Tag Archive for: Overtrading

Week 10 Recap: Slow Down to Speed Up

March 2 – March 6

Week 10 started with a red day.

Not the ideal way to begin a new week or a new month. It was a small confidence knock if I am honest. But the important thing is what happened next. I did not change the strategy and I did not overtrade and try to force trades to make the loss back.

I simply stayed with the trading plan.

What followed were four straight green days, each closing with a 100 percent win rate. Across those four sessions I put together a 10 trade win streak, bringing the week to +7.34R.

The numbers are nice, but the bigger story this week was a shift in how I am reading the market.

A Timeframe Shift

This week I experimented with less 15 minute structure with 1 minute entries and began working with 1 hour structure and 5 minute entries.

The difference has been noticeable almost immediately.

Market structure simply feels more reliable. Breaks on the 5 minute and 1 hour charts carry more weight. On the 1 minute chart, moves often felt noisy and erratic, which made it easy to react to price movements that ultimately did not matter.

With the higher timeframe perspective, everything slows down.

Trades are now lasting four to six hours, compared with the 15 to 60 minutes that was typical before. That extra time creates a calmer environment. Instead of constantly searching for the next entry, there is space to observe price behaviour and manage trades more deliberately.

Quality Over Quantity

Another clear change is the number of trades.

When I was working from the 1 minute chart it was easy to take five to eight trades per day, which sometimes led to rushed decisions and lower quality setups.

With the new approach, opportunities appear less frequently. But when they do, the structure is clearer and the reasoning behind the trade is stronger.

Risk to reward is improving as well. Previously many trades capped out around 1.5R, but this week I captured a 4R trade, something that was far less common under the faster approach.

The result is straightforward.

Fewer trades.
Better trades.

The Key Takeaway

Week 10 reinforced an important lesson.

Speed creates noise.
Slowing down creates clarity.

The move to higher timeframe structure has changed the rhythm of the trading day. Decisions feel calmer, setups feel more intentional, and the overall environment is far less reactive.

Week 10 closed +7.34R, but the more important shift is in the process.

The charts are quieter.
The decisions are calmer.
And the trades carry more weight.

Week 8 Recap: Structure, Restraint, and Quiet Progress

15th – 21st February

Week 8 felt different.

Not explosive.
Not dramatic.
Just steady.

After the turbulence of previous weeks, the focus coming into this one was simple: tighten execution, reduce noise, and behave like a professional.

The Plan

Going into the week, I set five clear rules:

  • Maximum 5 trades per day. Use the trade planner properly.

  • Only take true A+ zones.

  • Keep risk fixed at 1 percent. No oversizing. If resizing, it must be down, never up.

  • Validate structure on at least one timeframe higher before committing.

  • Reassess trailing stop placement relative to the timeframe of entry.

Nothing new. Nothing revolutionary.
Just better discipline.

The Reality

For the first time in a while, I felt genuine alignment between higher timeframe and lower timeframe structure.

Instead of marking up charts mechanically, I began to see how they overlapped.

A protected low on the higher timeframe could also serve as a shared protected low inside a lower timeframe zone. When those two lined up, the setup carried more weight. More confluence. More confidence.

That shift alone changed the quality of trades I was willing to take.

Fewer Trades, Better Decisions

I did not oversize once this week.

That matters more than it sounds.

Keeping risk fixed at 1 percent created emotional stability. There was no internal pressure to “make it back faster.” No temptation to lean heavier on volatile instruments.

Trade frequency also improved. I passed on many setups that I would have taken a few weeks ago. Patience is starting to feel less like restraint and more like strategy.

Ironically, I also identified multiple setups that went on to be great winners without me.

That is an important lesson.

There is a difference between patience and being too demanding on the pullback. If price does not retrace perfectly into your preferred level, sometimes the market simply moves without you. That is an area to refine moving forward. Not by lowering standards, but by avoiding greed in the entry refinement.

