It’s a fine line, sacrificing yourself to trading alongside a full time job and possibly a family, while still finding enough time to reduce screen time, pursue athletic goals, and actually enjoy life.\n\nThere simply aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all.\n\nThat’s exactly why trading is so hard, you can’t fully devote yourself to it when time is always limited.\n\nThose who still manage to become profitable despite all of that have my deepest respect. Only traders truly understand what other traders have gone through to get there.\n\nPeople who have never traded or have little to do with financial markets can never fully grasp the inner emotional battle and daily sacrifice it takes to become profitable, or the path that leads there.\n\nIf there’s one lesson I could pass on from my trading journey, it’s this: prioritize sleep.\n\nGetting enough sleep leads to more disciplined, more focused trading decisions. Even if that costs you two or three more hours a day, it’s worth it, because your health and your mental clarity come first.\n\nAdequate sleep is the foundation for everything, long term profitability and a good life.\n\nThis is often overlooked when you’re deep in a late night trading flow, driven by inner ambition, trying to make it work on three or four hours of sleep just to stay close to the market and chase consistent profits.\n\nThat constant state of sleep deprivation is simply not worth it. Short periods are fine when your edge is in a highly liquid phase and you’re trading it aggressively, but it should be the exception, not the rule.\n\nStrong routines and solid strategies come from discipline and a well developed skill set. With that in place, you’ll always find new setups and new trades, none of which require you to stay awake around the clock.\n\nExtremely important.