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Stick to the Plan: Why You Should Never Mix Time Frames in Trading

by | Jan 15, 2025

LIVE ROUNDTABLE AT 3PM ET: TRUMP’S IMPACT ON THE MARKET AND OUR NO. 1 TRADE IDEAS FOR 2025!

One of the most common mistakes traders make is mixing time frames. What I mean by that is you might enter a trade on a 5-minute chart, then switch to a daily chart to justify holding it longer, or vice versa.

This is a recipe for inconsistency and emotional decision-making.

When you enter a trade, your time frame sets the tone for how the position will be managed. For example, if you’re trading a short-term setup on a 15-minute chart, the levels you choose for your entry, profit targets and stop-losses are based on that short time frame.

Shifting to a daily chart to evaluate the trade introduces a completely different context, and your initial plan can quickly unravel.

Why Mixing Time Frames Leads to Errors

Switching time frames mid-trade often leads to second-guessing your decisions.

Imagine you entered Tesla (TSLA) on a 5-minute chart because it showed a clear breakout pattern. If the trade dips and you start looking at a daily chart, you might rationalize holding it longer because the daily trend looks strong. But your initial decision to enter was based on short-term momentum, and extending your time frame creates a mismatch between your entry and your exit strategy.

This disconnect often results in poorly managed trades — holding losers longer than planned or exiting winners too early.

Your chosen time frame should always align with your trading goals. If you’re scalping on a 5-minute chart, your trade should focus on capturing quick moves. If you’re swing trading on a daily chart, you’ll target larger moves and hold positions for days or weeks.

Mixing these approaches dilutes your strategy and makes it harder to maintain discipline.

Stick to Your Plan

Here’s how to avoid the time frame trap:

  1. Define Your Time Frame Before Entering: Commit to a specific time frame for your trade — whether it’s 5 minutes, one hour or daily.
  2. Avoid Switching Perspectives Mid-Trade: Resist the temptation to jump to another time frame if the trade isn’t working as planned.
  3. Reevaluate Only After Closing the Trade: Once the trade ends, you can analyze the setup from other time frames to refine your strategy for future trades.

Finally, mixing time frames is one of the easiest ways to sabotage your trading. When you choose a time frame, stick to it from entry to exit.

This discipline ensures your decisions are based on a consistent strategy, not on emotional reactions to the market.

The most successful traders don’t chase different perspectives mid-trade — they stick to their plan and execute it with precision.

Kane Shieh
Kane Shieh Trading

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*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk. 

P.S. See How Jeffry’s Targeting What Could Be Our Next BIG Win… LIVE AT 1 PM ET!

Jeffry Turnmire will be in the LIVE room at 1 p.m. ET today, Jan. 14, to share the three tickers he’s targeting for the 1,000 Wins Challenge.

And so far in 2025, he’s been able to lock in over 68 wins already…

Like on Jan. 8, for example…

Anyone who followed along with him would’ve bagged a sweet 86.32% gain on QQQ…

A mouthwatering 82.07% on TSLA…

And an 86.38% gain on MSFT…

Naturally, there were smaller wins and those that did not work out, but you see that while other day traders can lose a lot of money, Jeffry’s been taking his shot at a big daily ROI.

And He’s Doing the Same Thing Today

The profits and performance shown today are not typical. We make no future earnings claims, and you may lose money. From 7/10/24 – 12/30/24, the result was a 75.6% win rate on 1,348 trade signals with an average hold time of less than 24 hours on the underlying stock.

WRITTEN BY<br>Kane Shieh

WRITTEN BY
Kane Shieh

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