Today's Quote: “Time wasted is existence; used is life." Edward Young.

One of the truths for new traders is that they usually have not been trained or have an understanding about the importance of a trading plan. The truth of it is, few have actually created any real plans and fewer yet have a comprehensive working plan. The next problem is that those who do often do not have the discipline to follow the trading plans that they have created. Those that do, often find it difficult to follow their plan in the heat of the day. One of the reasons this can happen because many traders often do not spend their time properly before, during and after the market.

Of all the time a trader can devote to their occupation, most new traders usually fall into the schedule of spending 90% of their time actually trading the market. They spend 5-10% of their time preparing for the market, either the night before, or the morning prior. They spend 0-5% of their time following up on their trades after the market. Unfortunately, for new traders, this can be a big down fall. Getting caught up in the excitement and overtrading without stopping to evaluate trades is a bad combination that can lead to failure.

It is fine to be with the market all day. Just make sure your trading plan identifies what times you should be trading, and use the rest of the time to review trades, test new strategies, complete record keeping, printing charts and refining your plan. It is a great idea when you start out to use about a third of your time following up on your plays and reviewing them, one third preparing, and only one third actually trading. This is a far cry from where most new traders are. Many feel like they are missing out on something if they are not part of every possible trade. Patience will pay off for those who are selective and take the time to review each of their trades and learn from the ones that did not work out.