Trading Journal Basics: What to Track and How to Review

Why a Trading Journal Matters

A trading journal is a simple record of your planned and executed trades. Its purpose is to make your decisions visible so you can learn from patterns, not memories.

For beginners, a good journal speeds up skill-building. You’ll spot which setups you understand, when you hesitate or rush, and how market context affects results. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s steady improvement through structured review.

What to Track: The Essentials

Capture only what you’ll actually review. Start with these fields and add more later if needed:

• Date, timeframe, and instrument: Basic reference (e.g., 5‑minute EURUSD, daily AAPL).
• Market context: Trend, key levels, or volatility notes that influenced your plan.
• Setup and plan: The pattern you traded and your plan: entry trigger, stop location, and target idea. A stop-loss is the price where you exit to limit loss.
• Risk per trade: The amount you’re willing to lose if the stop is hit (fixed dollar or percent).
• Entry details: Entry price and position size.
• Exit details: Exit price(s) and the reason (target hit, stop hit, time stop, rule-based exit).
• Result: Profit/loss and whether you followed the plan.
• Emotions and execution: Brief notes on mindset and any rule breaks.
• Screenshot or markup: A marked chart makes review faster than text alone.
• Tags: Simple labels for filtering later (e.g., breakout, pullback, range, trend, news).
• Lesson and next step: One actionable takeaway per trade.

Quick example entry

Pullback long in uptrend; planned entry above prior high, stop below swing low; risk $50; partial at resistance, trail remainder; exited early due to hesitation; note: tighten rules for early exits.

How to Review: Weekly and Monthly

1. Group by tag: Count results by setup, time of day, or instrument. Keep what’s working and pause what isn’t.
2. Audit execution: Mark each trade as “followed plan” or “broke rule.” Distinguish trade quality (A, B, C) from trade outcome (win/loss).
3. Track simple metrics: Win rate; average gain vs. average loss; average holding time; risk consistency (did you keep risk per trade stable?). These reveal if edge comes from a few big winners or many small wins.
4. Write one improvement: Convert your biggest insight into a checklist rule to test next week. Example: “Only take pullbacks that retest support and show a clear rejection candle.”

Monthly, zoom out. Are certain conditions (trend vs. range) driving results? Do fewer, higher-quality trades outperform more frequent, lower-quality ones? Adjust your plan and tags accordingly.

A Simple Workflow You Can Follow

1. Plan: Define the day’s playbook (setups, levels, risk per trade).
2. Trade: Execute only when your setup appears; avoid impulse entries.
3. Log: Capture the essentials immediately while context is fresh.
4. Review: Weekly, refine one rule; monthly, update your plan.

Repetitions matter. A simulator lets you practice the full loop without market risk. If you’re new to risk-free practice, see How to Practice Trading Without Risk.

ChartingPark offers accelerated historical chart practice with TradingView, so you can complete dozens of focused reps and journal them in one session. Build a small checklist, track the essentials, and iterate deliberately.

Ready to build your trading journal through structured practice? Start a session at app.chartingpark.com.