Strangely enough, there is little planning. More just listening to what is going on in the outside world, and then tapping into the cauldron of instinct when the computer is on, while trying to be very, very careful.
For my first two years, I worked from 4pm-9pm EST every day going over charts, the tape and basically memorizing hundreds of different situations. Nowadays, I spend an hour here or an hour there most days of doing actual work (I dont really even consider it work because I love doing it). Also, spend some a few hours most weekends reviewing situations. When you are new to trading, it makes sense to completely immerse yourself as much as you can after hours so that learning during RMH is even more beneficial. my two cents
You should be able to complete all work associated with the markets in less than 30 minutes daily. Most of the work is cumulative and the only thing being added to the equation is the current day's numbers. Anything more than 30 minutes is way too much work or way too much info.--
Theres no way I would be able to spend only 30 minutes a day on the markets. There are many things i do during the day that are market and trading related. I read every day, probably about 2 hours. Its always trading related. i read news items, the economist, etc. that adds more time each day. I surf through elitetrader, sometimes picking up a nugget of gold in the jumble of questions, flames, and other items. I look over charts to see where my markets are heading, then I need to mark out s/r, areas of higher volume, etc, so i know where to place stops when I enter. It all adds up to a lot more than 30 minutes a day for. if that works for you thats great. maybe one day i can get my time down to 30 minutes a day. All the time I put in is for a couple of trades on busy days, or I might not even trade at all on some days, maybe just spend a few minutes adjusting stops into the money, etc.