Without a journal, you remember your trades through emotion: the big win, the painful loss. With a journal, you see patterns: which setup pays, which hour hurts, which mistakes repeat. It is the cheapest edge available to any trader.
What to record for every trade
- Date, time, market and direction.
- Setup name (from your written list).
- Entry, stop, target and position size.
- Result in R (multiples of risk) and in money.
- Screenshot before and after.
- Followed the plan? Yes/No. If no, which rule?
- Emotion before entry, in one word.
Weekly review: three questions
- Which setup has the best average R over the last 30 trades?
- At which time of day do my losses cluster?
- Which rule did I break most often, and what did it cost?
Measure in R, not money
Recording results in R (+2R, -1R) makes trades comparable regardless of size. A strategy with an average of +0.3R per trade is profitable; size then decides how fast the account grows.