Getting back to business

A scratch day
After a very hectic but really wonderful holiday week with family visiting, it's time to get back to business.  I'm still feeling a bit rusty, so I only took one trade which ended up touching my profit limit order at +2.00 ES points but no fill.  My stop was at break even/entry price so I let it ride.  Luck was NOT on my side, and I ended up scratching the trade. 

Renato does it again
Renato made a few calls, including his first of the year that I didn't take since I wasn't quite ready to pull the trigger.  It also "felt" like a tough trade to take at the time.  Yes, in hindsight, those are really lame excuses.

(Jan 03-10:03) RenaTrader: RES 1278.50-80

What was the high of the regular trading session?  1279.75 at around 10:25 AM.  You can't get much better than this and he makes these calls to sell the high or buy the low of the day quite frequently.  I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see this happen regularly, in real time, timestamped, over the past 3 months.

No New Year's Resolutions
Many people are making New Year's resolutions this time of year, but I'm not going down the traditional path.  Sure, I'm going to work on goals, but I believe they should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis, not just once a year and forgotten. 

Focus goals on process, execution, and the mental game
I'm also going to start setting more specific monthly or quarterly goals related not directly with P&L, but to the overall trading process and quality of execution, in addition to ways to improve my mental game.

I'll also need to monitor my mental well being and make it a point to NOT trade when I am not in the right frame of mind.  My biggest losing days are directly attributable (with near perfect correlation) to those times when my non-trading life was exceptionally stressful.

Changing my physical world as well
I'm also changing my work environment and will experiment with a standing desk as my trading station, in a new location, to determine whether I will be more alert, especially in the afternoon.  Increasing my exercise regimen will also help to increase my overall well being, both physical and mental.

And finally, my diet, especially breakfast and lunch, will need to be improved, since I've noticed that when I'm not properly nourished, I become mentally agitated, which definitely impacts my trading performance.

It's on!
Here we are, 2012, and I've been pressing forward for nearly 9 months trying to find a way to trade that works best for me.  I'm positive that I have discovered more setups with an edge than I really need to become comfortably profitable beyond my wildest dreams.  But I have yet to properly execute on a consistent basis.  So I will become more selective in my setups, focus on execution, and make it happen.  It's time to do it!