How To Spend Time As A Swing Trader? (2024)

When I started trading Foreign Exchange (Forex), I was literally glued to my screen. With reason, the charts and price movements were so fascinating to me. I would open my broker's app every half an hour or more to try finding a trade.

I just wanted to spend as much time as I could and I was looking for the “next best trade”.That was a very bad way to do things.

I came to a point where I started to understand how I could truly spend time as a swing trader and not be stuck at my computer all day.

This Is Where New Traders Get Confused

New traders often make the association between spending time looking for the next setup and profit. In reality, profit does not depend on the number of trades taken. I was taking a lot more trades when I started in 2012.

Another confusion facing other traders is the idea that trading requires extensive analysis. Some people think of trading as investing and performing an analysis of the stock or currency. Although some professional traders/investors do that, it is not in my field of expertise.

Can't find enough time to trade?

When you know what you're looking for and you trade on a daily basis, the time spent trading can be minimal. However, other activities related to trading require a certain time weekly.

Here is a breakdown of how I spend time as a swing trader:

What you need to know from the start is that I very rarely enter trades on timeframes lower than the 1 hr chart. Most often, I trade the daily and 4hr charts.

On a daily chart, a new candle appears every 24 hours. As a result, I can look at the chart only once a day. On a 4h chart, there are 6 candles in a 24-hour period meaning that I can do whatever I want and come back to my trading desk at 4-hour intervals during the day.

Well, that is to show that I'm no longer glued to my trading desk for several hours anymore. When a candle closes, I look at the currency pairs I am following (around 12-15). If I don't see what I am looking for (the setup), I'm done. If I see the right setup, then I can place a trade.

Overall, I spend a maximum of 1 hour per day actively looking at charts with the intention to enter a new trade.

Journaling is powerful. I've mentioned in the past 5 Reasons to Track Your Trades Using a Trading Journaland How To Use A Trading Journal.

Nowadays, I use a free online service to track my trades. However, I still find it very important to record a screenshot of my trades in Evernote (get the premium version for FREE with this link!). I sit down at the end of the week, take screenshots of all my trades, add a comment, and put them in Evernote.

That takes me around 1 hour weekly.

Practicing is fun! Most traders leave out this part because it doesn't generate money directly. The benefits, however, are huge.

If you've listened to a few episodes of the Desire To Trade Podcast, you've definitely heard about the importance of practicing.

Even though I know I can trade, I keep practicing because I like it and because it helps me understand the market. I'm able to see things I hadn't seen before and that helps me improve my trading strategy.

The way I practice is through backtesting. Simply put, that involves going back in time and taking trades. The implications are powerful because more trades are taken than in demo trading. Demo trading means trading a virtual account based on present data.

Overall, I dedicatearound 1-2 hours weekly to practice.

To Sum Up

If you've calculated well, you realized that I spend roughly 8 hours per week trading. That time goes by so fast because trading is something I'm passionate about. Of course, the time I invest in trading varies. Some weeks I practice more, other weeks I take more time off.

But that's nevertheless how to spend time as a swing trader. No more, no less.

The purpose of this article is to show that, with the right system in place, trading is possible even with a full-time job. I prone the “set and forget” mentality in which trades do not have to be monitored every half an hour.

The other important point is that, if you want to become successful, you've got to invest your time in the right things. Spending time researching for trading strategies isn't the best use of your time. Spending time practicing/backtesting is a much better use of your time.

Make sure you spend your time wisely!

Here's my question:

How much time do you invest in your trading? What could you do to spend less time trading?

Let me know!

How To Spend Time As A Swing Trader? (2024)

FAQs

How many hours a day for swing trading? ›

Most often, I trade the daily and 4hr charts. On a daily chart, a new candle appears every 24 hours. As a result, I can look at the chart only once a day. On a 4h chart, there are 6 candles in a 24-hour period meaning that I can do whatever I want and come back to my trading desk at 4-hour intervals during the day.

What is the 11am rule in trading? ›

​The 11 am rule suggests that if a market makes a new intraday high for the day between 11:15 am and 11:30 am EST, then it's said to be very likely that the market will end the day near its high.

What is the daily life of a swing trader? ›

Swing traders will often look for opportunities on the daily charts and may watch one-hour or 15-minute charts to find precise entry, stop-loss, and take-profit levels. Swing trading requires less time to trade than day trading. It maximizes short-term profit potential by capturing the bulk of market swings.

