Downtime

Even trading can become an addiction...

Good evening valued subscriber

Things have been quiet on the trading front last week by design. A barrage of great trading opportunities were available on the weekend: Ascot Champions day, India v New Zealand test match and the women’s t20 world cup final.

I missed all of it and have little regret. I’ve been a full time trader for many years now and I can count on one hand the amount of weekends I’ve taken off. That’s not a brag, but rather a reflection of how absorbing trading can become. For those lucky enough, what starts out as a passion project will soon turn into a reliable and profitable endeavour. But if things are left unchecked, what started out as a meaningful, exciting journey can very easily turn into addiction. It’s easy to blur the lines, especially when you can justify the numerous profitable opportunities that often pop up on the weekend. The markets are televised, ratings are up and the prize money is amplified across all sports. This in turns leads to greater liquidity and the ability to pocket far greater profits than on any ordinary midweek market.

This seems like a rational justification to ignore social arrangements.

‘After all, it’s no different from the regular working man doing over time/night shifts!’

‘Besides, we can opt to take Mondays off instead! Whilst everyone is back at work, we can enjoy off peak leisure time, away from the weekend hustle and bustle.’

‘Getting drunk and watching the game is overrated anyway. Sunday becomes a write off.’

These are just a few of the many excuses that I would concoct in order to trade away at the weekends.

Prioritising work is a very rational reason to avoid social arrangements but it is not reasonable.

The whole reason why I wanted to trade was to buy back my freedom and do the things I loved to do. And whilst I do love trading, somewhere down the line I forgot my purpose. Trading ended up taking over my life as everything went on the back burner. Relationships became strained, I became physically tired and irritable when not at my desk and the saddest part was that the profits did not justify the hours of slogging away. In some ways, I was more disciplined in my struggling days where I was regimented with my downtime, knowing full well that overworking is detrimental to focus and concentration. Excess screen time does not translate to more profit. Infact, the impact is inverse: you are far more likely to give back profits if your decision making is impaired.

The opportunities to make money trading is bountiful. Miss an event and there is 1,000 more to make up for it. Whilst there is ample opportunities to make money, there is no chance of getting your time back. Time is the only commodity and whilst I regret all the lost moments of downtime doing the very things I wanted to, which trading should have allowed me, I’ve reached a new level of maturity with my approach to work. As I enter a new chapter of my life in a new home with a growing family and new responsibilities, I’m reminded daily of what really matters to me.

Money is a tool, not a goal. Freedom is the goal! I’m looking forward to getting stuck back into the schedule ahead with new vigour and a renewed sense of purpose. Will post updates and previews as they come.

Speak soon.

AT