A pre-market routine is the checklist you run before the open so you enter the session prepared instead of reacting to whatever's on the screen. It doesn't need to be elaborate — it needs to be consistent (a trading plan).

Read the overnight and the catalysts

Start with what happened while you slept: the overnight range, futures, and any gap from yesterday's close (pre-market trading). Then check the day's scheduled catalysts — economic prints, Fed events, earnings — since those reshape volatility and can override the technicals (the economic calendar, CPI).

Mark the levels and the tone

Note the key levels you'll trade around — prior-day high/low, pre-market high/low, the opening range once it forms, and any big options levels (support and resistance, dealer positioning). Gauge the tone: is the tape trending or balanced, calm or jumpy? That sets whether you'll lean trend or reversion (trend following vs range trading).

The open rewards preparation, not reflexes. Do the thinking before the bell, and the session becomes about execution, not scrambling.

Write the plan

Finish by writing a simple if-then plan: the levels you care about, what a break or hold means, and the conditions under which you'll do nothing (sitting out). A morning market read can do much of this prep for you — the levels, the regime, and what to watch, before the open (the daily read). See the end-of-day review.