Finding a system that fits your life is the ultimate goal. While day trading requires total, exhausting concentration, trading off 4-hour and daily charts (often called Swing Trading) offers a much more laid-back approach.
Here are the 3 main points why higher timeframes are recommended:
More Free Time, Less Screen Monitoring
Day trading means sitting at your computer for hours on end, turning you into a “zombie.” Trading off daily charts lets you check the market just once or twice a day during “dead zones” (like first thing in the morning). This leaves you plenty of free time to work a normal day job, spend time with family, or go to the beach.
No Rushed Decisions and Freedom to Trade Multiple Pairs
When you day trade, you have to concentrate all your efforts on just one pair (like the EUR/USD) to survive tight spreads and fast moves. Because daily charts give you much more time, your trading decisions aren’t rushed. This allows you to comfortably follow and trade several pairs at the same time.
Catching the “Big Picture” Thousand-Pip Moves
Day trading forces you to chase small targets (like 20 pips a day) while chipping away at the market. Higher timeframes require you to widen your stops, lower your position sizes, and tolerate bigger moves against you. However, once you nail the start of a good move, your profit can be in the many hundreds or even thousand-plus pips.
You have to find a system that works for you. If you want a laid-back way of trading that doesn’t keep you glued to a computer screen, look to the 4-hour and daily charts.
