10 Essential Habits for Your Premarket Routine
In this episode, we are going to add our 2 cents on a topic that is near and dear to every trader’s heart and lifestyle. Your premarket routine! This is something that every educator and mentor will teach about early on because it really is a critical component to set yourself up for a successful day. We have talked often about this topic within our trading communities and have personally adjusted ours many times since we became traders. Here is our current and most helpful list of the top 10 tips and habits for your best premarket routine! And even for those non-traders out there, these are solid life choices for a healthy and strong morning!
#1 When planning and discussing this list, we just knew we had to make #1 preparing your charts and trade plan THE NIGHT BEFORE! haha. No matter your time zone, the morning time just flies by, right? We feel like it really helps to program our brains to feel good about the potential trade opportunities for the next day by starting the preparations the evening before with the data that they current day provided. Going to sleep with that feeling is great!
#2 Gratitude! It is how I start every morning of every day for the first few quiet minutes. My gratitude time. As soon as my mind comes to life, I direct my thoughts to stillness and peace. I run through my mind slowly and purposefully, giving a moment to everyone and every thing that I am grateful for that I already have in my life right now. The act of focusing my mind and heart with how blessed I am brings me such a calm and pleasant energy. I can’t help but smile when I do have this time and the positive space that it puts me in lingers for a long time after I leave my bed. I will also write in a gratitude journal regularly, because the act of writing adds so much more power to thoughts and words. There are many ways to practice an attitude of gratitude, and it will look a little different for all of us with how we incorporate this practice into our daily lives - just do it how it speaks to you!
#3 The next habit is positive affirmations! The act of speaking into existence and setting the intention of who we want to be and how we want to show up in a given moment or activity. One of my most favorite examples of how powerful guiding your thoughts can be was explained by one of the coolest dudes ever in our book, Steve Harvey. So he gave a great example of there being millions of factory workers in our brains, and there’s two people in charge: foreman positive and foreman negative that’s it. So essentially once you wake up and the thought you give energy, awareness, life to, either of those two foremen are on the job. So the scenario is - I’m having a bad day, woke up on the wrong side of the bed, that foreman instantly takes the order, turns around, makes an announcement to those millions of factory workers and they take their order and start to manufacture all the thoughts to justify you having a bad day. So hopefully this is not what any of us wants, but it’s still a common occurrence that can be corrected by reciting, reading, writing, and listening to affirmations. Then you can have foreman positive show up and get those factory workers producing all the thoughts of gratitude and greatness. There’s so many different styles and ways to go about affirmations. Some can look like post-its on your bathroom mirror that you say out loud as you get ready, writing them down in a notebook, creating an audio of yourself saying them, just to name a few. There’s a ton of stuff readily available out there to consume but I really recommend sitting with yourself and creating your own power affirmations that are unique to you and can serve you the most. I’ve heard affirmations referred to as a “Mental breakfast”. We really like that analogy!
#4 This next habit flows really nicely from that, and has some overlap. But still, we felt, needed its own space. And that is listening to positive content while you are getting ready. Now, this could mean affirmations or positive self-talk mantras, but also, so much more than that, depending on how much time you have and what type of content speaks most meaningfully to you. Often, I will turn on a video from one of my favorite YouTubers, such as the amazing Eddie Pinero, or the current book I am listening to, like right now I am listening to The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday. I just put it in my ears while I am getting moving and preparing for my work. Gives my mind something uplifting, encouraging, interesting or educational to put my focus on instead of an idle mind (which can be so dangerous, lol). And often, if I’ve selected the right content, it can really teach and inspire me. Some mornings I am in the mood for music - positive, fun, badass songs are my jam for sure! I just want to approach my day with a mind flooded with positive energy & creative thoughts. I do believe the adage that: “You become what you read. You become what you listen to. You become what you watch. You become what you think. Choose wisely.” (unknown). It is with this in mind that I am quite selective on what I put in my ears for sure, and especially as I am getting going in the early morning. This portion of my day is pivotal in my preparation for my work as a trader and I only want the best content that will serve me going in during this time.
#5 Last year one of our amazing mentors and trading friends had recommended cold showers. She told us about the awesome benefits that include, improved alertness, boosts your mood and immunity, good for your hair and skin, improves circulation, reduces muscle inflammation, improves personal discipline, honestly there’s too many to list. So to be real, it kind of sucks to be cold, especially getting out of a cozy bed as early as early as we wake up. Kendra saw this as an opportunity to callus her mind, to overcome a big discomfort, and do a very much non-preferred activity first thing to start out her morning. This girl is a legit bad-ass and she wanted to challenge herself in that way. For her, there’s still that tiny bit of resistance each time but the natural high from just doing it is a boost for sure! So lots of you may have heard of cold-plunges, ice baths, some people just do their faces or use a spray bottle, lots of different techniques out there if anyone wants to try it out. Becky gave it a shot once, but she was not a fan, so to each their own!
“It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
~ Whitney M. Young
#6 The next habit is exercise! Many traders and high achievers prioritize exercise and/or a stretching or yoga session to start their days and there is so much evidence to support the power this can give! It was the inspiring Nelson Mandela who once said: “Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.” We love that quote so much and really agree that exercise has so many benefits to our whole person. In fact, we have interviewed my fitness coach, Amy, on our podcast before, so check that episode out if you haven’t already. Evidence has shown that moving your body and getting your blood pumping quicker to start your day releases so many helpful hormones and elevates focus and alertness. These are highly beneficial to clarity of mind for the work that you choose to do with the rest of your day. On the days that I have been up early and gotten 10 minutes of exercise in as a part of my morning preparations, I have loved the way I felt afterwards every single time. If you haven’t put at least some movement into your premarket routine, we definitely recommend it! And it doesn't have to be your whole exercise routine either. Could just be a burst of 5-15 minutes or so, and your full routine could take place later in your day. Lots of ways to work a schedule!
