How do you stop yourself from checking the chart every five minutes?

Checking a chart again and again is one of the most common habits in trading, and it is often driven by anxiety rather than by any new information. Each check can lead to a small decision, and small decisions add up to more trades than the plan called for. The habit is hard to break because the chart always has something new on it, even when the plan has not changed.

Members who manage the urge often set fixed times to check and a rule for what they check. Some close the platform between sessions, others set alerts so the chart does not need watching. Revenge trading and overtrading covers how frequent checking can feed a pattern of unplanned trades, and it is worth reading if the urge is strong.

We would like to hear how you manage it:

• How often do you check the chart, and why?
• Do you use alerts, fixed check times or a rule for when you look?
• What is the last check you made that changed your plan? Was it worth it?
• What would make you close the platform for a day, and how would you know it was working?

Please share your own approach and reasoning, not calls for others to copy. Posts that promise a direction or sell signals will be removed.