One of the biggest problems traders face is information overload. There is just so much data to crunch these days that it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Coupled with ever changing strategies, and it’s easy to see how confusion can strike.

We all know that the market is constantly changing, and that we need to adapt our strategies constantly to stay ahead of the pack. Coupled with this however is the fact that we should never change too many things at once.

Right from the start one should integrate foundation practices into your daily trading that will not change between strategies. Use chart elements that will be common to all your strategies.

One of these practices is to always be making your charts more efficient. Look for ways to make the information you process easier to read. There are a number of indicators available to do this these days.

Use color to convey information where you would usually use text. We humans process graphical information infinitely better than text. As an example, if you trade at certain times of the day only, then use a background coloring indicator to highlight the background of your chart at these times. This is way more effective that looking at the time axis.

You should use sound alerts. Trading is all about events. Entry events and exit events. A sound alert will take a lot of strain off your eyes. Need to know when a new bar starts? Use a sound file to tell you.

Always reduce the indicators you actually have to look at. Find ways to combine multiple indicators into one. If you have a couple of entry filters, combine them into a single easy to read graphic.

Simplify constantly. Focus on methods that can easily be used with multiple strategies. Whether you’re using crossovers, pivots, divergence or whatever, these principles will make your day to day trading easier on the brain.

About the author: Dave Sumter is the owner of ChartCandy.com, a site focused on NinjaTrader. He also writes about internet entrepreneur topics on his blog.