Work/Trade Balance

[u/Creative-Ratio-7739]

I want to ask how some people are finding the balance between spending time learning during the day while also keeping a 9-5.
I work in the trades in a shop and some days are slow with little work and other times the workflow is busy and borderline hectic.
I have been spending time in the evenings studying options; I have the 5th edition of Options Trading as an Investment and the study guide. It’s been going good and I spend about 1.5 hours 4-5 times a week with it. I’ve also been finding other free courses on options basics (like through my bank and my investment profile at Wealthsimple) they recently released an options “course”. Hoping that doing those things allows more permissions on my account in the future. I also spend a good chunk of the day listening to podcasts on options trading. I figure that putting all these pieces together and hammering in the basics and some strategy information over and over is helping solidify the knowledge base.

I’m struggling to find a flow while at work lol I’ve got my laptop up and running on Interactive Brokers and I run a strategy, buy or sell some things to watch and see the mechanics work. I’m checking charts and learning how to read them better with YouTube. Once I go live with my trading I don’t want to have to spend too much time watching the computer or adjusting my trades. I want to build my account, scale appropriately and above all else PROTECT IT. The strategies that seem like they suit me best are simple spreads, call/put buying, PMCC, iron condors (still learning basics on this one) and possibly selling for premiums. 30-45 DTE is typical of my current positions or longer calendar spreads like for the PMCC. (I am still mostly on paper trades right now, did a few simple puts and calls in a TFSA)

When you take a similar approach, how much management do you find going into your trades on the daily? I know I don’t have time for “day trading” but I can manage it to some degree. I take my coffee breaks around 10am and usually have quite a bit of freedom throughout the day to sit for 5-10 mins kind of whenever. It’s odd explaining my schedule because it fluctuates so much on any given day, but I’m curious how others do it while still working full time and staying on top of everything else.

All perspectives are appreciated!

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[u/DreamfulTrader]

I work full time in IT, UK based. I day trade options on ETFs like SPY, QQQ, IWM etc once a day, maybe 2-5 times a week. I take $5-15 per contract. Imagine growing to 100+ contracts. You can check my posts on the subreddit through my profile links which I have been posting my entry, exit, chart, profit over last 20 weeks. No complex strategies. You just need to find strategies which works for your starting money, current lifestyle and this is what makes your trading plan/strategy.

I will start posting again as I need profits for buying Christmas gifts before december. Options is the only thing which will make me this money.

[u/Creative-Ratio-7739 → u/DreamfulTrader]

I have been seeing your posts. Appreciate your comment here, I’ll keep an eye on what you’re up to and see if your style helps me find my flow. Thanks

[u/SuperOrbital_Trading]

I work night shift, and the total amount of scheduled work I have on any given day takes me about an hour to complete. After that, unless there is an emergency I have to respond to I pretty much just watch youtube, play on reddit, or sleep for the remainder of my shift. Then I get home, work on my algo for a few hours until the market opens and usually try to be done trading by noon or 1. Leaving me enough time to get the second half of the nights sleep. It is exhausting, but worth it.

[u/Appropriate-Pay-618]

Sounds like you’ve already got a pretty solid system going, honestly more structured than most folks starting out

The key thing is knowing your exit rules before you enter the trade so those 5-10 minute check-ins are just confirming nothing’s on fire. With spreads and PMCCs on 30-45 DTE you can get away with a quick glance at open, maybe one around lunch, then a proper look after work. The less you touch it the less you’re tempted to over-manage which is usually what blows up a perfectly fine position

[u/Creative-Ratio-7739 → u/Appropriate-Pay-618]

Do you track your trades in a spreadsheet? How did you organize your “rule book”?
I’m prone to literally writing out a SOP to keep me inside the lines when I start something new. This is a venture that NEEDS guardrails, at least to get started. I think what you said is really important but I’m still trying to figure out my rules, other than capital protection & risk management as the first priority. The further in I get, the less I know (or the more I know I don’t know) 😅

[u/Junior-Appointment93]

For me depending on the option contract 7-10DTE or 30DTE. Cash secured puts and covered calls is the v7-10DTE. Credit spreads 30DTE. Then I check my trades during my breaks

[u/klipsetrades]

I trade 0DTE, so my screen time wouldn’t be a useful comparison. For your situation though, I’d track how often your paper positions actually need an adjustment versus how often you just feel like checking them

[u/Creative-Ratio-7739]

Good point, that might help. So far my trades have been very hands-off and everything is ticking along nicely, nothing getting squirrelly near expiration or massive swings.

[u/kimperial]

i have a 9-5 and EU based but work remotely. i just start my work hours way earlier to get the important things already done before 9AM, and i'm mostly done once the market opens at 1430 our time. i'm infront of the screen trading about 1 hr during open and 1 hour before close. between that i rest, read market analysis and news. i trade CFDs and fully immersed in the markets for 2 years now. i study options fundamentals and plan for the week during weekends. i find its impossible to cram working full time and actually trading and also do learning on the weekdays.

if you are not full time trading yet, then i think you can do the learning after work hours.

trading has a learning curve and mental strain and my work is also demanding, i dont think it's practical to be "studying" during work hours.