A two-minute pre-session checklist that prevents most silly mistakes
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2026 11:30 am
Most expensive errors are not strategic. They are small oversights that a quick routine can catch.
A short checklist before each session might include:
- Is the platform connected, and is the clock correct?
- What is the current spread on the pairs to be traded?
- Are there scheduled events in the next two hours?
- Is any holiday affecting the main currencies?
- What are the key levels from the higher timeframes?
- Are there open positions or pending orders left from before?
- Are the default lot size and one-click settings correct?
- How are sleep and mood, honestly?
Taking two minutes to run through the list can prevent a missed news release, a stray order, or a trade in a bad state of mind.
Over time, the list can be refined based on mistakes that actually happened. Each error that occurs once becomes a new line.
Pilots and surgeons use checklists for the same reason. Routine tasks are the ones people stop paying attention to.
It also helps to place the checklist where it cannot be skipped, such as beside the keyboard or as the first window opened on the screen. Habits stick when the cue is physical and obvious.
What items on your own checklist have saved you the most trouble?
A short checklist before each session might include:
- Is the platform connected, and is the clock correct?
- What is the current spread on the pairs to be traded?
- Are there scheduled events in the next two hours?
- Is any holiday affecting the main currencies?
- What are the key levels from the higher timeframes?
- Are there open positions or pending orders left from before?
- Are the default lot size and one-click settings correct?
- How are sleep and mood, honestly?
Taking two minutes to run through the list can prevent a missed news release, a stray order, or a trade in a bad state of mind.
Over time, the list can be refined based on mistakes that actually happened. Each error that occurs once becomes a new line.
Pilots and surgeons use checklists for the same reason. Routine tasks are the ones people stop paying attention to.
It also helps to place the checklist where it cannot be skipped, such as beside the keyboard or as the first window opened on the screen. Habits stick when the cue is physical and obvious.
What items on your own checklist have saved you the most trouble?