The weekend process

Everything in the previous six modules happens inside one of two routines. The weekend routine is where the decisions are made; the nightly routine (next lesson) is where they are executed. This lesson lays out the weekend block step by step with time allocations, so that it takes 60 to 120 minutes and produces a finished plan rather than a pile of charts and a vague intention.

The order matters

Do the steps in this sequence. Each one is a gate for the next, and reversing the order (scanning first, then checking the regime) is how you end up talking yourself into trades the market has not authorised.

Total: 75 to 100 minutes in a green week; under an hour in red, where steps 4 and 5 shrink to a handful of reclaim candidates.

Step 1: last week first

Before looking at any new chart, look at what you did. Open the journal and answer three questions in writing:

• Did every trade last week follow a setup in the playbook, in the regime it belongs to, at the size the multipliers dictated?
• Was any stop moved away from the trade?
• Did the week's result stay inside the weekly budget?

If the answer to the first question is no for any trade, write down which rule was broken. The monthly review (lesson 3) counts these. A weekend that starts with an honest tally of rule breaks is a weekend that produces a more disciplined plan.

Step 2: the regime

Fill in the checklist. Write the score, the multiplier and the list of allowed setups at the top of the week's plan page. Everything below it is constrained by it.

Step 3: open positions before new ones

For each open position:

• Recompute open risk to the current stop and update the heat sheet.
• Check whether any partial is due (at 2R) or any trail should tighten (closes relative to the 10/20 EMA, new swing lows).
• Check the earnings date against the coming week. Apply the earnings framework if the report falls inside it.
• Check the time-stop date. Note which day the trade must reach 1R by.
• Confirm the resting stop order is live at the correct price.

Write the resulting stop for each position on the plan page. Monday's pre-open task is to place those orders, not to decide them.

Steps 4 and 5: candidates

Run only the scans the regime allows. Then run the seven-point pass. It is tempting to skip the pass on names you "already know". Do not; the pass is where earnings dates and R:R problems get caught, and those are the two most expensive things to miss.

Weekend plan page                         Week of: ______

Regime: AMBER  score 4  mult 0.5x   setups: pullback, reclaim, MR
Top sectors: Indus, Fin, Energy, Mat     Avoid: Util, RE, Staples
Heat: 2.1% (limit 3%)  Weekly budget remaining: full ($750)

Open positions
  AAAA  stop 52.80 (trail 20EMA)  partial done   earnings Aug 12 (out by Aug 11)
  BBBB  stop 86.00                time stop Wed  no earnings this month

Watchlist (5 of 14 tradeable this week)
  CCCC  pullback  trigger close > 47.90  stop 45.20  T1 53.00  2.1R  alert set
  DDDD  reclaim   trigger close > 31.00  stop 29.40  T1 34.50  2.2R  alert set
  ...

Events: CPI Wed 8:30, FOMC minutes Thu

Step 6: alerts and the plan paragraph

Every trigger on the watchlist gets a price alert. Then write one paragraph, five sentences at most: the regime, the size, the number of new positions you will take at most, the setups you will not take, and the one thing from last week's review you will do differently. That paragraph is the contract for the week.

Key idea: The weekend block runs in a fixed order: review, regime, open positions, scans, watchlist, alerts, plan. Each step gates the next. Scanning before the regime check is how the market gets you to trade against it.

Step 7: the calendar

Note the week's scheduled events: index-level data releases, central-bank decisions, earnings for any name on the watchlist or in the book. An event on Wednesday morning means Tuesday night's check should confirm sizes are inside the event cap. In crypto and forex, the same calendar of unlocks and rate decisions applies.

When the weekend is skipped

It will happen. The rule for a skipped weekend is simple: the coming week is manage-only. No new entries. The previous week's watchlist is stale, the regime is unverified, and trading from either is guessing. Manage the open book with the existing stops and rebuild the plan next weekend.

Try it: Run the full seven-step block this weekend and time each step. Compare against the table. If step 5 ran long, count how many candidates entered it; if over 30, tighten the scans. If step 1 was skipped or rushed, that is the step to protect next weekend.

Recap

• The weekend block is seven steps in a fixed order: review, regime, open positions, scans, seven-point pass, alerts and plan, calendar.
• Start with last week's journal and count the rule breaks before looking at new charts.
• Manage open positions before hunting for new ones; write every stop on the plan page.
• Every watchlist trigger gets an alert; the week gets a five-sentence plan.
• A skipped weekend means a manage-only week.