- 1998: Volume 7, No. 6 Environmental Support

You cannot hide from a negative trading environment. As much as you try to ignore it, a negative trading environment will affect you and your performance. Keep in mind however, that what is negative for one trader is normal and comfortable for another. What is a negative trading environment? My definition is one that, if it were removed or altered, would improve your performance.

Organization

One of the most obvious causes of a negative trading environment is disorganization. Disorganization causes your environment to fill up with clutter and the more cluttered your environment, the more distractions you will have from your trading. The mind can only handle approximately seven to 10 bits of sensorial information at one time. The attention grabbers that result from disorganization create stress, and stress creates sabotage.

Reasons for Disorganization

Not enough time—Taking the time to keep things in place might feel like it is more work, but it will save time in the long run. After organizing your environment, get in the habit of putting things back in a certain place whenever you are through using them.

Don't know how to organize—

• Handle papers the fewest number of times by using Post-It notes for the next task with its required completion time. Keep these papers by date or time order.
• Know which modality (visual, kinesthetic, auditory) you are the most comfortable using:

Do you find things by color coordination? Do you keep things within visual range, in staggered files or every tab on one side? Do you have a feeling about where things should be in a stack of papers? Do you use the floor as an extension of your desk? Do you feel organized when you have everything on a computer? Would it be better to remind yourself with a tape recorder or hear what is necessary for you to do from a secretary? Do you prefer hearing a signal from your computer when to take a trade? Do you need someone to come behind you every day and reorganize you?

• Schedule a commitment to yourself to go though all of your materials on a regular basis and discard everything which does not support your work.

Not enough places to put things—

• Hire a professional organizer to create the best use of wall and floor space.
• Go to a office supply store or space saver type of company to see what options you have available.

Too much paperwork—

• As you receive unwanted mail, send out a standard letter requesting to be taken off of their list.
• Keep everything off of your desk if it does not have to do with your daily activity. In the evening, discard it or attach an action Post-It note to it.

Inefficient flow of information—

• Write down a flow chart of all incoming information and how and when you will handle it and ask people to support this flow. If you do not know how to organize this flow ask someone who does.

Work Environment

Your work environment should be quiet and non-intrusive so that you can stay focused on your trading. Here are some of the major causes of distraction in this area:

Too much noise—You might consider using ear plugs, relaxing music on ear phones or changing the environment.

Input is distracting—When other traders or the media are giving their opinions, you must change how you view them. See them as saboteurs to your system.

Distracting calls—Use an answering machine for all calls except those necessary for you to receive. Tell others that your trading hours are sacred and you will not take any calls unless it is an emergency.

People—The most distracting part of your work environment is the people who interact with you, whether you want them to or not. You need to put strategies into place in order to take control of these walking/talking distractions.

Colleagues—Choose to relate only to people who are positive and uplifting and communicate in a way that is supportive of good feelings. Let people know exactly what you want and need in communication. If they do not give you what you want and you cannot remove them from your life, let them know that you do not talk to people during trading hours.

Your significant other—

• Explain what you need for good trading results.
• Behave badly when you do not get the cooperation you need and extremely positive when you do. Unless your love is masochistic she/he should get the message.
• Take time to listen patiently and enthusiastically to everything the other person has to say and then paraphrase what they just said to you. They will know that you have been listening and that the message has been received. If your significant other continues to say the same thing over and over again, it's because you are not "getting it" in the way she/he needs you to get it.
• Make sure that special time is given during the day/week where you are giving full attention to the other person. If you don't, this person will always be pushing for more time.

Children—

• Each child needs a certain amount of individual attention. Label this time of focused attention as "special time" with you alone, so your child can look forward to it.
• When children act up, tell them that you need a hug. Children try to get your attention by doing things that you do not want them to do. After the hug, ask them to do what you want them to do and give them a reason that makes sense to them.

Pets and Other Family Members—Pets love routine and they need to be trained if you want them to leave you alone when you need to focus. Putting a little time each day into training them will free up your time to focus on your trading. Just like your pets, the people in your life like to know what to expect. When you are consistent with communication and commitments, they will distract you less.

Troubled relationships—If you are involved in a separation or divorce, or in a relationship which is filled with conflict or pain, these relationships will often intrude into your trading environment. Phone calls from lawyers or anger-filled calls from an ex-spouse can destroy your focus for the rest of the trading day.

• Maintain a separate telephone line for your trading and let your personal line pick up the messages.
• Lock your door to your trading office and put a sign on the door saying please do not disturb unless there is an emergency. If anyone knocks at the door, go breathlessly to the door and say in a panic, "What's happening?" This may sound somewhat dramatic, but they will get the message.
• Seek outside counseling to help resolve the problems in the relationship.
• Meditate each day to reduce the stress and keep you calm as you go handle the situation.

Physical Setting

Not every physical setting is conducive to trading. Some are too cold and sterile while others are too comfortable and tempting. For example, if you can see a pool from your trading window that is surrounded by a bevy of bathing beauties, you may have a hard time focusing on your trading. Or if your office is situated in an office building with a wonderful top floor bar which serves terrific meals and is the meeting place for some of your buddies, you may be tempted to spend too much time in said bar. Or you may find that your home office is so near the kitchen and the large screen TV in the family room that you are spending your trading time watching Cinemax while munching snacks.

On the other hand, the physical setting can be too heated, too air-conditioned, too polluted by chemicals in the carpet and furniture, or too uncomfortable in some way that makes your trading difficult.

• If you are too distracted in your present office, move to one that is more conducive to your trading
• If you can't move, change what you can to make your environment more conducive.

Commitments

The commitments that are a negative part of your trading environment are the activities you have agreed to do during your trading hours which do not directly support your trading or after trading hours which take energy and focus away from your trading. These trading interruptions can be as major as mentoring a young trader or helping to put together a major trading conference or providing frequent updates for investors. Or they can be as small as making a daily call to check on your mother or leaving fifteen minutes early each day to pick up your daughter from school. The problem develops for your trading when these commitments interrupt the flow of your trading or sap emotional energy.

Individually, commitments can be innocent time catchers. But, as their number piles up, the total can be significant enough to create a trading environment in which you are never in the trading flow. If you are overwhelmed by your commitments, the problem may not just be that you have difficulty saying no. You may be using your commitments to prevent you from making a total commitment to your trading

• Only make commitments that you know you can keep.
• Set a limit on the number of commitments and the time they will involve.
• Tie your commitments to your goals and values. Don't make commitments to do things you think you should do, but which subtract from the things you want to and must do.
• Limit commitments to non-trading hours completely or as much as possible.

Conclusion

If your trading environment supports your trading by providing you with the level of comfort, quiet, organization and lack of other distractions you need to concentrate on your trading, you will have one of the essential ingredients for your success. But, if your environment is not supportive and is filled with distractions, you will need to take action. No matter how great your system is and your commitment to success, you cannot succeed if you are trading with a fraction of your focus.