Trading Week Preparation: 5 Steps to Start Your Week Strong

Before I get into this I want to add a disclaimer, this is how I have gone about preparing for the week ahead in the markets. This isn't by any means the best way or the only way. It’s just a way that works for me. 

Preparing for the upcoming trading week is arguably the most important part of a trader’s routine. 

For me my week begins on a Sunday, I use this day to prepare and research to put myself in the best position going forward. 

Your routine doesn’t have to be elaborate, it could be something as simple as marking out key levels on your chart to begin with, but being ready will put you in the right mindset. 

Like my three step trading process, I like to evaluate WHY the markets could move, the CONDITIONS the market is in, and the strategies I could use to try and take advantage of any possible moves. 

We can also use this day to reflect and examine last week’s trading performance and what went well, what went wrong and what we could have done differently that we can learn from. There is ZERO point in blaming ourselves if we have a bad week, it's human nature to fail every now and again. It’s important to learn from the information we have in front of us. 

So here are some actionable steps to take to prepare yourself for the upcoming trading week. 

Step 1: Fundamentals

Now I know many retail traders may just glance at this and pop the filter on to the ‘red folder’ news only and see what comes up. 

But we need to start going a bit deeper than that.

Why? Because the market moves on data. Not because a level has been touched. 

So, I open up the forex economic calendar and set the filter to see ALL upcoming data. I do this because some FX calendars don’t know what the important data is, they just set up an algorithm for the most popular.

A prime example is the Tokyo Core CPI, arguably one of the most important pieces of data for Japan right now is a yellow or one star event. That’s ridiculous. The Bank of Japan is monitoring inflation closely at the moment because prices have been rising, so they may have to hike interest rates. 

That being said, look at all the data coming up for the week, and make a note of what’s coming up and if it is important to the central bank. You can find this by going to the central bank websites listed below, read their reports and understand what they are watching closely. 

Central Bank Websites:

• Reserve Bank of Australia.

• United States Federal Reserve.

• Bank of Japan.

• Swiss National Bank.

• European Central Bank.

• Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

• Bank of Canada.

• Bank of England. 

Reading other peoples reports can also help you get into the rhythm of what's making the market tick right now. I read through the week ahead via trading economics and will also browse through financial news websites to see what’s important to them. 

For example this week coming up we have Non-Farm employment change from the US and an RBA interest rate decision. But this could be overshadowed by the release of reciprocal tariffs on the 2nd April by U.S President Donald Trump. 

Step 2: Sentiment Analysis

Now this is something that I do, and may not be necessary for everyone but I thought I would highlight this anyway. 

I have developed my own currency strength meter, this helps me look at what currencies are strong and weak, and if they could possibly remain that way. 

This is secondary to me because the macro tops this, but the strength meter helps me time my moves or helps back up the current macro picture. 

I will also take a look at the latest commitment of trader reports. Again this isn’t for everyone but this tool has helped me identify strong turning points in the past, it has also helped back up ideas I have had. 

For example, I have been buying Japanese Yen since the beginning of this year, but recently hedge fund positions have reached a bullish extreme. This can often lead to a short term reversal. So I have backed off aggressive buying of the JPY and reduced my position size, just in case the reversal forms. 

I also look at the volatility index and the US stock markets to gauge the risk sentiment within the market.

Step 3: Seasonal Analysis

I must admit this one has drifted from my radar ever so slightly, because I feel the market of late has been bouncing between the macro and political headlines, but nevertheless this is something I do include. 

Knowing if we have strong seasonal trends can be important for two reasons. 

One, for trading opportunities. If we know that in 25 years of data the GBP/USD price has rallied between March 25th and April 30th, with a 70.83% win rate. Well, that’s a good reason to potentially go long. 

Two, for risk management. If we see that the same pattern for the GBP/USD forms and we are currently short in line with the trend, then we can manage our position or take less risk. 

Step 4: Create A Watch List

Combining all the steps above we can build out a trading watch list. 

Ultimately I want to do a large majority of the work away from the price chart to avoid any kind of bias coming in. 

So using the fundamental, sentiment and seasonal analysis we can create a trading watch list of the markets that could potentially move this week. 

Step 5: Market Conditions

Now for me this is where it all comes together.

Once the watch list has been made, I make my way through it one by one, and identify if the markets that I expect to move in a trend are in trending conditions. 

If they are not I will identify prices where the trends could begin from. 

When I find that the conditions match to the bias, I will begin to set alerts and monitor the closes of these markets on a daily basis. 

I do this so I can keep track of what is going on, and make notes of when the markets have become ‘tradeable’. 

And that’s my Sunday process.

I hope for those traders out there struggling with getting into a routine, may be this will help you.

Peace!