MindHow to Keep a Trading Journal for Discretionary Traders (Template)
Most trading journals are receipts. Here's a simple template that tracks the why, not just the P&L.
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Most trading journals are just receipts.
Date. Ticker. Entry. Exit. P&L. Maybe a screenshot.
That tells you what happened. It tells you nothing about why. And the why is where all the money is leaking.
A good journal is less like a receipt and more like a security camera. It catches you in the act. It shows you the exact moments you go off-script, and how much those moments cost.
Here’s how to keep one that actually changes your trading.
Why most journals fail
Three reasons:
- They only track numbers. P&L can’t tell the difference between a good trade that lost and a dumb trade that won.
- They take too long. If logging a trade takes ten minutes, you’ll quit by Thursday.
- Nobody reviews them. A journal you never read back is just a diary.
The fix: track a few psychological details, keep each entry under two minutes, and review on a schedule.
The template
For every trade, log these fields:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Date / time | Oct 20, 10:42 |
| Setup | Pullback to VWAP |
| In plan? | Yes / No |
| Entry / stop / exit | 41.20 / 40.85 / 41.90 |
| Size | 200 shares |
| Result | +$140 |
| Mood before (1–5) | 3, a little impatient |
| Execution grade | A / B / F |
| Mistake tag | none |
| One line | “Waited for the level. Felt slow. Worked.” |
That’s it. The magic fields are In plan?, Mood, Grade, and Mistake tag. Those are what turn a pile of trades into a map of your habits.
Use mistake tags
Tags are the most useful thing you’ll add. Pick from a short, fixed list so they’re easy to count later:
- FOMO – entered because it was moving
- REVENGE – trade taken to make back a loss
- EARLY EXIT – bailed before the plan said to
- MOVED STOP – widened or removed the stop
- OVERSIZE – bigger than the plan allowed
- OFF-PLAN – setup not in the playbook
- BOREDOM – trade out of having nothing to do
One tag per trade, max. If the trade was clean, leave it blank. Blank is the goal.
“A journal is less like a receipt and more like a security camera. It catches you in the act.”
Log your mood honestly
Before you enter, rate your state from 1 to 5. One word is enough: calm, tired, annoyed, cocky, rushed.
This feels pointless for the first week. Then something clicks. You’ll notice most of your F-grade trades happened when you rated yourself a 2. Or that you trade worst on days you slept badly. Or right after a big win.
Just paying attention to a behavior tends to change it. Writing down “annoyed” before a trade makes you a lot less likely to take a dumb one.
The weekly review
Once a week, give it 20 minutes. Answer five questions:
- What was my A-grade rate? (Percentage of trades that followed the plan.)
- Which tag showed up most?
- What did that tag cost me? Add up the P&L of every trade with that tag.
- What did my clean trades make? Compare that to the tagged ones.
- What’s one rule for next week? Just one. Make it an if-then.
Question 3 is the punch in the face you need. “I sometimes chase” is easy to ignore. “FOMO trades cost me $680 this month” is not.
Keep it simple
You don’t need fancy software to start. A notebook or a spreadsheet works fine. Apps can help later with auto-imports and stats, but the best journal is the one you’ll actually fill out every day.
Start with the template above. Log every trade for a month. Do the weekly review. You’ll learn more about yourself as a trader than any course will teach you.
Add context columns
Discretionary traders need a few extra fields, because your edge depends on context, not just signals. Add these:
- Market state: balance or imbalance? Trend or range?
- Location: at value, at a prior high/low, at the last swing point, or in no-man’s land?
- Time: the window you entered in. You may find your best trades cluster in one part of the day (see price and time).
- Setup name: from your own small playbook, like “failed breakout” or “pullback to value.”
After a month, sort by each column. Most traders find one or two combos that carry their whole P&L, and a few they should just delete.
Quick recap
- Track the why, not just the P&L.
- Key fields: in plan, mood, execution grade, one mistake tag.
- Use a short, fixed tag list so you can count it.
- Weekly review: find your most expensive tag and make one rule.
- Simple and consistent beats fancy and abandoned.
Educational content, not financial advice. See our disclaimer.
FAQ
What should I write in a trading journal?
Beyond entry, exit, and P&L, record the setup, whether you followed your plan, how you felt before and during the trade, and one tag for any mistake. Those details reveal patterns that P&L alone hides.
How often should I review my trading journal?
Log every trade the same day, do a quick daily wrap-up, and do a deeper weekly review where you count tags and pick one thing to fix.
Is a spreadsheet good enough for a trading journal?
Yes. A spreadsheet or notebook works fine if you use it consistently. Apps can save time with imports and stats, but consistency matters more than the tool.
How long until a trading journal shows patterns?
Usually a few weeks of honest logging. Around 30 to 50 trades is often enough to see which mistakes repeat and what they cost.
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