There is no need to avoid them if you know how to trade them. Those big news events are the ones that give the biggest gains. If you really want to avoid them, the ones that I would avoid would be: -NFP -Fed rate announcement and meeting minutes -Any important Powell speeches -CPI (for now because inflation is a big thing but usually this one is harmless) The rest are n big deal. The key is trade small. You said it yourself, you could've been "killed" if you hold a huge position during these news releases.
This is an overkill. If you go by this list, you won't be able to make any money as a trader. LOL You will be making the same returns term deposits. You might as well put all the money in term deposits.
Thanks for listing the more important news release. There are some news calendars which are so comprehensive that the conservative trader can't trade on most days. I think knowing the important ones to avoid should be good enough.
I don't know how to trade them before the news release. Therefore, it's better to avoid them until news has been released. I do not have the ability to trade them before news release but probably some elite traders here can.