00:00Someone once said, we don't know where we're going if we don't know where we've been.
00:05Let's talk about journaling. Don't go away.
00:27Hi, this is Tim from TradingStrategyGuides.com. Welcome back to our channel.
00:32Trading is about probabilities and statistics.
00:35We develop strategies. We test strategies. We record the results.
00:41We review our performance and improve our strategy based on the results of our review.
00:46Taking the time to record our results in detail is what allows that cycle to work,
00:53including our mindset during the course of our trades.
00:57Today we're going to talk about the trading journal.
01:00If you want to improve your trading performance or maybe you simply want to know what's the thing that's holding
01:08your trading back
01:09or why you keep repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again, you need to start a trading
01:16journal.
01:16The real truth is that you can take your trading to a whole new level and achieve impressive results by
01:24simply using a trading journal properly.
01:27When it comes to your trading journal, you need to be meticulous and detailed.
01:31So make sure you keep a record of all your trading ideas and trading results because this information can help
01:39you later discover why you're losing money
01:42and how you can improve your trading results.
01:45A trading journal can simply help us track our performance and our overall progress towards achieving our goals.
01:53Although there are many possibilities of what you can be recording in your trading journal,
01:58we're going to take a look at a couple of tips and a few suggestions for you to start off
02:02with to help you really build upon your first trading journal.
02:06A lot of traders make the mistake of only using their trading journal to track information about their entries and
02:12exits
02:12or things like their entry price and exit price, the amount of profit and loss they've made,
02:18the position size and all the other things related to a trade.
02:22Don't get me wrong, you definitely want to include this sort of information because it's a good habit
02:27that won't cause any harm and actually might be quite productive in the future.
02:32However, that information is already available in your trade history on your trading platform,
02:38which means it's pointless to focus your trading journal on that information alone.
02:44Instead, what you want to do is keep a detailed record of different market trade scenarios.
02:50The trading scenario doesn't include only the entry and exit prices,
02:54but also the whole story and the reasons behind the trade.
02:59It might take some time, but at the end of the day, you can simply reserve some time for this
03:03purpose
03:04and record this information.
03:06If you want to become a pro, you might want to reserve some time at the end of the week
03:11to revise and go through the different notes that you have written down.
03:16If you want to see a massive difference in your trading performance,
03:20you can start by following this simple step-by-step video.
03:24As a tip and general recommendation, you can categorize the trade you've taken
03:29into three different groups.
03:31Trading ideas that followed your plan and trading strategy.
03:37Trading ideas that you didn't take or you missed for some reason.
03:41And new trading ideas that you have come across in the market.
03:44The first thing you want to focus your trading journal on is those trading ideas that you have taken
03:54and which are in conformity with your trading plan and your strategy.
03:58In other words, the ones that followed your rules.
04:01Now, if you have no idea what things that should be added during this process,
04:06here's a template you can follow.
04:08The top of your trading journal should start with the following information.
04:12The date and time of the trade.
04:14The instrument or market, the stock symbol, currency pair, whatever.
04:19The time frame you traded from.
04:21Add more time frames if you're using multiple time frame analysis.
04:25The entry price, stop loss, and take profit prices.
04:29The size of your trade.
04:31The profit or loss on the trade.
04:34The reasons behind the trade.
04:36In other words, while you entered the trade, whether it's based on price action, technical indicators, combination of both.
04:44Simply put, whatever the reason that got you into the trade in the first place.
04:49Most importantly, whether the trade fits into the trade criteria of your system.
04:54Or in other words, did it follow your rules?
04:57Underneath that, you can place relevant screenshots of your technical chart that can be annotated with further explanations.
05:06You can also take a screenshot after you exit the trade with additional notes,
05:11so you can easily see in the future whether this was the best exit plan or not.
05:17Additionally, you could add information about your money management and the psychological side of your trading or your trading mindset.
05:24Here are the things that need to go under your money management section.
05:28How much risk has been taken?
05:30What's the expected profit from the trade?
05:32And what is the resulting reward to risk ratio?
05:35Finally, you should write about your trading psychology, which is related to what you were thinking and feeling during the
05:43course of the trade.
05:44Were you emotionally neutral during the trade and during the decision to execute this trade?
05:49Was there anything or anyone that was influencing your decisions from a psychological point of view?
05:55Did you close the trade when your target was reached or did you become greedy and break your rules?
06:01Did you allow the trade to go past the stop loss because the fear of losing became hoping the trade
06:07would turn in your favor?
06:08At the bottom of your trading journal, you can also add extra notes that are relevant.
06:12For example, you could list some lessons you've learned from your trades.
06:18You need to put in the time and the hard work to keep your trading journal updated because, as you
06:23can see, it's quite a detailed process.
06:25It's really important that you do this because it's going to help you refine your trading much quicker.
06:32A trading journal is going to help you when it comes time to optimizing your trading strategy and it's going
06:38to keep you disciplined and truthful to your system.
06:42This is really the way to get the very best out of yourself as a trader.
06:46The second thing you want to focus your trading journal on is those trades that, for whatever reason, you didn't
06:53take or you missed them.
06:54You basically want to cover the same points as you do for the executed trades, except this time you need
07:01to be very honest with yourself and write down the things that you put off.
07:06Maybe you got scared because the market was moving too fast in your support zone and you were afraid to
07:11jump in despite your trading strategy telling you to buy.
07:14Or maybe you didn't take a trade because of some news event, even though your trading system is purely based
07:21on technical analysis.
07:23Make it very clear in your notes that these trading opportunities haven't been executed as a trade.
07:29Also, note down what you would do differently in the future.
07:33It's important to describe the reasons why you didn't take a trade because this will help you next time when
07:39you're in the same situation to not make the same mistake again.
07:44Finally, the last thing you want to focus your trading journal on is the new trading ideas that you come
07:50across in the market.
07:51This is a really straightforward process as you need to take screenshots and notes of the different new trading setups
07:58you identify in the market.
07:59You can build a database of different trade setups and trading scenarios that you have found interesting.
08:04However, what is most important and relevant is to backtest these new trade setups to see if there is really
08:12an edge behind your new trading idea.
08:14I have said it lots of times.
08:17If you want to become a professional trader, you need to start trading trading like any other business.
08:22Even though it might look like a tedious process, successful companies have a system in place so they can track
08:30the things going on inside their company.
08:33A trading journal is going to be a lot of help if you're still struggling with discipline and will help
08:39you to be in sync with the market.
08:41If you want to be consistent with your trading activities, you should run it like a business.
08:46Until then, you're not going to be profitable.
08:50And finally, don't take shortcuts.
08:53Success only comes to those that put in the work.
08:57And that, my friends, is all for today's video.
09:00Come back for my videos on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3 p.m. New York time.
09:05Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have.
09:08Remember, the only stupid question is the unasked one.
09:11If this video helped you, smash that like below.
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09:18Have a great Wednesday, and I'll see you on Friday.
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