How to keep a trading journal
A journal that actually teaches you
Most trading journals end up as a list of numbers nobody reads. Here is a way of keeping one that, after a few weeks, tells you where you make money, where you lose it and why.
The guide works for a spreadsheet or a notebook too.
Eight steps
- 1
Write the plan before the trade, not after
Why you are entering, where the stop is, where the target is and how much you are willing to lose. After the trade you will bend the story to fit the result without noticing. What is written beforehand cannot be polished later.
In WiggleWick: a Plan field on the entry, a risk plan on the trade (stop, target, risk) and the R multiple from it.
- 2
Log every trade, even the boring ones
If you only write down the big wins and the painful losses, you are cherry-picking. The ordinary trades are the most common, so they teach you the most.
In WiggleWick: an empty entry is created for every closed trade, so none slips through.
- 3
Write right after closing
An hour later you remember what made you exit. A week later you only remember the result. Three sentences are enough, but the same day.
In WiggleWick: the entry is waiting on the trade with the numbers filled in; you only add the text.
- 4
Grade the execution, not the outcome
A trade that followed the plan and lost is a well executed trade. A profit from an off-plan trade is luck. Grade how well you followed your own rules, and note separately whether you stuck to the plan.
In WiggleWick: an execution rating from 1 to 5, a Followed the plan switch and a checklist from your own rules.
- 5
Name emotions and mistakes the same way every time
“FOMO”, “fomo” and “afraid to miss it” are three different things when you add them up. Pick a short list of words and stick to it. Only then can you count what each mistake costs you.
In WiggleWick: a fixed list of emotions and mistakes (FOMO, moved stop, oversized…), and you can add your own word.
- 6
Save the chart
A screenshot at entry and at exit says more than a paragraph. After a month you can put your best and worst entries side by side.
In WiggleWick: screenshots on the entry and a chart of how the price moved during the trade (MAE/MFE).
- 7
One lesson per trade
Not “I need more discipline”, but a concrete sentence that changes what you do next time: “After two losses in a row, I stop for the day.”
In WiggleWick: a separate Lesson field on every entry.
- 8
Look at the numbers once a week
A single trade proves nothing. After twenty or thirty entries a pattern starts to show: at what time, with which strategy and in what mood you make money and when you lose it.
In WiggleWick: Analytics shows results by emotion, mistake, rating, plan followed, strategy and hour.
Journal template
Copy it into a spreadsheet or a notebook, or fill it in WiggleWick, where these fields are ready.
Before the trade
- Instrument and direction (long, short)
- Strategy or setup
- Reason for entry in one sentence
- Entry, stop-loss and target
- Risk in money or as % of the account
- How I feel (calm, impatient, FOMO…)
After the trade
- Result in money and in R
- Did I follow the plan? Yes or no
- Execution rating 1–5
- Mistakes (moved stop, early exit…)
- Screenshot at entry and exit
- One lesson for next time
Weekly review: five questions
Fifteen minutes at the end of the week. Answer from the numbers and entries, not from memory.
- 1How many trades followed the plan, and how did they do against the ones that did not?
- 2Which mistake came up most often, and what did it cost?
- 3Which strategy made money, and which only took up time?
- 4In what state of mind did I trade worst?
- 5What will I do differently next week? One thing, not five.
Where trading journals usually fail
- Too many fields
- A journal that takes twenty minutes after every trade lasts a week. Start with a few fields from the template and add more when you miss one.
- Typing trades by hand
- If you have to copy every trade from the exchange, sooner or later you stop. Let the numbers fill in by themselves and write only what is not in them.
- Writing but never reading
- A journal you never come back to is just an archive. Without a weekly review, no lesson comes out of it.
- Judging by a single trade
- Dropping a strategy after one big loss is the same mistake as doubling the size after one win. Decide based on dozens of trades.
FAQ
How many trades do I need before the journal tells me something?
The first patterns usually show after twenty to thirty entries. A more reliable conclusion about a specific strategy needs more, ideally dozens of trades with the same setup.
Do I have to log winning trades too?
Yes. Without them you cannot tell how the losing ones differ. A profit from an off-plan trade is also the most dangerous kind, because it teaches you a bad habit.
Is a spreadsheet enough?
To start with, yes; the steps above work in a spreadsheet too. The trouble begins when you trade on several exchanges or very often, and typing takes more time than the review itself.
How much time does it take?
A few minutes per trade and a quarter of an hour a week for the review. When the numbers load by themselves, you only write the plan, the rating and the lesson.
Is this a guide on how to trade?
No. It does not say what or when to buy. It is a way of keeping a record of your own trades so you can learn from them.
Let the numbers log themselves
Connect an exchange or upload a statement. Every closed trade gets an entry with the numbers, and you only add the plan, the rating and the lesson.