Building a daily routine

The first trade of the day often decides how the rest of the day goes. Traders who rush in from bed or from another task tend to trade worse. A short routine fixes that.

Why a routine works

A routine does 2 jobs. It prepares the information you need, and it puts you in the right frame of mind. Doing the same steps in the same order every day signals to your brain that it is time to focus.

The 15-minute pre-market routine

Start about 15 to 30 minutes before the 9:30am ET open.

1. Check the economic calendar (3 minutes). Note any high-impact releases today and their times (lesson 8). Decide if any skip condition applies.
2. Mark your levels (5 minutes). Prior day high and low, overnight high and low (lesson 6). Note where price sits right now.
3. Write the plan for the day (5 minutes). Which setup you are watching for, what would make you long, what would make you short, and what would make you sit out.
4. Set your daily stop (2 minutes). Write your daily loss limit and maximum trades at the top of the page (lesson 12). Set your platform loss lock if it has one.

Then trade, following the plan you just wrote.

After the session

The routine has a closing step too. When your session ends, spend 10 minutes on your journal: log each trade, add notes and grade your day (lesson 19). This closes the loop and gives your weekend review something to work with.

Learn live with BluSky

BluSky runs free live coaching every weekday morning on the BluSky YouTube channel. It is a good way to see a routine in action, watch levels being marked in real time and bring your questions.

Watch on YouTube

Make it yours

Start with these 4 steps. Over time, add what helps and drop what does not. A routine you follow every day beats a perfect routine you skip.