The session routine

Habits stick when they are tied to a routine. You brush your teeth after breakfast because breakfast is the cue. A trading session works the same way. If the session has a clear start, a clear middle and a clear end, your rules have a place to live.

This lesson gives you a routine in three parts: before, during and after. It is short on purpose. A long routine you skip on busy days is worse than a simple one you do every single time.

Before the session

Do this before the first trade, not during it, because once price is moving you are in no state to plan.

• Check the calendar for scheduled news. Some reports move markets hard and fast. The US Consumer Price Index, for example, comes out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on dates the government posts ahead of time. Look at a free economic calendar and note any big release inside your window. Then decide in advance: will you sit out that time, or trade it the usual way? The news days lesson goes deeper.
• Write the plan. One or two lines is enough. Which market, which setup, which hours. If there is a level you are watching, write it down.
• Set the loss limit. Decide the most you will lose today, in points or dollars, and the most trades you will take. For example, with a 20-point stop on one MNQ contract, each loss is $40. Two losses and you are done means a daily limit of $80. The daily loss limit lesson shows how to pick the number.

During the session

The middle part has one rule: trade only the setup. If it shows up, you take it with the stop you planned. If it doesn't, you wait, because waiting is part of the job and on some days it is the whole job.

Don't try to write notes during the session. A quick mark on paper for each trade is fine, so you don't lose count. Save the real record for later, when you can think. Mid-session notes turn into mid-session second-guessing.

If you hit your loss limit or your max trades, the session is over. That is not a punishment but the plan doing its job.

After the session

• Stop. Close the platform when your window ends or your limit is hit. Don't look for "one more" trade.
• Record. Fill in your log for every trade and for the session as a whole. The next lesson covers exactly what to write down.

The after step is the one people skip. It is also the one that makes the other two worth doing. Without it, the session leaves no trace, and you are back to learning from memory.

The checklist

Print this or keep it next to your screen.

1. Checked the calendar for scheduled news in my window.
2. Wrote the plan: market, setup, hours.
3. Set my daily loss limit and max trades.
4. Traded only my setup.
5. Stopped at the end of my window or at my limit.
6. Recorded every trade and the session.

That is six boxes, and on most days they take about ten minutes outside the session itself. If you are new and not yet trading real money, run this routine in a simulator first. The simulator lesson explains how.

The takeaway

Wrap every session in the same routine. Before, check the news calendar, write the plan and set the loss limit. During, take only your setup. After, stop and record. The routine is the cue that keeps your rules in place on the days you don't feel like following them.

Do this today

• Copy the six-item checklist onto a card or a note next to your screen.
• Look up an economic calendar and mark any scheduled releases inside your session window this week.
• Write down your daily loss limit and max trades for your next session before it starts.

Check yourself

Answer each one in your head, then open it to check.