Does boredom cause you to do silly things? If so, you’re certainly not alone.

More and more I see traders make simple mistakes primarily because they are bored with what they are doing NOT because they don’t know what they’re doing.

Contrary to popular opinion, traders and investors often do get bored. I know I certainly have. After all, if you’re doing it correctly, good trading and investing should be both boring and routine. If that’s not the case for you, it probably is because you’re either trading far too aggressively (i.e. the gambler) and/or you have no risk management skills whatsoever.

In my experience, most humans and including those of us who are very disciplined and focused, will from time to time seriously crave to change things up a little. No one, including me, likes to do exactly what they need and should do every day. Most of you are no different than me. The problem is that when we both get bored, very bad things tend to happen if we don’t first realize that our trading and investing is being negatively impacted by boredom and do something about it.

For example, in my experience traders tend to either disconnect from the market entirely (which can be dangerous with positions open or lost opportunity) or they do the exact opposite by increasing their overall risk to “make it more interesting.” Likewise, investors tend to become far more active (i.e. they turn into traders and churn positions) just to do something to keep themselves preoccupied or they buy and sell stocks that normally they wouldn’t even consider. In either case, neither one tends to work very well.

When you start to see the signs that you are becoming bored and have the urge to do something “different,” I recommend mixing things up a little. For example, when I become bored with my trading and daily routine I often do the following which seems to help:

• Head to the gym (intense and exhausting exercise is the best cure for boredom I know)

• Mix up the daily routine (I like to flip my day around and do things I usually do at the end of the day first)

• Try to learn something new (I often try to study a different sector/different market now, but in previous years I would enjoy playing around with a new indicator or two)

• Read about something you know nothing about (if you do this, you’ll be amazed by how much it will stimulate your brain)

• Take some time off and do something else (while I always have a long “honey-do” list to keep me busy, that’s also why there are golf courses!)

Now, for those of you who make a living trading and who feel they cannot leave the game for an hour, much less an entire trading day, I have some suggestions for you as well:

• Relax your trading rules whatever they may be for a day (I’m not urging you to be reckless here, just that to loosen the ties that currently bind you temporarily)

• Make it a point to trade something you don’t usually trade (for me that means dabbling in forex or trading options although with much lower position sizes)

• Change your strategy (for example, if you’ve been buying pullbacks, switch to trading breakouts; if you’ve been trading dominantly long, switch to trading only short; if you usually trade several positions, trade only one; and so on)

• Trade a completely different method just for fun (I still highly recommend paper trading those “unproven methods” even though I recognize that many of you think that is like kissing your sister)

• Engage in some intense and extensive research (I like to run screens, but lately I’ve been having fun backtesting unusual theories and trading ideas)

For those of you who are long-term investors who feel the boredom itch, I also have a recommendation for you as well. The best cure for that is to open up a “Mad Money” trading account with only money you plan to completely lose from the start (i.e. much like going to Vegas you have to set an “entertainment dollar limit” and once that is exhausted you go home.) Then when you have the urge as a long-term investor, trade the heck out of that account – daytrade, swing trade, whatever suits your fancy. Be reckless and crazy!

In fact, if you really want to push the limit, try your best to lose as much money as you can as quickly as you can. This exercise, as stupid and as negligent as it may sound, will not only shake you away from your boredom, but it will teach you a lot about yourself and the markets at the very same time. After all, we learn the most when we “color outside of the lines” and do things we are not suppose to do. As long as you limit the downside risk, usually the tuition you will be forced to pay in losses will be far less than the intense educational benefits you’ll receive in return.

In conclusion, all of us get bored. That’s being human. But, to be successful over the long-haul in the markets, train yourself to look for symptoms of being bored and then take steps to turn that boredom into something useful for you. If you learn how to do this, not only will you become more successful, but you will also be able to maintain your discipline and focus when it matters the most.