NFP Strategy: Do You Trade the Release or Wait for the Calmer Aftermath?

NFP is one of those events where the community is genuinely split, and I want to understand the reasoning behind different approaches. **Trading the release (8:30–8:45 AM EST):** - Highest volatility = highest profit potential per minute - But: widest spreads, most slippage, most false moves **Trading the aftermath (9:00–11:00 AM EST):** - Markets have priced the data and are moving directionally - Spreads are back to normal, technical levels work again - But: smaller moves than the immediate release reaction **Avoiding entirely:** - No risk of binary event harm - But: missing one of the highest-probability directional setups of the month My personal evolution: Started by trying to trade the release, got stopped out too many times on the chaos. Now I trade the aftermath exclusively — cleaner, less stressful, more profitable. What's your current NFP approach, and how did you arrive at it?