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How to Keep a Trading Journal That Actually Improves Your Results

What to log, how to review it and which patterns to look for. A simple journal routine with a free template.

Why journal

Memory is selective: you remember the great trades and forget the sloppy ones. A journal turns your trading into data you can analyse, which is the fastest way to find and fix repeated mistakes.

What to record

For each trade: date, market, direction, entry, stop, target, exit, size, result in money and in R, the setup name, your emotion before entering, and one sentence on what you did right or wrong. A screenshot of the chart helps.

The weekly review

Once a week, sort trades by setup, emotion and weekday. Ask: which setup makes money? Which emotion costs money? Do I trade worse on some days? Our free journal calculates these for you automatically once you log a few trades.

Turn findings into rules

Change one thing at a time: for example, stop trading after two losses, or drop the setup with negative expectancy. Review the effect after the next 20 trades before changing anything else.

A starter template

Columns: date, market, long or short, setup, entry, stop, target, exit, size, result in dollars, result in R, emotion (calm, anxious, bored, excited), followed plan (yes or no), note.

The "followed plan" column is the most valuable one. After a month, compare the results of trades where you followed the plan with trades where you did not.

Keeping it simple

The best journal is the one you actually fill in. If a long form feels like a chore, use five fields: setup, result in R, emotion, followed the plan, and one lesson. Take a photo of each trade on your chart. Ten seconds per trade is better than a perfect log you abandon after a week.

Tools you can use

A spreadsheet, a notes app or the free journal on this site all work. Whichever you pick, store it somewhere you will not lose it, back it up monthly and keep the same columns for at least three months so you can compare periods fairly.

Key takeaways

  • Log setup, emotion and result.
  • Review weekly.
  • Use R-multiples to compare trades.
  • Change one rule at a time.

Related

Educational content, not financial advice.