It is important to take vacations during the trading year. Trading for one day is like working three days at another job. I remember in law school taking finals. We would learn and study for half the year and then take one exam. For example, I took Constitutional Law with the Jeremy Paul, now the Dean of UConn Law School. We were assigned a textbook so thick it was a work out to drag the monstrosity to class. And then we had one exam after all that lecturing and reading which my grade could confirm I didn’t fully comprehend. Those exams challenged your nerves. Well trading is like that constitutional law exam everyday.

New traders should not take off that often. You should be in your seat learning the market patterns as much as possible. But you should take off. Experienced traders should take a minimum of three weeks off per trading year. The last week in August is the best time to vacation. I have never seen anything happen in eleven years of trading during this period. The holidays at the end of the calendar year is the next best vacation time. Everyone tends to be away so market swings are unusual.

I remember “back in the day” agonizing over when to take vacations. We were making at least 10k a day consistently so taking a vacation was very expensive. I remember Steve and I were getting pretty worn down from trading so we decided to take a long weekend and play some golf in Hilton Head. “Back in the day” a long weekend was your vacation. You wanted to capitalize as much as possible on the market opportunities. We all knew those present market conditions couldn’t continue for ever. It’s not the late 90’s anymore.

So we arrived at Kennedy, checked our bags, and waited to board. Somehow Delta had messed up and the flight was overbooked. And now our golf clubs and bags were heading to Hilton Head without us. Steve had some trouble understanding how that was even remotely possible. Talk about a ripper.

Now let me set this story in the proper context. Steve is very calm. I have probably seen him get upset three times in the 33 years that we have been friends. I am certain the other two times were my fault. Well this was one of those times. He was furious. It is so funny to relive this incident because Steve is so composed and polite. His face was red, his voice was raised,”do you know how much money I sacrificed to take this day off?” LOL. This was just so out of character. Anyway the Delta rep was persuaded and ended up giving us very generous vouchers and First Class accommodations on the next flight out. We got some golf in.

Steve loves to make fun of me for the vacation I didn’t take. Back when the Internet Bubble was just starting to burst, I had planned to visit Sicily for a long vacation. However, I was so worried that I would miss a market bounce that I cancelled my trip. The NASDAQ market went down another 2000 points. And we didn’t short back then. He loves to remind me of that decision.

As traders we should learn to decrease our stress. But we are not Buddhist monks. And trading is a stressful job. You need to recharge. You mind and body need some time away from the markets. A break will improve your trading.

I am heading to the Outer Banks for my vacation this summer (never been). We rented a house on the ocean for a week. I am pretty pumped. I am starting to get tired. And I need a break soon. Just a few more weeks and it will be a tough day of deciding whether to lie on the beach with a beer or a margarita. I make a thousand decisions everyday before 10AM daily. Hey maybe I will just have both.