How do you stay focused while trading?

I'm noticing that I am more likely to make bad decisions when trading when I am not my best. There have been times when I've gone into the trading day thinking I just wasn't in the right mindset to make rational decisions and sure enough I didn't.

We only get 5 days a week to trade and within each of those days there are only a few really good opportunities with the way I day trade. Being able to wait for those opportunities has been a challenge all it's own. I find it easy to get into lower probability set ups when I've been watching for a while and feel like I haven't accomplished anything for the day. It's hard to remember that not doing something is, at least, not losing money. So much about trading is the mental mindset. What I'm currently working on is training my mind to see that waiting is doing my job well. A better way to put it is to say that for the way I trade, timing the trade right is the key.

When I make waiting and timing the focus of my trading then I can differentiate between the levels of focus required at different times throughout the trading day. When the time is not right for a trade I still watch but not as closely and I give myself permission to do things that won't distract me from quickly engaging again, such as listening to something. I have been scheduling in breaks at times of the day that I don't usually find good set ups to trade, but allow the flexibility that should price be behaving nicely at those times that I can take the break later. Remembering that after an intraday move there is often a choppy time on the ES gives a framework for me to take breaks and know I am not likely to miss out on the next set up I'm looking for.

The times when I know a move is likely to happen soon is when I require the most concentration. I'm still working through how to consistently be mentally and emotionally at my best when about to place a trade.