Field notes
How to mark weekly support before Monday opens
Independent learners often arrive at Monday's open with a cluttered chart — dozens of horizontal lines from levels that stopped mattering two weeks ago. The habit we teach in Sunday recaps starts simpler: mark only what the completed prior week established, then wait for price to tell you whether those levels still hold.
Step 1: Lock to the daily timeframe
Before adding anything, hide intraday charts. On the daily timeframe, identify the prior week's highest high and lowest low. On instruments that trade nearly 24 hours (forex, index futures), use the exchange session close that matches your broker's daily candle — inconsistency here causes most marking errors.
Step 2: Mark the prior week's close
The Friday close (or Sunday open for forex) acts as a reference point many participants remember. It is not automatically support or resistance, but price often revisits it early in the week. Mark it with a distinct colour from swing levels.
Step 3: Identify the last swing before the weekly extreme
If the week made a new high, locate the last daily swing low before that rally began. If the week made a new low, find the last swing high before the decline. These two points — weekly extreme and preceding swing — form your initial zone map.
Step 4: Check whether the level was tested, not just touched
A wick through a level without a close beyond it counts as a test. Two tests strengthen the level in your journal notes; a close beyond it removes the line on Monday morning. Learners in our recaps often keep dead levels because a wick "looked close enough" — be strict about closes.
Step 5: Write one sentence of context
Beside each level, note why it matters: "prior week low + volume spike" or "Friday close after ECB headline." Context prevents you from defending a line you cannot explain when price approaches it.
Common mistakes we see in recap sessions
- Carrying forward levels from three weeks ago because price "might" return
- Marking round numbers (1.1000, 7500) without structural reason
- Using different daily candle cutoffs between forex pairs on the same chart layout
This routine takes fifteen minutes on Sunday evening and aligns with the chart packs we send on Fridays. Compare your marks during the recap — disagreement is where learning happens.