The Serendipity of Being Away During Market Turmoil

This morning's sunrise view from my "mobile office."

I've been in the Hawaiian Islands since Wednesday. And perhaps it's a good thing.

Had I been glued to my trading screens on Friday afternoon and Monday morning, I might've made some decisions I'd be regretting today.

Or would I have?

If you're like me, when the shit hits the fan, you refer back to the plans you have in place. You act from a position of strength rather than weakness. This becomes especially critical when markets are moving fast and emotions are running high.

Here's what I know: when I put trades on, the vast majority are options trades with pre-defined risk. Which means there's never a legitimate reason to panic or hurry. The risk is known. The plan is in place. The rest is just noise.

When multiple positions move against me at once, the act of finding and reviewing each trade plan actually slows me down. Deliberately.

This puts me in a mindset that's calm and focused. It gets me acting in accordance with my plans instead of reacting—or overreacting—to my emotions.

Might I have been duped into making some rash decisions during Friday and Monday's fast-moving tape? It's possible. I'm human. Markets have a way of triggering our worst impulses when volatility spikes and everything feels urgent.

I'm glad I'm currently in vacation mode, keeping only a surface-level eye on my positions. The distance has been helpful. The inability to obsessively check every tick has probably saved me from myself.

But here's the thing: even if I'd been sitting at my desk at home experiencing some seriously unpleasant vibes, I'm confident my plans would've kept me mostly in check.

That's the power of having a process. When you know your risk parameters before entering trades, when you have clear stop levels written down, when you've thought through your exit strategy in advance—you don't need to make real-time decisions based on fear.

The plans make the decisions for you.

This is why I obsess about having detailed trade plans. It's not just about knowing when to enter. It's about knowing exactly what you'll do when things go wrong. Because things will go wrong. Markets will gap against you. Volatility will spike. Fear will creep in.

Your job is to have already made those hard decisions when you were calm and rational, not when you're watching your P&L swing wildly and your heart rate is elevated.

So what do you rely on to keep you on track when you can't be chained to your desk? When life happens and markets move without you watching?

For me, it's the plans. Always the plans.

They're not perfect. But they're better than winging it in the moment.

Sean McLaughlin | Chief Options Strategist, All Star Charts