Almost every trader says they keep a journal. Most keep a list of entry and exit prices, which their broker already has. A journal that changes behaviour records the things the broker can't see.
What should you track in a trading journal?
Track the setup name, the reason for entry, planned stop and target, actual fills, the R-multiple result, costs, and your state of mind before the trade. Price data alone tells you what happened; the plan-versus-execution gap tells you why. That gap is where nearly all fixable losses live.
The fields that earn their place
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Setup / strategy name | Lets you compute expectancy per setup, not just overall |
| Reason for entry | Exposes trades taken for no reason at all |
| Planned stop & target | The benchmark you'll compare execution against |
| Actual entry & exit | Reveals slippage and early exits |
| Result in R | Makes every trade comparable across instruments |
| Costs | Spread and fees are part of expectancy, not a footnote |
| Followed the plan? Y/N | The single most valuable column in the sheet |
| State of mind | Surfaces tilt patterns before they compound |
If you only add one column to an existing journal, make it "followed the plan?" Sorting your results by that column is often uncomfortable and always instructive: many traders find their rule-following trades are profitable and their improvised ones aren't.
The metrics worth computing monthly
- Expectancy in R — see how to calculate expectancy.
- Win rate and average win/loss — the two components behind expectancy.
- Maximum drawdown — the number that decides whether you can survive the strategy.
- Expectancy by setup — often one setup carries the account while another quietly bleeds it.
- Expectancy by time of day or market regime — frequently the difference between a working method and a broken one.
Screenshot the chart, not just the numbers
Capture the chart at entry and again at exit. Reviewing a month of paired screenshots surfaces patterns no spreadsheet will: entries consistently late into a move, targets set past obvious resistance, stops placed inside the noise. Pattern recognition needs pictures.
Review on a schedule, not on a feeling
A journal only works if it's read. Weekly, skim for rule breaks. Monthly, compute the metrics and ask one question: what single change would most improve expectancy? Usually it's shrinking the average loser rather than finding better entries. That's the loop — record, review, adjust one thing, repeat.
Journaling also catches emotional patterns early. If your worst results cluster after a losing streak, you've found a tilt problem, not a strategy problem: revenge trading is a fixable, recorded behaviour.
Frequently asked questions
Spreadsheet or dedicated app? A spreadsheet is enough and forces you to define your own fields. Apps save time on import but can hide the plan-versus-execution columns that matter most.
How long before a journal is useful? Behaviour patterns show up within weeks. Reliable expectancy figures need a much larger sample — treat early numbers as directional.
Should I journal losing trades only? No. Well-executed losses and lucky wins are both important data. A profitable trade that broke your rules is a warning, not a success.
A single tactic rarely changes an account; a repeatable process does. The Asymmetric Trader's Playbook ($29, reg. $39) walks through the full risk-first framework in seven parts — sizing, edge and expectancy, market regime, entries and exits, psychology, the journal, and a failure-mode audit.
Next: how to write a trading plan · Make Money library.
This article is general education, not financial, investment, or tax advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. All figures are hypothetical and illustrate a method only. Investing and trading involve real risk of loss — use money you can afford to put at risk, and consult a licensed professional before acting.