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Taking fewer trades, waiting, and treating 'doing nothing' as a decision
Published by The Retail Trader · AUG 09, 2026 · Trading Psychology
This is the least glamorous part of trading: most of the time, you do nothing. And it is also the hardest part, because sitting in front of the screen and doing nothing feels wrong.
Your setup does not appear every day. If you are taking trades every day, it means you are also trading outside your setup — and those are the trades that often decide the result of the whole month.
An honest exercise: go through your last 50 trades and count how many were of the setup you had written down. For most people, this number is startling.
A trade taken out of boredom has no thesis, so it has no exit plan either. It often gets held, gets averaged, and a small mistake turns into a big loss.
This is why sitting in front of the screen full-time works against many people. More time does not give more opportunity — it gives more temptation.
When there is no setup, these are worth doing:
• Build a watchlist — which names will be interesting at which levels. Write the levels first, not afterwards.
• Review old trades — how do entries from a week ago look now.
• Collect data on one setup — find 20 examples and see how it plays out.
• Switch off the screen — this is work too, and it is the least practised.
There is no need to be in the market at all times, and there is no bravery in it either. When conditions are against your system, cash is the best position.
Its biggest benefit is not saving money — it is saving attention. An empty account can take the setup that actually arrives right away; a full account just watches it go by.
In trading, earnings come from selectivity, not from activity. The trader who takes fewer trades but follows their own rules ends up ahead, over the long run, of the trader who does something every single day.
This article is for educational purposes only — it is not a buy or sell recommendation, makes no claim of guaranteed returns, and is not advisory. Rules, rates and mechanics are changed from time to time by the exchanges, SEBI and RBI, so verify every number yourself with your broker or an official source.