack,
o BIGGEST MEAL OF THE DAY

 5pm EST

• Just returned from the walk to park
• Im getting hungry now
• 4th meal is something very light, high protein, low sugar, and skip the carbs!

o Protein Shake, Apple, Scoop of Peanut Butter
o ½ sandwich
o ½ salad
o Chicken wrap
o Something small, NO sugars, and NO carbs

 We’re done working today, so any sugars and carbs will be stored as fat in the WRONG places!!!!

 8pm EST

• Dinner time = something very light, high protein, low sugars, and NO carbs
• Chicken Breast, Broccoli, Glass Wine

o Stay away from the pasta, potatoes, anything all carbs.

• Lean Steak with corn on cob
• Salmon filet with

 1100pm EST

• Before-bed snack = Casein Protein Shake + Scoop of Peanut Butter

“ LOW-Glycemic” foods (fills you up, and doesn’t have the crash)

– Daily sleep routine

o Sleep from 12am EST – 7am EST the following day

– Daily personal routine

o Go to the gym after my BIG MEAL, and after im done trading (anything for physical activity)
o Get some exercise any way you can find it, and do it when youre done trading and when you’ve eaten your biggest meal

 Get my mind off trading, clear your mind b/c whatever winners or losers today cannot help you tomorrow.
 Put your mind on what REALLY matters for you, because you need to find something FUN, why do you work so hard?

o 5pm EST

 Reviewing my day
 Returning emails and calls
 Beginning to prep for tomorrow

• Open my daily, slower timeframes charts and begin looking for what tomorrow brings.

 Make sure that any personal issues are under control

• Paying bills
• Kids/grandparents
• Anything that can cloud your judgment in the morning

o 8pm EST

 Family time
 Dinner with family
 Quiet time

What if you live in Europe?

1. Plan your trading times
2. Plan your nutrition times (when you will eat)
3. Use my plan as a guide for your plan in the future based on YOUR time zone and trading schedule.

More questions….

– When can we take trades after 915am EST alarm?

o When we have a VERY high % trade setting up
o As we get closer to 930am time its VERY high risk to be trading

– Wedges & Price Channels, which are more important

o Look for the best possible entry to satisfy my rules of buying lows and selling highs
o Or take the trade agreeing with the long term trend

 Short trend? Looking short

– JJ’s Vacation Plans and Trade Room hours

o Sept 2-9th (Labor Day Holiday weekend)

– When do you know you’re ready to go live?

o How does the summertime play into trading on your live account?
o 2 weeks of consistency on your SIM/DEMO before using real money in your trading.
o We’re right in the middle of the summer, so best option would be to wait after Labor Day and then go live.

– Fear, how do we avoid it?

o Watch the Discipline Cycle Video on the blog or in the advanced course
o You avoid fear with confidence and you build confidence with knowledge and consistency

– What to do in a trade when you lose connection?

o Have an easy way to contact your broker
o Remember losing power may mean losing your phone too, so have a back-up phone (cell phone)
o Most brokers are CLOSLY monitoring this stuff, so they will get you out, but call them.

– Which market is best for a beginner:

o Euro: $500 MARGIN, LOTS OF LIQUIDITY, and easy patterns.
o Russell
o Gold
o Crude Oil
o Mini ES
o AUSSIE