Which timeframe do you base your decisions on, and how do the others fit in?

Charts come in many timeframes, from one minute to one month. Traders usually pick one as their main timeframe for decisions, and use a higher or lower one for context or timing. Choosing the wrong one can make a plan look good on one chart and poor on another, and the mismatch often shows up only when a trade is already open. How to trade the news covers how the timing of a release affects the timeframe you should watch, since a release can dominate one chart and be invisible on another.

Members who are new to charts often open several timeframes at once and then cannot say which one the trade came from. A practical habit is to name the main timeframe before the trade and to write down which higher timeframe confirms the direction. The question is which timeframe you decide on, and how the others fit around it.

We would like to hear how you set it:

• Which timeframe do you base your decisions on, and how did you choose it?
• Do you check a higher timeframe before you trade on a lower one?
• Has a timeframe mismatch ever cost you a trade?
• How does your timeframe change around a central bank decision?

Please share your own approach and reasoning, not calls for others to copy. Posts that promise a direction or sell signals will be removed.