Paula Rodriguez
In this day and age, technology has taken over everyday activities for both work and personal time. From doing research to playing games, most of our time is spent in the digital world. In fact, survey shows that the average adult spends more than 20 hours online per week. For forex traders, the nature of the job requires more hours online. With activities like chart analysis and trading sessions, traders spend more time in front of the screen. Because of this, it is crucial to consistently achieve digital detox for efficient trading and optimal health.
What is a Digital Detox?
Digital detox describes a period spent without any exposure to digital devices. The goal of going digital free is to rejuvenate, de-stress or interact with the physical environment. According to Techopedia, digital detox promotes a healthy balance between hours with and without using electronic devices. During this time, it is important to connect or engage in activities that can provide a break from social media and digital screens.
Why is a digital detox beneficial to forex traders?
Being an online job, forex traders can greatly benefit from practicing digital detox. Since forex trading is a technologically inclined career, the exposure to the digital world is much higher than other professions. From the use of smart phones, tablets to laptops or computers, traders need web sources and online executions to perform and profit. Because of this, traders spend an extra amount of time in front of the screen. In the long term, doing a digital detox can enhance the forex trading experience for both physical and mental well being. Here are the best benefits of stepping away from the screen:
- Minimize eye strain caused by prolonged hours in front of a digital screen
- Strengthens relationships and real world connection
- Improves focus towards personal and career goals
- Increases time for ideas and optimizing
- Results in a more productive and energetic trading session
- Paves the way for more physical activities that improve health
- Enhances mental health for long term trading
When is the best time to apply digital detox?
To execute successful digital detox, you must be able to know when you need it the most. Whether you are new to trading or not, it is important to learn the hazards of too much exposure to digital devices. Here are thetwo most common symptoms that let you know it is time for a digital detox:
Digital eye strain
Digital eye strain is a feeling of eye discomfort due to overexposure to digital screens. It is a clear indication that you have spent too much time in front of the computer. In fact, it is one of the most common health concerns of forex traders. Since the tasks in trading require time online, it is inevitable to feel eye fatigue or discomfort. Because of this, it is crucial to create habits that help alleviate or prevent digital eye strain. Through digital detox, you can deliberately take time from going online and give your eyes rest from the screen.
Information overload
Forex trading exposes traders to an incremental amount of data. When the brain can no longer process incoming data, it results in information overload. Information overload is characterized by feelings of anxiety and difficulty in interpretation especially during chart or news analysis. If you feel like you have been taking in too much information, you can greatly benefit from having a digital and data detox. To prevent information overload, watch out for uncanny symptoms like indecisiveness, mental exhaustion or high anxiety.
Top techniques to kickstart your digital detox
Forex trading requires hours online for performing and tracking executions. Aside from this, forex traders receive most of their necessary data from online sources. This results in an increase time in front of digital devices and a higher risk for harmful side effects. To have an effective digital detox, you will need these top techniques to ensure success:
Create a better strategy
Time spent forex trading has much to do with creating a reliable strategy. According to Daniel Lummis, it is important to backtest your strategy to test its long term profitability and to also save time.Planning a good strategy is one of the best techniques to start minimizing time online and to be able to apply digital detox more frequently. If you find yourself needing to constantly check your trades, this means you are not confident with your current strategy. Once you create the best strategy for yourself, the time spent online to check trades will decrease. Once you worry less about your trades, you can apply successful detox and improve mental wellbeing.
Smartphone detox
Jonathan Wells from Telegraph shares that the average person checks their phone 200 times a day or once every six and a half minutes. An effective digital detox does not only involve limiting time for forex trading on the computer, but also for accumulated minutes on the smartphone. To form the right habit, make sure to be more aware of how often you use your phone and determine your own personal restrictions.
Ease into your time constraints
Like adjusting to any new practice, it is important to ease into your digital detox for better results. If you have gotten used to staying online, it will be more effective to slowly get used to lesser screen time rather than having a sudden shift. Eventually, this will develop into a habit and eliminating technology from different times of the day will come naturally. Targets for digital detox should also be realistic to your strategy. Make sure to plan out every detail before applying to your forex trading schedule.
Make use of a timer
To plan and execute feasible time offline, balance your schedule and stick to it. If you need more help with limitations, you can take advantage of using a timer. When you are easing your way into lesser screen time, set a timer to indicate your maximum points. Here are the best times to make use of a timer for digital detox:
- Before bedtime to get the mind ready for sleep
- During lunch time when checking social media or watching online videos
- During long commutes when you have extra time
Exchange time online for real time leisure
Since forex trading work is already spent online, it is highly beneficial to plan your time for leisure without technology. Instead of surfing online or playing games on the smartphone, you can do activities that allow you to have a digital break. You can spend more time outdoors or plan dinners with friends and families. You may even schedule in added hours of sleep. In the long run, this will encourage more time offline as well as improve mindset and reduce stress.
Be an example
This is a great technique to follow through with your digital detox. When you set an example to others, you can achieve successful detox with more confidence and lesser pressure. You can also better encourage yourself and others to form the habit.
Daily digital detox
Having a plan for daily digital detox can help bring in consistent results. After kickstarting a successful session of digital detox, remember that it is also important to stick to the habit. This will encourage better behaviour towards time for rest and rejuvenation. It will also regularly allow you to clear the mind and promote stronger mental wellbeing.To promote daily digital detox, here are top 5 tips to form the habit:
- Turn off Push Notifications.
- Make use of the Airplane mode.
- Be strict and set a timer when checking social media.
- Use an alarm clock instead of your phone.
- Be prepared and get used to leaving “away messages”.
Achieve digital detox for successful forex trading
Embracing digital detox can offer many benefits for forex traders. With the excitement and stress that can come from the forex market, being able to apply digital detox is a valuable strategy for successful trading. By scheduling a digital break and truly unplugging, you can give yourself absolute time for relaxation. To execute a successful digital detox, be sure to use the top techniques and form a habit out of the practice. In the long run, this habit of applying digital detox can enrich both forex trading performance and lifestyle.
