ragwing - yes everyone is different and it's nice to see that you have a nice steady job that keeps you busy, even working overtime.  Lot's of folks out there are still out of work.  I used to be a Chemist and worked double shits at times, so I know how that is.

anyway everyone is different, BPT is not a one fit shop, BPT is a research firm, we have stuff for day traders, swing traders and folks wanting to focus on some longer term ideas.  In your instance, it might be best to not focus on a lot of the shorter term day trade or short term swing trades, but instead focus on some sectors or groups that are setting up as bottoming plays and could be longer term holds.  BPT is a research firm, you decide what to use from us that fits your trading style and goals, it's different for everyone.  think of BPT like a newspaper, read the articles you want to.

Gold for example, I've been saying that gold is in a secular bull market since this BPT website started way back in 2003.  In secular bull markets, the best thing to do is to hold a core position, and add to it on major dips, and sell when it gets way extended, vs only doing short term trades, that way you catch the majority of the move, and it's a lot less work.  For example I've owned physically gold since 2001 from the low 300's.  Selling gold last Aug or Silver last April was very prudent, and then looking to pick up some gold in Dec made sense.  I've done this repeatedly for the last 11 years.  I still think that gold will eventually break out to new highs, but maybe not until late Summer or early fall if my triangle plays out, but if it plays out, then I see gold going over 2K, that's why I still own a core position.  

Also Gold stocks recently got very oversold and look interesting for at least a trade, but possibly some kind of decent bottom for perhaps a longer term swing trade.

natural gas, that's one I've been following for a while, natgas fell to support from 2001/2002, so bouncing where it did this week was logical.  Longer term natural gas is not going to zero, so I'm interested in it on this pullback to see if I can pick it up for a longer term trade. Same with some of these natural gas stocks, some of them have really come down far like UPL and others, I think some of these will become value plays for longer term trades if you can stomach some choppiness first.  

maybe look at our dividends section for some interesting longer term ideas.  Don't pick them based on the highest dividend yield however.  GGN in the gold area is one we posted that pays a monthly dividend of about 10% a year and is one I own.  

I think you need to sit down and make a plan that fits your lifestyle.  Otherwise if you are willy nilly bouncing around from day trades to swing trades to other things, you will not preform well.  You need to find your style and stick to it.

Now this might mean that your style (was trying to focus on longer term ideas) would only have you doing a couple trades a month, ONLY when longer term things line up, vs every day, but that's fine.  Don't over trade for the sake of trading.  I've also seen too many members who say they are longer term, but then they want to trade every day, that doesn't make any sense.  

so just take some time to think about it, sit down and write it out.  I've given you some ideas of what I think might suit you, but I could be wrong, you will have to decide.