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Skipping the economic calendar is one of the quickest ways to have a clean setup destroyed by an unexpected release. My routine takes about two minutes each morning. I open the calendar, filter for high impact events affecting the currencies I trade, and note the times in my local time zone. Then I mark them on my chart with a vertical line. My rule is that I do not open new positions within thirty minutes before a major release, and I do not trade the first fifteen to thirty minutes after, until spreads normalize. If I already have a position open, I either exit or reduce it before the event, or I ensure my stop is where I can accept the potential slippage. I also look at the day's events as a whole, since a heavy news day can invalidate session based patterns. The calendar also reveals when markets are likely to be quiet, which are good times for range based setups. It is a small habit with a large effect on avoiding unpredictable losses.

A simple and effective routine. For traders in Asia, I would add Chinese data releases and Bank of Japan events, which are sometimes missing from calendars filtered for European and US events. Aussie and Kiwi data can also move the market during the Asian session.