Daily Trading Routine of a Full-Time Futures Trader

[TimRacette 11]

One of the best parts of trading is to be able to work according to your own schedule. Frankly, it’s not even work when you love what you do. Yet a “typical” trading day becomes almost boring over time. I say this because your strategy and rules become so ingrained in your subconscious that you simply act the same way in each situation according to your plan.

 

“Expect the unexpected, and whenever possible be the unexpected”

 

No matter what the market throws at you, you must always be prepared. The market throws curve balls at you every day and you must be ready for them. Come along with me as I take you through my typical trading day. You can read my full story here.

 

(All times are in CST – Chicago Time!)

The trading week begins on Sunday

 

The trading week really begins on Sunday night. No I’m not trading the Globex market open; I’m doing a bit of prep work for the week ahead. Sunday night is a great time to review the news announcements for the week, read through any weekly forecasts, and go through watch lists.

 

Most of you know that I trade both the Euro open and the NYSE open using the E-mini S&P and the Eurodollar Futures, this means that I must wake up at 2:00 AM. I have adopted a bi-phase sleep schedule to do so. This means that I sleep for 4.5 hours, wake-up, trade the Euro open, then go back to sleep for another 1.5 – 3.0 hours before waking up again to trade the NYSE open and go about my day.

 

There is a lot to be said about sleep cycles, more than I care to delve into right now, but from my research (an actual experience) I’ve found that waking up on a 90-min increment such as 4.5, 6, or 7.5 hours results in the most refreshing and satisfying sleep because you are waking up at a completion of a full cycle.

 

My Daily Trading Schedule

2:00 AM Begin trading at the Euro Open

 

The first thing I do when I wake up (after grabbing some juice and toast) is to see what Germany did in the hour leading up to the European open. Typically the European session will do the opposite of what Germany did. I’ve found this holds true on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings (the meat of the week). Monday and Friday are typically less participation days.

 

Since it is slow and quiet during the wee hours of the morning I will throw on an audio book or some podcasts to listen to. I find that I am the most productive during this time so I will occasionally work on a blog post or other project if I am waiting for a level to set up it is especially slow (such as right now!)

 

(I begin Euro open trading on Tuesday morning as Monday is usually uneventful and slow).

 

5:15 AM Back to sleep for 90-mins

 

If the Euro session is really slow and I haven’t had any trades by 3:30 I will go back to sleep at 3:45. I try and get to sleep by these two times because it allows me to complete a full one or two sleep cycles by the time I wake up next for NYSE open trading

 

6:45 AM NYSE open trading begins

 

I call this NYSE open even though the cash session doesn’t open until 8:30. This starts the main part of my day. I usually feel refreshed and away both times I wake up. After taking my resting heart rate I throw on some clothes, grab a yogurt and some orange juice and hit the office. (Oh yeah, forgot to mention that my office is down the hall from my sleeping quarters, a nice feature to say the least).

 

I review what has happened since the Euro open and take a quick glance at Reuter’s news headlines. Then I pull up my daily notes and fill out the day’s numbers. I read over my trading rules (again to engrain them into my subconscious), by now this has just become habit, and the trading beings, (or resumes).

 

(I don’t trade the ES during the first 30-mins because it is erratic as market orders hit the tape).

 

10:30 AM Lunch Time

 

This is more of brunch as I will make eggs or some sort of sandwich. I always eat at this time because I found that over the years I almost never had a winning trade on the ES from 10:30-11:00. This is also the Euro close so I like to let things settle out. It’s not worth my time to trade this time frame. If everyone else is at lunch, I should be to.

 

11:00 AM The home stretch

 

If Euro has been technical all day I continue trading it until 12:30. I also look for a full trading hour’s only halfway back setup on the ES around 11:45-12:30. This is usually the only setup I will take after 10:30 on the ES, else another larger 15-min setup. I stay away from the micro time frames as most of the time this the slowest and choppiest time of the day.

 

12:30 End Trading for the day

 

The first thing to do is congratulate myself for following my rules, regardless of P/L. From there I fill out my trading journal and review all my trades from the day. I rarely trade past 12:30, only if it is a super technical market on the ES in which case I will trade until 2:15 as the last hour again becomes choppy and erratic.

 

I am constantly reviewing my rules and trade setups.

 

Between now and 2:00 I work on other projects or tasks that I need to take care of, sometimes it’s running to the post office or bike shop, watching some YouTube videos, or catching up on some podcasts or an audio book.

 

2:00 PM Workout/Ride Time

 

I race mountain bikes competitively so 2:00 is my time to ride and train. I’m usually on the bike for 2-3 hours T-TH. This not only acts as a huge health benefit, it breaks up my day and allows me to regroup and reset my systems. Plus I’ve come up with some of my best ideas while on the bike!

 

5:00 PM Dinner, time to relax

 

Making a delicious dinner is one of my favorite parts of the day. I’ll usually fire up the grill and put on some chicken, or steaks, or throw some sausage and peppers in the oven (among other sides).

 

6:00 Market Recap

 

Now is the time of day where I review the broader market data. I use my excel docs for this. I then review ALL the setups for the day and see if there is anything I missed or trades that I took that weren’t valid. If I find that I took all the valid setups for the day it’s been a great day. Once and a while I will miss a setup or over look something that invalidates a trade, but with taking 6-12 trades a day and specific time frames to be looking for setups that doesn’t happen much. or the day.

