"The Kirk Report:
Q: I am a relatively new trader with an voracious appetite for learning and getting better. I also work full-time so trading is very much a part-time endeavor.
For the past six months I have been spending approximately two hours per day (roughly 12 hours per week as I take off Sundays) toward my trading. In your opinion, how should I properly allocate my time between reading & learning (recommended books, links & reports you share, etc.) versus actual practicing (time spent on simulated trading) to gain the skills I require as quickly as possible? At the moment I'm dividing my time between both (1 hour practice & 1 hour learning) and while I'm making good progress as my results in my simulated trading are steady showing improvement, I would like to know your thoughts and whether you have any recommended "rules of thumb" to share.
A: I have a number of thoughts to share about this topic and I'm really glad you asked. It is a topic I spend a tremendous time and energy covering within the mentorship group as I know this is of key importance.
First, I must start by congratulating you on a number of things including the fact that you devote as much time and effort as you do, that you understand the difference between learning and practicing to acquire trading skills, and that you're using simulated practice trading at this stage of your learning curve. I can't say enough about how very good this approach will be for you during your early-formative years. So, great job!
Second, it is my opinion that practicing is an crucial part of the learning. You can spend hours reading books and blogs but if you're not doing the things that require you to trade well and often through concentrated skill and practice, then you will not be spending your time effectively.
I find that most who read the website tend to spend far too much time reading more than they do practicing and real skill-development. In fact, I would say that you are unusual in this regard as you've decided upon adopting a split approach between both practice and study. Most of those who have joined the mentorship group tend to devote far too much time in reading and only a minor amount of time in concentrated and consistent practice.
However, since you are seeing steady and consistent improvement now, I would not recommend altering your approach one little bit. What you are doing seems to be working and that means you need to continue until that begins to change. Sooner or later there will be a time where your progress starts to slow down and you'll see a period when you think you are moving backwards again. It will be at that same point that you may consider bumping up the time you devote to practice more than study after identifying any issues that may be hurting your performance.
Ideally, through practice simulated trading you'll begin to figure out which areas you'll need to concentrate you study upon. This will help you concentrate your study time and allow for you to practice more and more. This will obviously require you to keep close and accurate trading records and stats not to mention in-depth study of prior practice trades to identify any issues that may be present in your strategy. Once you identify issues you think are present that's more than half the battle.
Bottom line - practice and study should not be mutually exclusive of one another but used very much the same way you are doing right now. For most, that means spending far more time in practice than study and reading than the other way around. Most of the problems relating to time management I see among members is that they spend far too much time reading and not enough time practicing."
Continued...
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