Can you be a full-time swing trader? ›

The journey to start swing trading for a living requires an upfront investment, not just in terms of capital, but also in education and resources. The amount needed to start can vary widely depending on your swing trading strategy, risk tolerance, and market conditions.

Can you live off swing trading? ›

One of the main benefits of swing trading is that while it doesn't take much time, you can earn large profits for the time invested. This trading style can be anything you want it to be. If you are willing to dedicate yourself entirely to it, you can easily earn a living through swing trading alone.

How much money do day traders with $10,000 accounts make per day on average? ›

With a $10,000 account, a good day might bring in a five percent gain, which is $500. However, day traders also need to consider fixed costs such as commissions charged by brokers. These commissions can eat into profits, and day traders need to earn enough to overcome these fees [2].

What is the 357 rule in trading? ›

The 3–5–7 rule in trading is a risk management principle that suggests allocating a certain percentage of your trading capital to different trades based on their risk levels. Here's how it typically works: 3% Rule: This suggests risking no more than 3% of your trading capital on any single trade.

What is the 5 minute rule in trading? ›

The 5-Minute strategy is created to aid sellers and buyers engage in back tracking and spend some time in the location with the appearance of prices proceed in a latest route. The system depends upon exponential moving averages and the MACD forex trading indicators.

What is the 10 am rule in trading? ›

Traders that follow the 10 a.m. rule think a stock's price trajectory is relatively set for the day by the end of that half-hour. For example, if a stock closed at $40 the previous day, opened at $42 the next, and reached $43 by 10 a.m., this would indicate that the stock is likely to remain above $42 by market close.

What is the failure rate of swing traders? ›

We've seen estimations that as many as 90% of swing traders fail to make money in the stock market – meaning they either break even or lose money. That suggests that the average swing trading success rate is somewhere around 10% – meaning 10% of swing traders actually bring in profit over the course of a year.

What is the average monthly income for a swing trader? ›

What Is the Average Swing Trading Salary by State
Annual SalaryMonthly Pay
Top Earners$31,500$2,625
75th Percentile$28,000$2,333
Average$25,349$2,112
25th Percentile$21,500$1,791

What is a realistic profit from swing trading? ›

The Swing Trading strategy can lead to profits in the short term, usually in the range of 10% to 30%. However, as most things investing usually are, it is a risky bet. About 90% of traders report losses during trading.

Who is the most successful swing trader? ›

Paul Tudor Jones - Another famous swing trader is Paul Tudor Jones. Jones is a billionaire hedge fund manager who is known for his aggressive trading style. He is one of the most successful traders of all time, and he has a net worth of over $5 billion.

What is a realistic monthly return for swing trading? ›

On average, swing traders can expect a profit return of between 10-30% over the course of a year, with monthly profits of 1-2% compounding to 12-24% annually. However, it's important to note that an estimated 90% of swing traders do not make money.

What is the average return of a swing trader? ›

The average return of swing trading is said to be 10%. Of course, it is never possible for you to get these exact ures all the time. Although the overall performance depends on how you do your trades and how many trades you take part in. It can immensely help you achieve your monthly return easily.

What is the 4 hour swing trading strategy? ›

A 4 hour forex trading strategy is a trading method that focuses on using the 4-hour timeframe to analyze the market and make trading decisions. It is a popular approach among traders who prefer a longer time frame but still want to take advantage of short-term price movements.

What is the best time frame for swing trading? ›

Generally, a swing trader holds the stock between a few days to a few weeks. The best time frame for swing trading if you have just started investing is between 6 months to 1 year. Technical analysis is the tool that is often used to select a stock and perform trades.

How long should a swing trade last? ›

The holding period for a typical swing trade falls somewhere between two days and two weeks. Of course, there are exceptions where some trades are held for longer periods of time – but we'll talk about that later on. For now, let's focus on the average holding period for a swing trade.

Is 1 hour time frame used to day trading or swing trading? ›

For stock day trading I use the 1-minute chart, only. For swing trading stocks I use the daily chart, only. I may occasionally use other time frames if I have time to look. For swing trading currencies I will look for patterns on the daily, 4-hour, and hourly charts.

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