A daily routine for calm trading

Some traders look calm because they were born that way. Most look calm because very little is left to decide once the session starts. Pressure hits hardest when you're making choices in real time. A routine moves those choices to a quieter hour.

Before the session: 15 minutes

1. Read your limits. Today's maximum loss, maximum size, maximum number of trades. Actually read them.
2. Check your state. Slept badly? Argued with someone? Still stinging from yesterday? On those days, trade smaller or sit out. That's risk management too.
3. Check the calendar. Know which scheduled events could affect what you trade.
4. Write your if-then plans. "If I lose twice in a row, then I stop for ten minutes." "If I hit my daily limit, then I close the platform." Psychologists call these implementation intentions, and research shows they make follow-through more likely.

During the session

• Take only written setups. If it's not on the list, it's not a trade.
• Follow the rule after every loss. Pause, then decide. Never the reverse.
• Keep P&L out of view if you can. Watching it makes it the thing you trade.
• Set a stop time. Many errors come late, when you're tired or bored. Decide when you're finished before you begin.

Stop signals

End the session early if any of these appear:

• You've hit your daily limit
• You've taken a trade outside your plan
• You feel the urge to win something back
• You can't state why you're in the current position

After the session: 10 minutes

1. Log every trade and mark whether it followed the plan.
2. Grade the day on process, not on P&L.
3. Write one sentence about what to repeat and one about what to fix.
4. Close the platform. Do something unrelated.

Once a week: 45 minutes

Review your rule-breaking trades, including the winners. Update your numbers. If a limit needs loosening, write the change and wait 24 hours before it takes effect. Tightening can happen right away.