5 tips on conducting a multi-timeframe analysis. Trading is art, and you are an artist.

1. Define your watchlist

This means hand-picking a couple of securities that we are comfortable with studying and entering positions on. As we have signified before, focusing on 1-2 pairs is much more beneficial, sustainable, and stress-free compared to having tens of instruments on your watchlist and perplexing yourself with them. In our case, we always trade EURGBP and USDCHF as throughout the past months, we have thoroughly examined the price movement of the two and made ourselves familiar with the structure and design of these two pairs. More to it, the market is intercorrelated. Meaning, behaviours of EURUSD, USDCAD, GBPUSD, and other US Dollar involving pairs will bear no significant difference from USDCHF. In your case, feel free to opt for any pair that you love examining and trading.

2. Choose 3-4 timeframes to work with:

Analysing a chart through an excess of timeframes is both confusing and unnecessary. Depending on what type of a trader you are, it is recommended to choose a range of timeframes to conclude analyses on without having to jump from one to another and blur the picture. If you are a day-trader, [H1, M15, M5) would be a good range as an example. If you prefer scalping, [M10, M5, M1] and so forth. Personally, since am a swing trader, my most preferred timeframe combo is [W, D, H4, H1]. In this manner, I keep things consistent and clear without having to stress over and overcomplicate the situation.

3. Start with analysing the direction:

The trend is your friend until it is weak enough to bend. Open higher-timeframe graphs (in our case the Weekly chart), and identify the long-term direction of the price.

4. Zoom in to plot all needed key zones:

Afterwards, scale in and map the most crucial support and resistance levels, trend-lines, reversal points (in other words, key zones). Personally, we use the Daily timeframe to highlight and keep a tab on the most important zones without having to worry about mini-reversal areas and wick rejections on small time-graphs.

5. Wait for the perfect moment before executing:

Patience is the name of the game. Do not chase the price, let is come to you, meet your entry criteria before you make executions. If a setup does not play out as planned, no worries as there will always be another trade opportunity. By rushing into making irrational decisions we not only disobey our trading strategy, but we also increase the possibility of facing psychological issues in case our transaction goes south.