Lifestyle Considerations

How much time each day/week/month (whichever is most appropriate) can you dedicate to the various requirements of trading and managing a trading system?

Your time availability will determine your trading style.

The shorter the timeframe you are trading, the more time you need in front of the charts.

If you're a day trader, since you're entering and exiting trades throughout the day, you need to be glued to the screen the whole time.

The longer the timeframe you trade, the less you have to watch the market. You can simply check your trade from time to time.

Don't forget about distractions!

When you say you can trade for 8 hours a day, does that mean 8 hours of your undivided attention staring at charts and analyzing economic data releases OR does that mean 8 hours of staring at charts, analyzing economic data release, cooking your Honeybun some breakfast, juggling knives, playing with your kids, watching Justin Bieber on YouTube, following Lady Gaga on Twitter, stalking someone on Facebook, and saving the world from the forces of evil?

Because if you were a scalper, you'd probably missed a lot of entries and exits, and end up instead scalping your own head due to your many losses or missed winning opportunities.

You also need to dedicate time to developing AND tweaking your trading system. Trading your system will require you stare at charts looking for possible entries. Once you're in a trade, you then need to manage it.

After you exit, you need time to review your trade and look for ways to improve. And then you need time to write everything you felt and did in your trading journal.

How much time you'll need to accomplish all of this will depend on your trading system.

Naturally, your trading system needs to factor in how much time you can dedicate.

This is all assuming you only have ONE trading system.

You should repeat this process for every trading system you wish to trade.

Whatever "operating hours" you decide, just make sure you're able to commit to it consistently.