What do screensavers look like for people who actually live in Hawaii? That’s a question I’ll ask next time I go there on vacation. On the topic of vacations, as an investor / trader, how do you approach this challenge? Markets don’t close when you go to Disneyland. I’m not suggesting you check your stock quotes on the roller coaster, but I’m not part of the club that lobbies for totally disconnected electronic separation vacations either.
When I go on vacation, the world around me changes physically enough that my mental side slips into a slower gear as well. I’m not describing a mental Sahara Desert, just a place where I allow myself the supreme pleasure of idle focus and deem it okay to be mildly bored.
I will acknowledge that, for myself, trading is a non sequitur of sorts. It’s both a career and a passionate hobby. Having said that, I still have 5 vacation rules:
- On vacations, I live in the moment. I focus and enjoy the here and now.
- I buy new sunglasses and go for a different look each vacation.
- Emails to me receive “on vacation” auto replies.
- My inbox becomes listening to music, making long phone calls to friends and staring at the sky.
- I do bring my laptop and make certain I have high speed internet, but I am connected for only a maximum of one hour per day.
The bottom line is that I still let the information come, but I just slow it down as it gets to me.
Trade well; trade with discipline!
-- Gatis Roze