Trading Journal: Record Your Decision Process, Not the Result > Learning materials

A record that lists only profits and losses does not help you improve, because results diverge even under the same rules. What you need to leave behind is not "how much did I make" but "on what basis did I enter, and did I execute as planned".

Write It in Three Stages

Before entry, write one sentence of reasoning, the stop loss price and the reason for it, the risk amount for that one trade, and the target and invalidation condition. While holding, write the actual fill price, the parts where you departed from the plan, and why you departed. After exit, convert the result into multiples of R and mark whether you followed your rules.

Sort Into Four Boxes and It Becomes Visible

Followed the rules and profited, followed the rules and lost, broke the rules and profited, broke the rules and lost. Only by separating these four can you tell a strategy problem apart from an execution problem. In particular, "broke the rules and profited" reinforces bad habits, so it is better to flag it separately.

Verification Checklist

• Are you writing your entry reasoning before the entry, or after the fact?
• Do you record rule compliance and profit or loss separately?
• Do you reread it weekly and decide on one thing to change?
• Do you leave notes on your emotions to identify recurring patterns?

This article is community learning material and is not investment advice, a personal recommendation, or a solicitation to trade. Leveraged products can produce large losses in a short period of time, and actual product terms and costs must be checked directly in the official documents and your account screen at the time of use.