I hate the idea of multi tasking.  I do not think people are wired to do more than one or two jobs at a time, for example the driver that is trying to text on his cell phone at 85 mph is bound to get into an accident at some point.

When it comes to trading, it is very important to have a laser like focus on what you are doing and that includes understanding how many stocks you feel comfortable trading at any one time.  Most of my time I trade one stock at a time, but sometimes I find myself in two or three positions at once so I have learned to manage my share size when this occurs and to keep an extra level of focus.

Now that I am doing daily teaching webinars, there is a new level of distraction which took me a while to become skilled at trading and teaching but again, I have learned what the problems are and have overcome them.  Do you work from home?  If so, that probably adds many layers of distractions to your day, so close the door to your home office and concentrate.

I think a good rule of thumb is if you have a position on, you are doing nothing else except evaluating your factors through out the trade.  When there is no position on, you can let your guard down and take care of other things in your life.

Technology is wonderful, but it certainly adds to our stress levels as text's, emails and IM's fire at us all day long.  Remember that texting with your buddy will not add money to your account, so stay focused during the day, there is a lot of time pre- or post-market to handle the more social matters in your life.

If you analyze the mistakes that you make, you might start to realize that they come from a lack of focus, do not be that person bounding down the road with one eye on his blackberry and one eye on the road and disaster looming. 

Today signals the end of the third quarter and like the previous quarter the broad markets have had a big run up and there seems to be no reason for the train to stop just yet.  I am an intraday trader so I am not that concerned with the bigger picture but as a Wall Street veteran for 20 years it may be more about intellectual curiosity.

I would really like to see the end of the quarter signify an end to the light volume that has plagued this market for some time.  I also think a pullback would be very healthy for the long term growth of the major averages.  We have basically created a long pole straight up and that can easily come crashing down, unlike a solid pyramid with a good foundation.

The fee based managers and brokers have had an excellent run in their assets and their paychecks will be larger than the previous quarter, so I see no reason for any sort of window dressing to occur today.  My gut is that we will see another low volume day, not much direction, just riding the wave of the past six months.