Top-Down Analysis (Multi-Timeframe Workflow)
Starting from the monthly chart and working down to the 1-minute — each timeframe serves a different purpose in framing your trade
Top-down analysis is the practice of analyzing price from the highest timeframe down to the lowest, using each level for a specific purpose. Monthly (30 seconds): major zones, overall direction, macro context. Weekly (1 minute): structural context, flip zones, key liquidity. Daily (1-2 minutes): current bias, which side is in control. 4H (2-3 minutes): direction for today's session — pro-trend longs or shorts. 15m (during session): POI identification, zone selection for entries. 1m (at POI only): entry confirmation, chain/flip/FLR identification. The entire pre-session routine takes 5-10 minutes and gives you more context than most traders have. The critical principle: never look at the 1m unless price is at a pre-marked 15m POI. Looking at the 1m without context leads to overtrading. Also critical: the macro analysis (monthly/weekly/daily) almost never changes during a session. Don't let 1-minute noise change your 4H analysis.
✓How to Recognize
- •Monthly → Weekly → Daily → 4H → 15m → 1m: each timeframe has a specific purpose
- •Macro (M/W/D) = context and direction. Updated weekly. Intraday (4H/15m/1m) = execution. Updated each session.
- •Pre-session: 5-10 minutes total. Monthly gets 30 seconds, 4H gets 2-3 minutes.
- •Only look at the 1m when price reaches a pre-marked 15m POI
⚡How to Avoid
- →Starting analysis on the 1-minute chart without higher timeframe context
- →Skipping the weekly and monthly (they influence everything below)
- →Changing your macro bias mid-session because of 1m noise
- →Spending equal time on every timeframe (monthly needs 30 seconds, not 10 minutes)