“You can become a millionaire
by trading just two hours a day!”
You’ve heard this sales pitch before and it sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? You could just roll out of bed right before the market opens, pick a couple of popular stocks, make one or two easy trades, and get on with your day well before noon.
Well, the good news is that it is possible to live the life of a leisurely day trader. However, here’s the part most new traders don’t want to hear; it takes hours a day and years of hard work to become trader of that caliber.
If You’re New To The Stock Market, Here’s a Suggested Schedule
9:00-9:30 EST – Your trading day should start at least 30 minutes to an hour before the stock market opens. This allows you to watch list, set up your day trading charts, and get focused.
9:30-10:00 EST – After the stock market opens, you should spend the first 30 minutes getting a feel for how the stock market is behaving, how your stocks are moving, and prioritizing the stocks that seem to be setting up for a trade.
9:30-11:30 EST – Make your trades. Take the set-ups that the stock market gives you. Don’t force it, don’t worry about missed opportunities or losing trades, and don’t get too excited about profitable trades; remain focused and relaxed.
11:30-13:30 EST – Take a break, everyone on Wall Street is out to lunch. This does not mean you walk away from your trading desk to go eat McDonalds, and play Xbox for 2 hours. Every minute you watch the stock market is a minute of education. If you walk away from your desk, you’re missing out on that information. I’m not saying you should starve yourself, but walking away from your charts for 2 hours will make it difficult to refocus when trading resumes.
13:30-15:30 EST – I’m typically a morning trader, but that doesn’t mean I won’t take a trade if a stock is setting up for an obvious move. It also does not mean I stop watching the stock market. Sure, you might be done trading for the day, but watching the stock market in action will really help you become a better trader.
15:30-16:00 EST - Much like the first 30 minutes of the trading, you’re going to want to avoid trading as the stock market closes. Just sit back and reflect on the trading day, and watch the market ride into the closing bell.
16:00-? EST - The stock market is closed and you’re done trading, but that doesn’t mean you day is over. You should definitely take a few minutes to assess each trade you took, good or bad, and record your thoughts in a trading journal. Also, some very important news comes out after the market closes. This is a time period when many large companies announce earnings. You could also use what you learned while watching the stock market today to start setting up important price levels on your charts for tomorrow. It’s possible to spend several hours after the stock market closes finishing up for the day, and preparing for the next.
There are definitely people who can put less time in and get more out of the stock market. Just be patient, and one day you might be one of those people.
How do you plan your trading day? Are you one of the lucky folks who can trade successfully in just a couple hours a day? Let us know with a comment!
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