Performance Overview

In R terms, Week 8 closed +8.22R across 5 trading days.

In dollar terms, that translated to approximately +$5.18K.

After a difficult Week 7, that kind of rebound feels significant. Not because of the number itself, but because of how it was achieved.

  • No oversized positions

  • Reduced trade count

  • Better structural alignment

  • Cleaner execution

The process improved first. The results followed.

That is the order it should always be in.

Exit Strategy Experiments

One of the most valuable developments this week has been the start of structured exit testing.

I’ve begun comparing:

  • Fixed 1R

  • Partials

  • 1.5R targets

  • Full runners

  • Trailing scenarios

Instead of guessing, I’m running the data.

The goal is not to find the most exciting outcome.
It is to find the most consistent, repeatable one.

Over time, this testing should remove another layer of emotional decision making. Exits should be predefined, not improvised.

Bonus: A Milestone

Quietly, and slightly unbelievably, I passed three prop firm challenges this week.

Not one.
Not two.
Three.

Current funded capital now sits at $250K.

That is real progress.

It is easy to get distracted by daily PnL swings, but zooming out shows something else entirely. Structure is improving. Risk management is tightening. Emotional reactions are decreasing.

Funding is increasing.

The Bigger Picture

Week 8 was not about chasing big numbers.

It was about:

  • Respecting higher timeframe structure

  • Trusting confluence

  • Keeping risk consistent

  • Letting the edge play out

Ordinary discipline produced extraordinary stability.

And that is the direction this project needs to continue.

Trade well. Stay ordinary.

Why your decision-making gets worse as the trading day goes on

There is solid science behind the idea that your ability to make good decisions changes across the day. It is one of the most studied topics in psychology, behavioural economics, and neuroscience.

Put simply:

  • The brain has limited self-regulation resources
  • Using them repeatedly makes them temporarily weaker
  • Fatigue changes risk perception and impulse control

For traders, that is not abstract theory. That is revenge trading. That is FOMO. That is dropping your entry standard from A+ to “this will do.”

Let’s unpack it.

Ego Depletion and Decision Fatigue

Researchers like Roy Baumeister proposed that willpower and disciplined thinking draw from a finite mental resource.

Every act of:

  • Resisting impulse
  • Analysing uncertainty
  • Managing emotion
  • Waiting for confirmation
  • Passing on a mediocre setup

…uses some of that fuel.

As the day progresses, the tank runs lower. When depleted, people tend to:

  • Choose easier options
  • Avoid complex thinking
  • Act more emotionally
  • Seek immediate reward
  • Abandon previously agreed rules

Not because they want to. Because the brain is tired. In trading terms, that shift is subtle but dangerous.

An A+ setup becomes an A.

An A becomes a B+.

A B+ becomes “close enough.”

And “close enough” is where consistency dies.

System 1 vs System 2

In Thinking, Fast and Slow, psychologist Daniel Kahneman describes two modes of thinking:

System 1 → fast, automatic, emotional

System 2 → slow, effortful, logical

Trading well requires System 2.

Waiting. Calculating. Filtering. Ignoring noise.

But as mental energy drops, the brain defaults to System 1.

Which means later in the session you are more likely to:

  • Revenge trade after a loss
  • Close winners early out of fear
  • Oversize to “make it back”
  • Ignore missing confirmation
  • Rationalise weak entries

It feels justified in the moment.

It rarely is.

The Judge Study

One of the most famous demonstrations of decision fatigue looked at Israeli judges.

Researchers found:

  • Early in the day → more thoughtful, favourable rulings
  • Right before breaks → harsher, default decisions
  • After food and rest → decision quality improved again

Judgement changed based on mental fatigue.

Not morality. Not intelligence. Not experience.

Energy.

Now apply that to a trader four hours into screen time, three trades in, slightly red, watching price move without them.

The conditions are perfect for a poor decision.

