How to keep a trading journal

Start with the plan, not the final chart

A journal can be a document, spreadsheet or dedicated tool. Begin with a format you can keep consistent. Before the exercise or trade, record the security, date, time zone and whether it is simulated or uses real money. Save the original entry rather than rewriting it after you know the outcome.

• Reason for considering it: the setup, relevant source and what you observed.
• Plan: intended entry, original stop or invalidation, position size and exit approach.
• Conditions: what must happen before entry and what would make you leave it alone.
• Evidence: a dated screenshot and any information still missing.

Record execution separately

Afterwards, add the actual entry and exit prices, quantities and timestamps. Preserve partial entries and exits rather than choosing the most flattering price. Record known commissions and other charges. If you cannot establish a number, mark it unknown and reconcile it later; an empty field is not proof that a cost was zero.

Keep the original stop alongside any later changes. The SEC explains that a stop price does not guarantee the price at which an order executes. Your journal should therefore distinguish the intended exit from the actual fill. The source below explains that order-mechanics limit.

A fictional losing-trade entry

Imagine a simulated purchase of 20 shares at £50, with an original stop at £49. The planned price risk was £1 per share, or £20. The simulated exit is £48.50, giving a £30 gross loss. Add an invented £2 total transaction cost and the recorded net loss becomes £32.

The record should retain all three figures: £20 planned price risk, £30 gross loss and £32 net loss. Do not overwrite the exit with £49 to make the result match the plan. Mark the prices as simulated and the cost as an assumption.

A useful review note might read: “The exit in this exercise was below the planned stop. I need to understand how the assumed order was executed before attributing the difference to a decision error.” That identifies a question without pretending the journal proves the cause.

Review the decision as well as the outcome

Separate what you know from what you suspect. “Entered before the written condition occurred” is an observation if the timestamps support it. “The market wanted to take my stop” does not explain the decision. A loss alone cannot establish that you broke a rule, just as a gain alone cannot establish that you followed one.

• Did the entry meet the conditions written beforehand?
• Did I change the plan? What information prompted the change?
• Are the execution record, costs and screenshots complete?
• What is one specific question to investigate or behaviour to practise?

Review a consistent set of entries

Set aside a regular review period and use the same fields across the entries you examine. Include losses and uneventful trades, not only screenshots worth sharing. Keep simulated and live records distinguishable. Note missing records rather than treating an incomplete sample as your whole trading history.

Look for repeated decision patterns, such as entering without the planned confirmation or failing to record costs. Treat a pattern as something to investigate, not proof of an edge or a promised improvement. Trading results remain uncertain even when records are complete.

Start with one complete entry

Choose one past trade or a clearly labelled simulation. Reconstruct only what the available evidence supports, mark the gaps and write one review question. A complete, honest example gives you a reusable starting format without inventing a success story.