Started trading lower time frames again recently after a long break.
Immediate observations:
--Uncomfortable being offside
--Poor ability to hold good entries even to conservative targets
--Managing trades unnecessarily (related to the previous point, usually in the form of taking profit early/without letting the original idea play out)
Solutions:
--Keep trading frequency on the higher end to regain trading 'muscle memory' and sync with the market
--Become even pickier with entries so that being offside has a higher probability of being signal as opposed to noise
--Only manage trades if a clear 'signal' emerges
General remarks:
--When trading lower time frame stuff, you're usually trading smaller rotations. That means less room for error if the payoff is going to be worth it i.e. more precise entries, tighter invalidations, and more conservative targets.
--Trade management is still important but should be used much more sparingly than with higher time frame swing trades or larger rotations generally. With lower time frame stuff, there simply isn't a lot of 'space' between your entry, stop, and target - so there is a higher chance that what happens in between is noise as opposed to signal. I generally lean towards letting the trade 'play out' vs intervening in a very narrow range.
--You can still use higher time frame levels for lower time frame trading. Most of my execution is on the M5 but often the levels are M15/H1/H4 and even D1. The main difference is given I'm executing on the M5, I like to buy below support/above resistance on the anticipation that I'm buying the lower wick of the higher time frame support/selling the upper wick of the high time frame resistance.
--R:R is a bit of a meme in this context. Especially when you consider the higher trade frequency and lower risk per trade. As long as there's at least 1R available, I'm punting. Higher probability + higher frequency compensate for the lower R:R.
Dunno if this is useful at all and it's not some glorious PnL card, just thought I'd share some of my ongoing experience as I get back into the nitty-gritty of things.