 

6:30-8:30 Project Time

 

This is time I use for working on projects or chatting with traders. Wednesdays I meet with a mastermind group with some local small business owners to discuss our businesses and work to expand them. During the summer this time is filled with sports leagues and some group rides on the bike.

 

8:30-9:15 PM Time to wind down

 

I try to get in bed by 8:30 and read some Forbes magazine or a good book so that I can fall asleep by 9:15. Getting to bed by this time, again, lets me get in three full sleep cycles (4.5 hours) before doing it all over again.

 

I use this exact schedule 3x a week Tues-Thurs. Monday I wake up at 6:45 AM skipping the Euro open session, and Friday I’m done trading at 10:30 and will hit the golf course (in the summer) and gym instead of riding the bike. Friday night it’s time to meet friends for dinner and drinks. My weekend is then filled with riding, races, trips, and other fun activities.

 

I spend a lot of my time away from trading listening to audio books, talking to other business owners (both trading and other disciplines), and riding my bike. It makes for a great balance and is a lifestyle I love!

If you have a routine, schedule, or I’d love to hear it. Share your trading story in the comments section below.

[SIUYA 11]

6.50 am wake up as an optimist - turn on computer/blackberry check over night markets - smile or feel ill depending on position and what markets did.

7.15-8 beach, coffee, walk, exercise - let the voices in the head plan out the day (sometimes they help)

8-8.50am track though charts, plan day - read a few articles, maybe adjust some stops on currencies.

commute to office (this is the worst part, but a sacrifice for company and an end to previous work solitude and boredom)

10am Aussie stock market opens - 10.30 orders settled and done......

watch and wait and research ideas, try to teach myself programming etc; etc; chat with people in office

12.30 - lunch - this could develop into those long lunches or a quick 30-60min trips to the pub or for a sandwich - depends on the weather or the trading opportunities.

rest of the day (when I dont have some other thing to do) is spent talking crap, playing practical jokes, looking at markets, talking opportunities, biting fingernails and cursing the markets if its that type of day, swapping cooking recipes, telling crappy jokes, - typical mens shed stuff.

 

4pm market closes.

Update PL sheets, analyse the stupid things I did for the day, think about tomorrow

 

Maybe pilates, or some exercise

(lately admin starts until I feel like going home - I hate that legal and compliance now seem to be ruling the financial world today and that accountants and lawyers are just basically another government subsidized industry to protect us from ourselves)

See - by now its late in the day and the ranting and ravings of a bunch of old traders is starting to show through.

 

adjust overnight currency trades stops and entries....curse the silly things I did during the day

Drive home and enjoy the solitude and calm that only rush hour traffic can bring.

 

Either go out with friends or cook and have some red wine with the crazy female partner while I tell her how exciting my day was and how interested in her day I appear to be - If I show enough interest in that then a winning trade might occur later on. Otherwise I get stopped out.

 

go to bed as a pessimist for restful blissful drooling sleep of about 7-8 hours

 

Actual pressing button time probably 5-10 secs, thinking time 23hours, 59 minutes 50 secs.

[Kingsley Anderson 10]

Hi Tim, do you mind to share where can I get audio book for trading especially on trading psychology. So that I can listen while trading.

 

Cheers!

[secondmouse 10]

Tim,

As a neophyte who hopes to grow up to be a full-time trader, I found your account of your schedule interesting and informative. I have what's probably a stupid question (no such thing as a stupid question, right?): At one point you say, "If the Euro has been technical all day..." I know what technical analysis is, but what do you mean by "technical" in the context you used the word?

[Tradewinds 12]

First of all, I'm not calling myself a full-time trader. I'm a "wanna-be" trader, who is working "full-time" trying to get to the point of being a real trader.

 

Currently, I go to bed way to late, and get up to late. So I'm not really physically ready to trade in the short time between when I wake up and the market opens. When I get up late, my mind and body hasn't had enough time to "get up to speed" before the market opens. So I need to get up earlier. Maybe do some stair climbing exercise to get my circulation going and get some oxygen to the brain before I get on the computer.

 

I need to prepare for trading like it was a 100 yard dash. Spend hours before hand making sure I am physically and mentally prepared before I get into the starting blocks. Trade hard for an hour or 2 at the most, and then eat lunch. Review my trades after lunch, and try to retrain my mind to deal with any mistakes I made. Do household, financial and property chores in the afternoon. In the evening, work on my trading programs, and analyze the viability of my programs and the signals they give.

 

If I start making tons of money trading, then get a real life.

[TimRacette 11]

Hi Tim, do you mind to share where can I get audio book for trading especially on trading psychology. So that I can listen while trading.

 

Cheers!

 

Mastering the Trade, by John Carter is a good one.

[TimRacette 11]

Tim,

What do you mean by "technical" in the context you used the word?

 

Just that there are participants at my setups. 7AM to 12PM CST seems to be when my setups work the best.

[pataktrading 10]

Hi Trim,

 

Such a very helpful post. Really appreciate your thinking about trade. Have you any idea about global trade consulting? Please if you have then publish.

 

Thanks::fight: