Bill is an ambitious trader. Bill is his 32-year-old full-time office assistant, working in the city and trying to make the most of his life in the best way he knows how. He has a passion for trading financial markets and hopes to one day turn that passion into a full-time profession. He loves learning about markets, trading, investing, finance, etc., but he feels there is a major problem that prevents him from progressing to the next level of success. the problem is time.
Bill works over 40 hours a week, but he feels he misses out on most of the best trade setups because he’s always working.
Don’t worry, Bill, this article is for you and many other traders who feel the same way you do.
You don’t have to be in front of the chart all day to make a profit. In fact, not being in front of the charts all day should be considered a huge advantage. I’ll explain why later in this lesson.
This lesson presents an effective part-time trading routine for those with jobs. Don’t worry about being off the chart. If you understand some of the core points and know what to look for, you’re not “missing” anything.
The “how” and “why” of part-time trading
Let’s start with the “why”. This is easy. Literally part-time trading has an interesting number of advantages. I have written on topics such as ‘less is more’ in trading and low frequency trading, the set and forget trading approach and all the benefits of this method of trading.
But the main reason you should consider part-time trading and learn a part-time trading routine is that it’s very easy to fit it into your already busy schedule. Just because you’re super busy with work, school, or family doesn’t mean you have to give up trading.
I have achieved the greatest success in my personal trading career by precisely following the core principles of this lesson. As it happens, analyzing the market less often and tracking actual trades less often is also much better for long-term trading performance. More on this later.
How do I trade “part-time”?
Part-time trading means incorporating analysis and trading routines into your daily schedule. So if your job is a typical 9-5 shift, he can check the graph twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. It takes less than 10-20 minutes each time.
If you’ve been following my lessons for any length of time, you know that New York closing prices are the most important (and why you need a New York closing price chart). The closing price in New York is considered the “end” of the trading day and we are primarily interested in analyzing and trading the daily chart timeframe, more specifically at the end of the day.
Well, New York closing prices depend on the time zone you live in. If you are staying home and awake and the trading day is coming to an end, you can check the market on your laptop or other computer. The New York closing price is so important that if the New York closing price happens while you are at work, you will need your work laptop or mobile trading platform to monitor the daily closing price. I generally don’t recommend phone trading, but I have to make an exception in this case as it may be the only option to catch a probable end-of-day price move set on the daily chart.
Basically, your goal is to analyze the charts and place orders based on market conditions or adjust your orders twice a day. Therefore, you should make it part of your trading routine.
What else do I need for part-time trading?
Other than a proper New York close trading platform, you need a trading plan to build after mastering your trading strategy. You may also wish to have easy access to the LTTTM members’ daily trade preferences newsletter for quick reference while working. Be sure to check what the daily New York closing times are in your local time. Check this and you’ll see. time zone converter.
Sample part-time trading routine
From the intro, let’s analyze a day in the life of a fictitious trader, Bill. Bill has a busy full-time job and needs to work part-time to fit his schedule.
- Bill wakes up around 8:00 am on Monday through Friday workdays. He lives in London, England, so unfortunately for him, it’s around 3am New York time and the US market kicks off around 8-9am New York time. So when the optimal move occurs, he will already be doing his job. However, we are not day traders, so this is not a problem. Bill, please don’t take this as a problem.
- All Bill needs to do before he wakes up on Monday morning is the weekly chart analysis. You can see an example of this by viewing my weekly chart analysis. Basically, major market analysis should be done on weekends when markets are closed. You’re spotting key levels, analyzing trends and market biases, and taking notes for the next week.
- So Bill usually gets home from work on weekdays around 6:00 PM, or 1:00 PM New York time, but there are still a few hours before New York closes. He doesn’t mind going to the gym. However, at 5:00 pm New York time or a little later, Bill is obliged to step up to the front of the charts and analyze the daily chart timeframe.
- At this point, he’s checking what happened at his favorite market that day. He compares the price action against the major levels and trends that pulled over the weekend to see if any clear price action trade setups have formed that day. He is essentially comparing market movements to his own trading plan.
- Bill may also want to check the “Learn To Trade The Market” member’s trade setting newsletter at this time to see any trading ideas that were published that day and contrast this with his own analysis and trading plans. If he finds himself discovering patterns/trade signals similar to those we discussed in the report, he may consider it an additional confluence that there are potential trades.
- The next day, while Bill is at work, he might choose to check the market during the morning opening hours. It will be around 11am for him. It’s fine to check the market once at work, whether it’s on your laptop or your phone, but don’t do it all day. Remember that the time to check the market should be set for him twice a day, ideally in the morning and in the evening. Make sure to adhere to the predefined trading plan.
- This may mean that you have some good examples of “ideal” deal setups while working so you never forget what you’re looking for. You should include this in your trading plan. I even think it’s a good idea to bring your trading plan to work to keep yourself accountable and disciplined while away from your regular trading desk/office at home.
- It remembers the price action settings you want to trade and different market contexts. Unless those specific settings have happened on the chart, go ahead and don’t waste your time “looking” for something that isn’t there.
You can include example charts in your trading plans for high-quality trade setups such as:
Examples of ideal pinbar trading patterns:
Examples of ideal inside bar trading patterns:
Examples of ideal fake trading patterns:
The ‘hidden’ treasure of part-time trading
Part-time trading not only allows you to trade away from your day job, but it also has other “hidden” benefits…
I have written extensively about the value of low frequency trading. You can read about this in the previously hyperlinked article. But to repeat the point here, part-time trading has a kind of self-fulfilling cure for overtrading. The risk of overtrading is greatly eliminated as you naturally look less at the screen. Traders who sit and watch the market all day, especially when they are live trading, commonly fall prey to emotional trade sabotage and trading addiction.
Part-time trading can help you avoid this in most cases, as long as you stick to your trading plan.
The real ‘work’ of the trade lies in mastering the craft and learning to read the footsteps of the market, much like fishermen read changing sea conditions to better understand where to fish.
Most of the time you spend “trading” doesn’t involve actually making a trade or hitting a “buy or sell button.” Most of your time should be spent learning and studying rather than actually executing trades. Understanding this early on can save you significant time and money.
Conclusion
You can trade part-time between your main jobs, so you don’t have to worry about “missing an opportunity” while working. This type of trading has other benefits as well, especially in terms of managing your emotions and not over-trading. I have long been a proponent of the “set and forget trading approach” and part-time trading complements this.
You don’t have to jump into a deal feeling like you have to put all your eggs in one basket and trade ‘full time’. You can’t become a full-time professional trader unless you prove yourself successful part-time anyway. Do not put the carriage in front of the horse. Take your time, work slowly, learn, learn, learn.
A key component of part-time trading is learning how to trade in an ‘end of the day’ fashion, focusing on the time frame of the daily chart, and this is the core philosophy I teach in my Price Action Trading course. Master this approach and you’ll be flexible enough to trade on any schedule, no matter how busy you are.
What did you think of this lesson? Please leave your comments and feedback below.
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