Full-time crypto trading isn't what your YouTube guru sold you. My actual day, hour by hour.

Been trading since 2017, went full time in 2021. And before anyone asks, no, I didn't quit my job on a whim with 10k in savings. Built a cushion first that meant a red month wouldn't make me panic-sell at the bottom. Writing this because I'm tired of the "woke up, made 5 figures, beach by noon" content.

6:40 AM. Alarm.

Not because I'm disciplined. Because Asia session is closing and that's where liquidity gets parked before EU open drags it somewhere. Coffee, phone, check if I got stopped overnight. Today I didn't. Plenty of times I did.

7:00-9:00. Position check. Currently long ETH average 3420, smaller short SOL hedge, couple alt bags I've been sitting on for weeks. Funding on Bybit, OI on majors, liq heatmaps, update levels in TV. That's it. No secret indicator.

9:00-11:00. The window where I actually do work. London open brings real flow and if I have a planned setup, I take it. If I don't, I don't trade. Took me four years to learn that. Sitting on your hands while the screen flashes green and red feels physically wrong, like your body is telling you to do something, anything, just to participate.

11:00-15:00. Dead zone.

Between London lunch and NY open the tape goes mostly nowhere except for the occasional liquidity hunt that punishes anyone who got bored and clicked. I nap sometimes. Actually nap. Read macro stuff if Powell or someone is making noise. Or just stare at the wall.

When I need to switch the brain off without leaving the desk I'll play chess on lichess or mess around on dustbіt for a bit. Not rest exactly, more like cycling the engine so the candles look fresh again when I come back.

15:30. NY open. If there's CPI, FOMC, NFP dropping, I'm in cash or running half size. I've donated enough to the casino trying to guess direction on news prints.

18:00-22:00. Most of my closed trades this year happened in this window. I shut the laptop when I've either taken the plan or it's obvious there isn't one tonight.

What the highlight reels skip:

Isolation. I haven't spoken to a real human in person today. Wasn't different yesterday. Wife is at the office, friends are on a 9-to-5 schedule, our timezones don't really overlap during the week. Discord isn't social life, it's just noise with avatars.

Financial anxiety doesn't go away when you're up. Up 18% on the month? Now you're terrified to give it back. Down 7%? You're convinced this is the start of the streak that ends you.

Nobody builds your day for you. Nobody says good job. Nobody fires you. You can quietly degrade for six months and only notice when you finally look at PnL and realize you've been bleeding.

Health stuff nobody warns you about. Back, eyes, sleep. I started the gym not for aesthetics but because otherwise I'd be a wreck by 40.

Tbh, if I were starting today, I'd grind a job until the leap feels boring instead of brave. Full-time trading isn't freedom. It's a different job with the same problems and a few new ones bolted on.

Anyone else full time, how's your day actually look? Specifically curious how you handle the midday dead zone without going insane.