I’ve logged every trade since 2016. Every single one. Thousands of entries across MT4, spreadsheets, and now the journal tool on this site.
Journaling is rule number seven in my system — Journal Everything. Non-negotiable. Here’s exactly how I do it.
What I Record (Every Trade)
Each journal entry includes:
- Date and time — including session (Asian/London/NY)
- Setup type — breakout, pullback, reversal, range bounce
- Key level touched — pivot point, previous day high/low, psychological level
- Entry, stop, and target — exact prices
- Position size — lots and dollar risk
- R:R at entry — was it 1:2, 1:3, or worse?
- Outcome — win, loss, breakeven
- Pips and dollars — actual result
- Emotional state at entry — calm, excited, frustrated, bored
- One-sentence lesson — what I’d do differently
The emotional state field sounds fluffy. But it’s been the most predictive metric in my journal. When I trade out of boredom or frustration, my win rate drops over 30%.
How I Review
Two types of reviews:
Daily (5 minutes): Scan the day’s trades. Did I follow my plan? If I deviated, why? One sentence on what I’d change.
Weekly (30 minutes): Aggregate the week. Win rate, average R:R, total pips, total dollars. Compare to my weekly target. Below target? I look for the pattern — too many low-R:R trades, trading outside my session, ignoring key levels.
What 10 Years of Data Taught Me
- My best trades happen in the first 2 hours of London open. After 3 hours of screen time, my decision quality tanks.
- My worst trades happen after a loss. The urge to revenge-trade is real — shows up in my journal data every time.
- Breakout trades have my highest win rate. Reversal trades have my highest R:R but lowest win rate. I size positions differently because of this.
- Risking above 2% per trade correlates strongly with losses. When I break my own 2% rule, I lose more often — probably because I’m forcing trades to recover.
None of this would exist without the journal. I don’t trust my memory — it’s selective and self-serving. The journal doesn’t lie.
Start Simple
You don’t need a complex system. A spreadsheet with 5 columns — date, pair, setup, outcome, lesson — beats nothing. But consistency matters more than format. Skip entries after losses and you’re hiding the data you need most.