People who struggle with swing trading fail to 'do nothing' rather than buy

Swing trading is a method of capturing price movements over a period of several days to several weeks. When buying stocks, you look at the charts, confirm your conditions, and place your order with enthusiasm. However, the truly difficult part comes after you have bought.

Once you have bought, there is basically nothing to do. You just wait for the stock price to move. Yet, many people become restless during this ‘time of doing nothing.’ They open the screen, check the stock price, look for interesting news, and then want to perform some kind of operation. In this article, I would like to organize the difficulty of ‘doing nothing’ in swing trading and the reasons behind it for beginners.

Common situations where you feel the urge to act after buying

When you cannot ‘do nothing,’ what kind of actions are actually taking place? Let me list some common situations.

For example, the moment you have a small unrealized gain, you want to sell. Even though you think it might go up a little more, you are afraid of it decreasing, so you let it go for a small profit. Conversely, when it drops a little, you get anxious and sell before it reaches your stop-loss line.

Alternatively, you lower your stop-loss level little by little every time the stock price approaches it. What was supposed to be ‘I will cut it here’ changes to ‘Let’s wait and see a little longer.’

Also, if the stock you bought does not move, you get bored and want to switch to another stock. This is because stocks that are moving look more attractive than stocks that are not.

All of these look like you are ‘doing something,’ but in reality, they are actions that deviate from the plan you decided in advance. And the more these operations pile up, the less you can blame the success or failure of the results on your plan or on luck.

Why do people want to do something?

So, why is it so difficult to do nothing?

One reason is that taking action eases anxiety. Facing a stock with an unrealized loss and waiting without doing anything is a very unsettling state. By performing operations like buying or selling, you feel like you are dealing with the situation, and your mind feels a little more at ease. However, that action is not necessarily a good judgment for the trade.

Another reason is that ‘doing nothing’ does not look like effort. There is a sense of accomplishment in analyzing, finding stocks to buy, and placing orders. On the other hand, the time spent just waiting feels like you are not producing anything. In reality, waiting according to your plan is an important part of trading, but it is not easy to feel that way.

Furthermore, when you are in an environment where you can watch the market, the situation looks different every time you look at it. The stimulus of price movement keeps shaking your judgment.

‘Doing nothing’ is not passive

What I do not want to be misunderstood here is that ‘doing nothing’ is different from neglect or indifference.

Before entering, you decide the reason for buying, the stop-loss level, and the level at which to take profit. And after buying, you wait according to that plan. This is an active choice based on a plan.

At the point you decide on the plan, the major judgment of the trade is already finished. What you should do after buying is just to check at fixed intervals whether any events have occurred that require changes to the plan. During other times, not interfering leads to sticking to the plan.

In other words, doing nothing is an action you can take because you have ‘already finished the judgment.’

What is protected by not interfering

So, what is protected by doing nothing?

First, there is the consistency of your plan. If your actions fluctuate with every trade, you cannot verify later whether a trade was good or bad. Wait according to your plan and accept the results. Only through that accumulation can you see whether your method is working.

Next is the room for profit to grow. Swing trading profits lie at the end of stock price movements that take several days to several weeks. If you buy and sell with every small rise and fall, you are likely to miss out on those larger movements.

Then there are costs such as commissions and taxes. The more often you trade, the higher those costs become. Choosing to do nothing also helps keep those costs down.

Practical ways to cultivate the power to do nothing

However, relying on willpower alone won’t last. It helps to create an environment where you can afford to do nothing.

One way is to reduce the number of times you check stock prices. Decide to check only once in the morning and once at night, for example. If you look at the screen less often, your emotions will be stirred less frequently. Turning off notifications is also an effective method.

Another way is to place your orders in advance. If you set stop-loss orders or take-profit limit orders, your plan will be executed even if you aren’t watching the screen. By reducing the room for intervention itself, you can prevent impulsive actions.

Furthermore, there is the method of keeping a record of ‘days when you did nothing.’ It is enough to simply write, ‘Today, as planned, I did nothing.’ Once you develop the habit of recognizing doing nothing as an achievement, the resistance to waiting will ease.

Waiting time is part of trading

Swing trading is a method where the time after buying is far longer than the moment of buying. I feel that whether or not you can spend that long time calmly determines your performance.

Buying requires technique. Doing nothing requires discipline. Both are indispensable, but beginners tend to focus on the former. If you notice that you are restless after buying, that is not unusual. Rather, noticing that is your first step.

Next time you buy a stock, why not decide how you will spend your time after buying before you actually make the purchase? Incorporate the time spent doing nothing into your plan in advance. Just by doing that, the way you view your trades should change a little.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not recommend the buying or selling of any specific stock. Please make final investment decisions at your own risk.