Once you know how the market works, and how you can benefit from, it would give you the freedom and the will why, how, and when to participate. The good thing about being a trader rather than an investor, though this all depends of what kind of market participant you are - as for this humble market observer and a participant, trading is preferably suitable based from personal prerogative.
Lots of ways to be a market participant, and in any way you can benefit from. It all depends on how you do it, but the most important is the time and the capital you should have. Without enough capital, you won't get any results what you are aiming for. And the time too, without the time, you won't have the necessary education you need to find out and manage your participation.
In any endeavor, time and money always goes hand in hand, enough capital and enough time to say the least.
Below are current market movement based from short time frame.