How to Trade Forex Successfully – Important Versus Urgent

On of my favorite lessons from Stephen Covey, the author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” was distinguishing between matters that are important and those that are ‘urgent'.

His lesson with this is that all too often we as humans tend to focus our time and energies on those things that are filled with apparent urgency, while neglecting many things that are important, but don't seem as urgent.

As a result, we find many important items, things we know we should be doing, left by the wayside.  A few examples would include:

• Properly documenting your system
• Backtesting and analyzing metrics to ensure that the system you're using is really the best one to use right now.
• Journaling your trades
• Honing your skills in this business of trading
• Getting your trading business properly organized

These are usually put off, because we have more apparently urgent things that scream for our attention.

• Jumping into a trade marginally planned because we feel the pressure to make money
• Pouring over the charts looking for another trade because we need to recoup our losses from the last one
• Playing with our system because we ‘know' we can outsmart the markets (instead of practicing to master the system already in place)
• Focusing solely on trading, instead of working on how to make our current trading more effective and efficient

We focus on the ‘urgent' things because we feel we don't have time to tend to the important but not urgent matters.

In his book, he uses the example of the far and the rocks, sand and water.  The rocks are the imporant things, like developing yourself and spending more time with your family.

When we fill the jar first with sand and water (the little things), then there isn't enough room for the rocks, but when the rocks are put in first, then the sand and lastly the water, everything can fit into the jar.

Make sure to more the things you know are important to the top of the priority list, and keep in mind that many ‘urgent' matters often only appear urgent.  The important matters can be tended to first with greater reward both short and long term.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers

Brian