What Happens Biologically?

As cognitive load builds:

  • Attention declines
  • Emotional regulation weakens
  • The prefrontal cortex (responsible for discipline and planning) becomes less effective
  • Impulse systems become louder

So discipline literally becomes harder.

You do not suddenly become reckless.

You become slightly less precise.

And in trading, slight erosion compounds.

How This Shows Up On Your Chart

This is what mental fatigue looks like in practice:

  • Patience drops
  • Rule adherence softens
  • Risk taking increases
  • Urgency appears where none exists
  • Entry standards slip

You do not say, “I am fatigued.”

You say:

“Maybe this one is ok.”

That sentence has probably cost more traders money than any indicator ever has.

The Uncomfortable Truth

By the time most traders take their worst trade…

They are already mentally depleted.

It is rarely the first trade of the day.

It is often the third.

Or the one taken after trying to claw back -2R.

Not a strategy problem.

An energy problem.

How Professionals Protect Themselves

Professionals do not rely on motivation.

They design around biology.

They:

  • Limit decisions per day
  • Use a daily trading planner.
  • Pre-plan actions before the session
  • Use checklists
  • Automate exits where possible
  • Stop at fixed loss limits
  • Trade fewer, higher quality opportunities

They reduce how often System 2 has to fire.

They preserve decision energy for when it matters most.

Why This Matters If You’re Building Consistency

If you are building a structured, rules-based approach to trading, this is gold.

Performance deterioration is often biological, not intellectual.

You do not need more knowledge.

You need fewer decisions.

Fewer trades.

Higher standards.

Defined stop times.

Hard daily limits.

Because consistency is not just about strategy.

It is about protecting your brain from itself.

Week 7 Recap: Digging the Hole Deeper

Week 7. 8th to 14th February.

It started badly.

If I’m honest, I think I came into the week trying to play catch up after the turbulence the week before. That mindset alone is usually a warning sign. After a couple of early Monday morning losses took me to -2R for the day before the afternoon, I didn’t accept it. I tried to turn it around in the afternoon session

Classic mistake.

Instead of protecting capital, I dug the hole deeper.

On the R metrics the damage was clear. The dollar screenshot makes it feel even worse, but the story is the same in both. This wasn’t a market problem. It was a discipline problem.

 

 

What Went Wrong

The biggest issue was selection. I drifted away from A+ zones and started taking trades that were “technically valid” but not truly aligned with my core model.

My flip positioning  continue to give mixed results. Especially on the 1-minute timeframe. The problem is obvious when I zoom out. What looks like structure on the lower timeframe often disappears on the 2–5 minute chart.

If it looks like one continuous leg down on the higher timeframe, that “flip” I’ve chosen as my critical entry point is probably weak. I’ve been placing trades into developing structure instead of waiting for it to form properly. The result? Stops get hit as the higher timeframe move continues exactly as it should, barely recognising my flip was there

I started taking trades that were “technically valid” but not truly aligned with my core model.

Another trend I’ve noticed is slight oversizing on expensive instruments like DAX and Silver. Subconsciously I’m reaching for slightly bigger wins. That breaks the consistency of 1 percent risk per trade and adds unnecessary pressure.

I also need to review my trailing stop logic. I’ve been moving stops to what I think are structural lows, only to realise later that they aren’t real structure when viewed on a slightly higher timeframe. Same principe mistake as intentioned above on flips placement. That could explain why I’m getting stopped out before the move continues back in my desired direction. Sometimes hitting final TP to my frustration

I’ve also considered  the possibility of “mini zones” on very low timeframes, 15 or 30 seconds, that remain unmitigated. Price may simply be returning to claim those zones before continuing. Lesson = If I’m going to trail, it has to respect the timeframe that justified the trade in the first place.

Variance exists in the market. It shouldn’t exist in your discipline.

