I’m currently sitting outside Chiquito Cafe in Mexico City. A warm spell has rolled in. It’s 75 degrees fahrenheit (24 degrees for my non-American readers) for the foreseeable future. My second coffee beverage, perhaps unneeded at this moment, tastes delicious.
I’ve been away from this blog for a month as usual. Just as I ran out of trading projects to work on, and thought I was “done”, another big idea came to me. Work consumed me for a few weeks, and then it has drifted into a comfortable state recently. I have a few finishing touches for some new algorithms that are running, a few more products to turn on, and then it’s back to steady-state maintenance. A light workload this week polishing everything, and then I assume (perhaps incorrectly like I’ve continuously done) that my workload for the rest of the year will be light.
Permission has been mentally granted to shift my priorities down to just two things to finish out the year: health, and optimizing trading. I can write, read, study Spanish, etc., but for the next few months I’ve simplified my focus. I have more downtime which has been amazing. I read more, walk more, nap, and have the necessary space to come up with solutions to things I want to improve.
I’ve had a book “Radical Renewal: Tools for Leading a Meaningful Life” by Brett Steenbarger sitting as an open tab for months on my browser. It’s a free online book that I’d been reading at a pace of about one chapter a month. I really liked it from the start, so I guess I wanted to milk it, or maybe I’m just not used to books on my computer. I decided to stop sipping on chapters, and actually finish it. Incredible book. I read it as the author is famous in the trading space for psychology, and it has tidbits about how to apply things to trading, but 99%+ of it applies to anyone.
There’s a lot of practical advice and subjects discussed, but one thing that stuck with me is searching for activities that put you into flow-state. For instance when I have a new idea plus data for trading, and my idea looks like it has merit on preliminary investigations, I can work for hours and weeks straight immersed in the possibilities. Later on I forget about that period of joy, and forget the reasons I even enjoy trading. I get into a period of flow with this blog on some rare occasions too, which is also fleeting but makes the rest of it worth it. Another related point mentioned frequently is practicing gratitude. Being grateful for the things I get to do makes me enjoy them more, and in turn that makes me more grateful. It’s a beautiful cycle when I don’t let myself get too bogged down in my head.
Otherwise I’ve stuck with the same training program that I’m still enjoying, and have dialed in my nutrition. I’ve been social going to a fair amount of parties and events, but haven’t felt the desire for alcohol for a while.
With that I’m going for a walk, to read, and recharge for another week. Wishing you all a great Halloween and Dia de Muertos!
Andrew Manser 