Daily Stock Market Routine Checklist

I am a big believer in creating a daily stock market routine checklist. The reason is because if you can break down all the investing decisions you need to make and put them into a checklist, you are more likely to follow a system than if you just fly by the seat of your pants. I've already started putting my daily stock market investing routine into a checklist. You can see the first one I did that's described in my post called IBD Market Direction Checklist.

For most things we do, we'll remember the steps for the most part, but it's not always easy to remember exactly what to do in the heat of the moment. When money is on the line, why not take the extra safe guard to follow standard procedures that you've already pre-thought ahead of time.

That last comment about having a checklist is really important in my mind. Mastery of your investment strategy requires complete dedication to doing the same thing over and over EACH time. If you make one decision once and another decision in the same circumstance. How do you really know what works? The answer is that you really don't.

Systemically breaking down every decision so that you always know what to do each day is not something every one does. But you shouldn't be like everyone else.

Whether you realize it or not, you develop a daily stock market routine of being inconsistent if you don't devise and develop your own set of trading rules that you follow exactly each time you buy and sell stocks.

The best way to develop your checklist is to get a yellow legal pad and have it handy while you take each step from market direction, stock screening, buying and selling, etc. Write down each step as you take it. Write down everything. You'll find that you make changes to your checklist and move things around.

Getting into this habit will also help you define when your job is done, because you'll know what done looks like. Finally, keep those checklist out where you can see them. Otherwise they won't do you any good.

Good luck!