We’re slipping into ‘sickness bug’ season here. One child is off school ill, and I’m praying the rest of us don’t get it.
But should you carry on trading when feeling ill or a bit off colour?
It’s easy to plough-on like a trooper but any fuzzy-headed thinking can create big problems for the afflicted trader.
Here are 3 memorable moments from my own illustrious past. Sometimes it’s best to throw in the towel and come back refreshed and alert another day!
3 errors to avoid that can be caused by ‘fuzzy-thinking’
1) ‘Fat Finger’ trades can have you mistakenly trading in multiples of your usual size. One time I meant to place a trade at £3 per pip but double-tapped the key on my keyboard and just didn’t spot it. Result: trade filled at £33 per pip instead! I was happy to take a quick £90 loss on this one rather than risk trying and get out at breakeven.
2) Trading upside down. This is where you’re merrily trading away and place a market order the wrong way around – buying instead of selling, or vice versa. And it’s easier to do that you’d think. You can be focused so intently on shaving a few tenths of a pip, and getting filled at the very best price, that you completely overlook the order ticket is still set on its default ‘Buy’ setting!
3) The daydream. Have you ever suddenly stopped what you are doing to wonder why on earth you are doing it? It usually comes with processes you know very well – the kind of things you’d usually do on autopilot. Ever drive straight past your turn in a bit of a daydream, or drive home from work to a house you moved out of 2 months ago? Well this is the trading equivalent. It can sometimes feel like you’ve not been completely present for the last 5 minutes and you end up staring confused at out-of-synch analysis someone has drawn on your chart (because it couldn’t have been you, surely!).
So those are a few situations you might stay alert to when you’re feeling less than 100%.
And don’t be afraid to have a break and come back when you feel better – it’s not worth being stubborn and risking unnecessary losses.
So stay well, and wish me luck in my battle with the germs this week!
