If you’ve been involved with trading for any length of time, you know that it can be stressful, draining and even time-consuming. Even if it’s the most fun thing you do all day, it can take a toll. That’s why some traders have become pro-active in regards to taking time off. Endured stress for long periods of time can be bad all around, so why not stop now, before you suffer from the consequences? Once you step back a little, you’ll see the whole picture more clearly and understand why you’re doing yourself a big favor by taking a break.

Time to Recover

Similar to playing an intense game such as chess, trading forex can be darn right stressful. There’s so much planning and calculating and emotion that goes into every trade! You must look at the possibilities from every angle before making a decision, but yet there’s no time! The game must be played quickly and as you’re thinking about what to do and which trade to place, the clock is ticking away. It reminds me of the night before travelling internationally. I dream about not being prepared for the flight, forgetting important items or getting there too late and missing my flight. The stress! Of course that has never happened to me, but the stress of travel in itself is tiresome. Being a trader could be put on the same level as making (or missing) a flight, trying to out maneuver your partner in chess or proposing a great expansion plan to a group of investors. You can do it once and get over the exhaustion, but could you meet such challenges on a daily basis? For most of us, the answer is no. Take a break before you feel like you need it and come back refreshed!

Time to Review

When you’re in the middle of the forest, it’s hard to see the trees. You’re just too close to them. The same can be said for trading forex. Say you first began trading a year, two or three ago. You laid out your trading strategy and stuck to your plan this whole time. Well think about it. What would happen if you completely stopped trading for awhile. Rest, go on a trip, begin a hobby and then start all over again. But not from the beginning because this time around you have a lot of experience behind you, which includes both losses and profits. But in the long term, even a loss isn’t bad if you can learn from it. Besides the profits and losses, you’ve kept a journal that documented every trade. That should be the starting point for your evaluation, so during your time off, go over the trades. Take note of which ones did well and the ones that lost. Your own journal is a valuable source of information.

Know when it’s time to take a break from trading to relax, review and ruminate. Come back refreshed and invigorated!