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Overtrading the day after a big news day, why volatility makes me greedy

after a big news day with lots of movement, the next day often feels dull by comparison. I notice that I get restless and start looking for the kind of action I saw yesterday. That's when I overtrade.

The market is often calmer after a big event, with smaller ranges and slower moves. But my brain is still calibrated to the previous day. I take setups that are too small for the pair, or I stretch the criteria to feel like I'm doing something. The results are consistently poor.

What I do now is adjust my expectations the night before. I look at the typical range for the day and write down what a normal day looks like. If I see that the opening hours are quiet, I tell myself it's a quiet day and the plan is to take fewer trades.

I also reduce the number of trades I allow myself, in the same way as on holidays. It's easier to accept a slow day when I've decided in advance that it's going to be one.

Adjusting expectations the night before is a good habit. I do something similar by writing down the average range for the next day and comparing it with the range of the big day. Seeing that today is likely to be half the size makes it easier to accept smaller targets and fewer trades. I also cut my maximum number of trades for the day after a big event, which stops the restless feeling turning into overtrading. Fewer trades on a quiet day is not missing out, it is matching the market.

The point about the brain being calibrated to the previous day is spot on. For me, the big moves make normal setups look boring and I start chasing anything that moves. What helps is reviewing the big day's trades before the next session, so I close the chapter on it. Then I treat the new day as its own session with its own levels and its own normal behaviour. Usually by the second or third quiet day after a big event I feel normal again, and the urge to chase has faded on its own.