The Plan

Some clear adjustments going into next week:

  • Reduce trades. Maximum 5 per day. I have a trade planner. Now I need to stick to it.
  • Focus on true A+ zone selection.
  • Keep risk consistent at 1 percent. No oversizing on volatile or expensive instruments. If I’m going to resize, let it be down, not up.
  • Validate structure on at least one timeframe higher before committing.
  • Reassess trailing stop placement relative to the timeframe of entry.

It’s hard to reconcile hard weeks like this with some recent + 13R weeks. But that’s trading. Variance exists in the market. It shouldn’t exist in your discipline.

The difference between a temporary drawdown and a larger problem is how quickly you diagnose and correct.

On Monday in the US the markets are closed due to public holiday. Liquidity will likely be slower across the board. That’s fine. It’s a good opportunity to spend some quality time reviewing every loss from this week properly and build a structured plan for Tuesday onwards.

This week was painful. But it was clear.

And clear mistakes are fixable.

Month 1 Recap : What Real Progress Actually Looks Like

This is the first post in a new monthly series where I share my real trading results.

Not highlights. Not best days only. Not a sales pitch.

Just the numbers, the behaviour behind them, and what I am learning as I go.

The aim is simple. To track progress over time, stay accountable to my own rules, and hopefully provide something more realistic than the polished versions of trading that usually get shared.

This is Month 1.

How to Read the Images

Before getting into the results, a quick note on how to interpret the screenshots.

Each day shows both R and dollar PnL.
R measures performance relative to risk. Dollars show the real-world impact of those decisions.

Green and red days are not the story on their own. What matters more is trade count, win rate, and how losses behave when things are not going well.

If you are new to this, think of R as the decision-making lens, and dollars as the consequence.

Both matter, but they play different roles.

R Values
R Values
$ Values
$ Values

Why I Still Think in R First

R remains my primary metric because it keeps the focus on process rather than outcome.

It standardises risk, removes position size bias, and makes performance comparable across days, weeks, and months. A +3R day achieved cleanly is far more useful information than a random dollar figure taken out of context.

The dollar view exists to keep things honest. It reminds me that risk is real and that behaviour has consequences. But it is not what drives decisions in the moment.

R governs the process. Dollars reflect the result.

The worst red days tend to follow periods of over-engagement, often driven by trying to make something back within the same session.

The Big Picture

This month was uneven, but instructive.

Firstly, I only started journalling from Monday the 12th. The 19th was a stock market holiday, and I took the 26th off to attend a person training course. So this was not a full, uninterrupted trading month.

Even so, clear patterns emerged.

There was one difficult drawdown week early on, followed by two strong weeks where execution, discipline, and consistency improved noticeably. The contrast between those periods is the most important takeaway from this review.

The Difficult Start

Week 3 finished down -6.17R, or roughly -$1.6K.

More important than the number is how it happened.

This was before I was properly journalling, and it shows. Win rates were low, trade counts were high, and patience was thin. Losses clustered, not because the strategy stopped working, but because behaviour slipped.

There was some overtrading, some forcing, and a tendency to try to recover losses within the same session. In hindsight, the red days were not surprising.

At the time it felt frustrating. In review, it feels useful.

What Changed

From the 12th onwards, things began to stabilise.

Not perfectly, and not immediately, but enough to notice. Journalling introduced friction. It forced me to slow down, articulate reasons for entries, and reflect on exits rather than rushing to the next setup.

Even later red days still finished negative, but the damage was contained. Losses did not spiral, and trade behaviour stayed more deliberate.

That shift alone feels like progress.

The Stronger Weeks

Weeks 4 and 5 were the most encouraging.

Together they produced +23.79R, or just over $24K, with win rates regularly in the 60 to 80 percent range. These were not single outsized trades or lucky spikes. They came from multiple trades executed reasonably well, without stretching size or forcing targets.

What stood out most was not the PnL, but how repeatable those sessions felt. The process was clearer, entries were more selective, and exits were more disciplined.

