Part of this “preparedness” has to do with establishing your discipline and part of it is simply doing the small things that make you effective.

One of the things I try to do when I first get to the office is get ready for that opening bell. I typically try to have a good idea of what issues will be moving the markets and what their charts look like.

A while back, a fellow trader gave me a web site that I use religiously in the mornings to help me start my day. The web site is the NASDAQ Heatmap and it tells you, in pre-market trading, what’s moving to either side.

The link is: http://screening.nasdaq.com/heatmaps/heatmap_pmi.asp

Here's a sample of the Heatmap.