It's 9:00 pm. After a long day at work, Jimmy sits back with his laptop on his lap and an episode of Desperate Housewives blaring in the background. He's in the mood to do a bit of scalping and he has just opened a short GBP/JPY position.

His trade is up for the moment, and he tells himself he'll exit manually once price reaches his target. But wait a second, what's this? Eva Longoria in a skin-tight dinner dress?!! He stares at the TV with eyes wide open, unaware that in the three minutes he has been ogling Eva's curves, price has already hit his target and is now turning against him.

By the time Jimmy takes his eyes off the TV and sets them back on his trade, it's too late. He let a winning trade turn into a loser.

Like many traders out there, Jimmy unfortunately suffers from trading distractions. While not always as appealing as Ms. Eva Longoria, you can easily let yourself be distracted by the TV, updating your blog or social networking page (or stalking someone else's), nagging relatives, etc.

Let's face it - all of us have to deal with distractions, in one form or another. It doesn't matter so much exactly what the distraction is, but rather, what's more important is the detrimental effect that it can have on our work.

Like Jimmy, distractions take our eyes off what we should really be focusing on - trading.

What we have to realize is that trading is just like real work - you reap what you sow!

You have to put in the hard work, educating yourself by going to a forex school and reading up on trading systems, going through charts like Big Pippin, be aware of the current fundamentals moving the markets, interacting with other traders in forex forums, and keeping a trade journal in order to become successful.

Yeah... It's a lot of work, but isn't anything worth having worth working for?

You should treat trading as if it were a real job, which means taking it seriously and overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of success.

Here are some of my personal tips on how to limit distractions:

1. Set a defined trading time each day for you to STRICTLY follow

Whether you trade part-time or full-time, maintaining a strict schedule is very important to avoid doing other things while trading.

2. Inform the people in your household not disturb you during trading time

Sometimes, simply asking your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/roommate/Chewbacca not to disturb you while you're trading will do wonders for your focus!

3. Write down the websites that you allow yourself to visit during trading time

Writing on a piece of paper you allow yourself to visit will make it easier for you to avoid websites that divert your attention from trading.

4. Only have trading-related material in your work area

No PS3, no nerf guns, no fantasy novels! Only surround yourself with things that will help you improve trading performance.

Maintaining focus is hard, but it's not impossible IF you are committed to it. Hopefully, these simple tips of mine will help you limit distractions and make you a more focused and disciplined trader.