When I slow down, the edge shows up.

A Few Honest Observations

One ongoing issue is trade volume.

On several green days I exceeded my own five trades per day rule. It worked out this time, but that does not make it good behaviour. The data suggests my best days tend to come from fewer, higher-quality trades rather than maximum participation.

Another clear pattern is how losses cluster. The worst red days tend to follow periods of over-engagement, often driven by trying to make something back within the same session.

Again, this is behavioural, not technical.

Common Misreads of the Dollar View

A few things are worth addressing directly.

This was not a straight line up.
The dollar results reflect both good weeks and difficult ones.

The strong days did not come from oversized risk.
Position sizing stayed consistent. The gains came from execution, not leverage.

The red weeks were not failures.
They were part of the learning curve, and they exposed issues that are now being addressed.

If anything, the dollar view reinforces why discipline matters. Behaviour shows up very quickly when the numbers are real.

What This Month Reinforced

This first month made a few things very clear.

  • Journalling improves execution.
  • Slowing down improves win rate.
  • Drawdowns are usually behavioural.
  • Consistency comes from repetition, not intensity.

None of that is exciting. All of it matters.

Why I’m Sharing This

I’m sharing these posts partly for accountability, but also because trading often lacks transparency.

Most people only ever see the best days or the biggest months. Real progress looks different. It includes red weeks, missed sessions, rule breaks, and gradual improvement rather than sudden breakthroughs.

If this series shows anything over time, I hope it is that progress is possible without hype, without shortcuts, and without pretending the hard parts do not exist.

This was Month 1.

On to the next, with fewer trades, better notes, and more patience.

The hardest skill in trading is knowing when you’re done for the day.

I used to think the hard part of trading was finding good entries.

It isn’t.

The hardest part is knowing when to stop.

Most of my worst trading days didn’t start badly. They started fine. A clean first trade. Sometimes even a small win. Enough to feel engaged, alert, involved.

And then that quiet thought appears.

There’s probably another one.

Sometimes the trigger is a loss. You feel sharp, focused, convinced you can get it back. Other times it’s a win. Confidence creeps in. You feel aligned with the market, like you’ve found the rhythm.

Both states are dangerous.

The market doesn’t know how your day is going. It doesn’t care if you’re up, down, or flat. Every trade is a new decision, but your state of mind carries forward whether you want it to or not.

What I eventually realised is this: stopping isn’t about discipline. It’s about self-awareness.

The real question isn’t whether another setup exists. It’s whether I’m still trading the plan, or trading the emotional residue of the last trade.

Some days I stop after one trade. Not because the day is “done,” but because I am. Focus softens. Patience shortens. I start justifying trades that look acceptable rather than obvious.

That shift is subtle. And once it happens, it rarely reverses.

I still have clear rules for entries. But I also have rules for exiting the day. Daily loss limits. Maximum number of trades. And one rule that’s harder to quantify but easier to feel.

My emotional tone.

If I feel rushed, reactive, or slightly irritated, I’m finished. Even if the chart still looks clean. Especially if it does.

That’s the uncomfortable truth most traders avoid. Overtrading usually doesn’t come from desperation alone. It comes after we’ve already had enough. Enough information. Enough opportunity. Enough exposure.

We just don’t want to admit it.

The best traders I know don’t trade more. They trade less. They treat mental capital as something that can be depleted, not ignored. Protecting it matters more than squeezing another trade out of the session.

Some of my most profitable weeks include days where I stopped before noon. No revenge trades. No boredom trades. No “just one more” because price happened to be moving.

Walking away early never feels productive. It feels unfinished. Like leaving something on the table.

But trading isn’t about finishing the day. It’s about returning tomorrow with clarity intact.

Knowing when you’re done for the day won’t show up on a chart. There’s no indicator for it. But it’s one of the few skills in trading that compounds quietly, day after day.

And once you learn it, everything else gets easier.