Are You Making Money or Wasting Time? The Importance of Capital Efficiency

I've been rethinking what makes a successful trade. Most investors focus on how much money they can make. But how often do we consider how long our capital is tied up making it? Consider two people earning $1,000. One works 40 hours. The other works one hour. Same reward. Dramatically different efficiency. Investing isn't much different. A stock that delivers a 10% return in two weeks has used your capital far more efficiently than one that takes two years to deliver the same return. That's why I've increasingly focused on direction before entry. I look for stocks showing unusually strong upward price movement accompanied by unusually high trading volume. Rather than anticipating a turnaround or chasing a spike, I look for a controlled dip within that strength. And when momentum meaningfully deteriorates, I look to exit rather than hope. Of course, momentum can reverse quickly, and frequent trading introduces additional risks and costs. Timing isn't guaranteed. But my objective is changing. I no longer want to spend months waiting for a stock to prove my original thesis correct. I'd rather identify where capital is working now. Profit measures the reward. Time measures the efficiency. My question to other traders: Do you measure success strictly by percentage return, or do you also consider how long your capital was committed to achieving it?