Trading Basics
Why Every Trader Needs a Trading Journal
A trade journal is the single most impactful habit for improving your trading performance over time.
Key rules
- Log every trade — entries, exits, setup, emotions, screenshot
- Review weekly for performance patterns
- Identify your highest-expectancy setups and focus on those
- Track not just outcomes but also process quality
- Use data to update your trading plan, not gut feel
A trading journal records your entry, exit, setup type, emotions, and outcome for every trade. Without data, you cannot distinguish luck from edge. Journalling forces you to confront your actual performance rather than your remembered version of it.
Review weekly for patterns: which setups have the best win rate, what times you underperform, and which emotions precede your worst trades.