Trading journal: how to keep one and what to record
A trading journal is the only tool that shows your mistakes on your data. Without one, after a month you remember a few of your biggest trades, not the patterns that really drive your results.
The minimum worth recording
- date and time, instrument, direction
- the reason for the entry and the scenario from your plan
- risk and target set before the entry
- the result and adherence to the plan (0–2)
- your emotion before the entry and a one-sentence lesson
The most important thing a journal reveals: the results of trades that followed the plan and trades that did not are usually two completely different numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Why keep a trading journal?
To see on your own data which decisions and situations cost you money and which ones work. Memory records emotions; a journal records facts.
What should I keep my journal in?
Excel, Google Sheets or a notebook is enough. Recording each trade right away and reviewing every week matter more than the tool.
What matters most in a journal?
The reason for the entry, adherence to the plan and your emotion before the trade. The result alone, without this information, says very little.
Educational material, not investment advice. Trading futures involves a high risk of losing capital.