How thinking about models can save you time

Believe or not, models can be the ultimate answer for many traders.

They can bring you closer to ‘trading paradise’, especially if you strive to achieve more in less time, and don’t want to work yourself to death.

So, what I’d like to share with you today is this:

Probably nothing in my trading career helped me to become more time-efficient and get better results faster, than MODELING.

Of course, I’m talking about TRADING MODELS.

And when it comes to modeling, for me, it goes something like this:

Working WITHOUT a particular model in trading is like living a life without a direction.

The kind of life where you do everything and nothing at the same time. Where you would love to move SOMEWHERE, but you don’t really know WHERE or even HOW. Where you feel kind of lost, without even realizing that you’re lost.

And from my experience, a lot of traders are like this.

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They get an occasional trading idea here or there – but usually in a very arbitrary way. They know they want to become great traders, but don’t really know how to get there specifically. They work on many trading ideas, concepts, and approaches – but not really profoundly or efficiently enough on any particular one.

But this often very quickly changes, once you start working with specific trading MODELS.

For example, when I started with systematic trading, I used to be jumping from idea to idea, from strategy to strategy. I used to do everything and nothing at the same time. I used to spend an enormous amount of time on everything while still feeling like I wasn’t actually getting anywhere.

But once I figured out my first BREAKOUT STRATEGIES MODEL (which you can learn more about in this free ebook and this free video training), everything suddenly started being easier.

All I needed to do was start filling that particular model with new conditions and ideas (which is pretty easy) and developing great trading strategies was suddenly a whole different experience!

And once I finally figured out my robustness testing model (which I share in the Breakout Masterclass) I didn’t have to worry about things like overfitting and overoptimization much anymore. (Yes, the exact thing that most traders seem to be preoccupied with). What an incredible saving of time and energy, reducing frustrations and doubts!

And an even more recent example. Over the last 1.5 months I’ve been intensely working on a new way of assessing market regimes. A model I call “MARKET QUALITY” (MQ). Yes, it took me an enormous amount of time and effort thinking about how to put this model together, but now I can use it for any market, timeframe and trading strategy – in a fraction of time.

So, the point is:

Always think “model-wise”.

It’s a small, but very reliable hack.

And it’s an enormous time saver.

Happy trading!

Tomas

PS – To save time, you can start with my breakout strategy model in this ebook and webinar.