It can be extremely hard to stay motivated as a trader, especially when you’re the head trader. The reason for this is that there is a lot of pressure on your shoulders as the head trader to make good trades consistently.
Losing trades is part of the game, which means you’re going to lose a lot of money over time, but you’re also going to win that money back and make more money than you lose. Sometimes it can be easy to forget the second part and focus too hard on losses, which can lead to a loss of confidence and motivation.
Burnout is also a major factor that plagues many head traders. So how do you maintain motivation as a head trader? We talked with Roger Scott, the head trader at WealthPress and renowned trader worldwide.
We asked Roger Scott for some tips on staying motivated and asked how he has managed to stay inspired over his decades-long career.
To-Do Lists
According to Roger Scott, to-Do lists are a great way to build routine and snub motivation. You can’t always rely on motivation, and when motivation is running low, it can be difficult to do everything you need to do if you don’t have direction.
Having to think about what you need to do today, tomorrow, and by the weekend is much harder than waking up and looking at a to-do list. So Roger Scott recommends creating a to-do list every week and sticking to it as closely as possible.
It’s okay if you end up having to modify it a little throughout the week, but the important part is always completing your daily checklist.
Keep Learning
In Roger Scott’s opinion, nothing is more inspirational or motivating than learning something new and exciting. As a head trader, you should always listen to podcasts, read papers, and keep up with how the industry leaders are trading.
It can be really easy to slip through the cracks and find yourself 5 years behind the best practices of the modern trading world.
Let Work be Work
This advice can be applied to every single industry. You need to keep the work at the office; otherwise, you will burn out. This means you need to give yourself days off and have hobbies that are as far from work as possible.
As a trader, you will be spending a lot of time on the computer doing research and looking at numbers, so Roger Scott recommends finding a hobby that takes you away from the computer. Board games, hiking, exercise, something that stimulates you while taking you away from stocks for a little bit, is exactly what your brain needs.
Take a Break
Small breaks are great, but everybody needs to have some long breaks as well. Taking a long break, whether it be for a few days or a few weeks, is a great way to give your brain some time to process everything you’ve practiced and learned.
Roger Scott says some of his biggest breakthroughs as a trader happened while he wasn’t actually at work or studying. They happened as he was away on vacation when his brain could relax and let all of the information he had processed simmer.
Company Matters
Who you surround yourself with will have a huge impact on how motivated you are. This has been proven in studies, and if you need anecdotal proof, you could easily look around at the most successful people you know.
Motivation creates motivation and inspiration.