#7 We do try to also make time for powerful visualizations and quiet meditation time to calm and quiet our minds and get centered before we get to our charts. Even with a potentially busy house in the morning, we have found visualizing and intentional breathing can be done while making my bed, showering, exercising, making kids lunches, writing out affirmations, and my trading action plan. What’s cool about visualizing and meditating is that you can have an intentional, calm, and focused energy while you are still going about other things you have to do or are choosing to do. Some activities that can help cultivate those powerful visuals that you can then easily pull to the forefront of your mind can be: creating a vision board, either physical, on a slide presentation, or even a recording that describes it in detail. Things you may want to visualize are: how your best performance looks, what your most perfect day looks like for you, maybe a 5 or 10 year manifestation of what you want for your life, perhaps the things that you enjoy doing most - that charge you and bring joy. The idea is to get really good at seeing and believing these things in your mind with such clarity, fully feeling, and anticipating them without them actually being in your current existence. That skill is needed in trading because in our experience it takes that level of rewiring your brain to fully be open to the possibility and treasure that trading offers. There’s also scientific theory and evidence found in what’s called the Reticular Activating System that supports the real benefits of visualization. One of our favorite quotes of all time that speaks so much to this topic is: “Where your awareness goes, your energy flows.”
#8 Review your goals / your “why.” I heard the following quote from Jim Rohn quite some time ago: “If the why is powerful, the how is easy.” We Market Mamas have some serious why’s for how hard we push ourselves. This will vary significantly from person to person, but one of our common goals is to really use our voices to empower and support women who want to break out and up and pursue and achieve their biggest dreams as well, in trading, or whatever your heart is driven to fight for. There is incredible power in keeping your “eye on the prize,” as the saying goes. Whether it’s travel, financial freedom, your children’s college tuition, a new house/boat/ or property, impactful contributions to charitable work that you are passionate about, Kendra’s yacht, Becky’s 6 months in Europe, a higher level of respect to be able to speak from, or in general just life elevation. Whatever your goals are, let them drive you!!! Have them written out and posted in your office at your workstation. Let your why remain in the forefront of your mind so that it pushes you to follow your strongest business plan that has the highest potential to get you to your goals each day. For traders, our life goals are the reason that we need to honor our discipline, respect our risk management system, and only entertain our best trade setups! Jack Canfield, of the Chicken Soup for the Soul empire, has expressed this well with the quote: “Clarify your purpose. What is the why behind everything you do? When we know this in life or design, it is very empowering and the path is clear.” So good! We absolutely execute better when we are centered, focused, and remember that our progress towards all of our goals is within our control - we are skilled day traders, so we need to show up, own our place, and execute with that confidence and dedication to ongoing success.
#9 This next one is non-negotiable for a trader. Basically getting yourself completely in tune with your most immediate trade action plan for how you want to approach, participate, and play your best game. Everyone’s different, some people like to wait out the 1st 30 minutes after opening in hopes of a more clearer direction. Others like to try and get some of the earlier initial momentum moves to test the closest reference points. Whatever your preferred style, having a clear guide or set of parameters can be really beneficial to protect you from getting ahead of yourself (FOMO) or the market, or trading expectation for the day vs. real-time opportunity in the moment. Having the price meet critical levels, conditions, signals, and data prior to executing a trade – if you can respect it, this can really help keep yourself in check. There’s different ways we all do this, you can mark out your entry chart, have a document created, a white board, a post-it, just whatever works best for you. The idea is that you sit on your hands and only do what you intended to do coming in, which, as we all know, is easier said than done. In addition, it can really help with confidence and an ability to inject full belief in your trade, when you do wait for that setup, that relative perfect pitch, and hopefully manage your position to take the most advantage of the opportunity. We love the following quote from Bobby Unser, an American race car champion: “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”
#10 We have one more final very important habit to talk about. This is the necessity of and power from deep, centering breathing exercises! So much research has confirmed that slow, steady, deep breaths will calm your mind and body, settle your nervous and vascular system, and improve focus and clarity. In fact, the Tibetan Buddhist Sakyong Mipham said it very well with this quote: “The body benefits from movement and the mind benefits from stillness.” It really does take both activity and stillness to truly have a balanced body. We absolutely love and fully embrace the benefits of the slow, deep, eyes-closed, mind-quiet breathing exercises. We have felt the benefits of the calm that this action brings to our bodies and minds with even just 2-3 at a time. Each morning, when the NY session opens, this is a great time to intentionally stop all other work for several seconds, close your eyes, and really, fully expand your lungs and quiet that monkey mind. It’s essentially a mini meditation moment. This brings the whole morning together and re-centers us to the peace and gratitude that we started our first waking moments with. Our trade plan is still right at the forefront of our minds, but these moments are for breathing in calm. The deep breaths provide the optimal focus and clarity from these preparations. This is our best starting point for a strong morning!!
If you have any tips and tricks beyond these for your ideal pre-trading routine, we would love to hear about them! We are very mid-evolution in our journeys and are a continued work in progress. So we love designing systems to serve and support ourselves as we learn and grow. There is strength in collaboration and we can all add value in this space! So, please share and thanks for being here!