Lately, I really feel like I’m being led around by “attention.” As soon as a trending topic changes, I start itching to chase it. Especially when I see big transfers on-chain or hot/cold wallets moving on exchanges, the comments section immediately starts saying, “Smart money is here”—and let’s be honest, this is exactly when it’s easiest to impulsively place an order, only to be taught a lesson by slippage and squeeze tactics.

I’ve set a pretty tacky habit for myself: for any hot topic, I put my phone down for five minutes first. When I come back, the first thing I do isn’t to click buy. Instead, I narrow the slippage, and prioritize using private/protection-type routing (dodge if you can), then take a quick look at the trade distribution and pool depth. If it’s too thin, I just skip it. In any case, I’d rather miss out than use a “smart money screenshot” as fuel. For now, being a bit slower really saves me a lot of tuition.