Trading Journal, and its Importance for Professional Traders

A trading journal can be very useful and the point of this article is to explain the purpose of a trading journal. It is worth mentioning that such journals play a central role in the plans of most professional traders. As a reminder, things like planning future trades, documenting existing positions, as well as recording any emotions that may appear suddenly are essential factors to be aware of when building a profitable trading strategy.

It is important to know how to create and use a trading journal. Without it, a trader could easily lose track of his or her winning and losing positions.

People should keep in mind that a trading journal consists of a document where everything a person does as a trader is recorded, including strategy development, risk management, psychology, etc. Hopefully, keeping a trading journal is easy but very effective if created and used correctly.

It is worth mentioning that there are several important reasons why keeping a trading general is important, let’s have a look at the factors. First of all, it makes a person more disciplined as well as consistent. Moreover, it helps to spot profitable trading strategies. Furthermore, it makes a trader more careful when it comes to analyzing potential trades.

Successful traders plan all of their trades meticulously and document the successes and failures of their trading performance. Interestingly, by creating a trading journal and using it correctly, a person can become a successful trader regardless of how the market moves.

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Trading journal and important details

Hopefully, it is possible to find a trading journal template. However, it is also important to learn how to create one. Moreover, a person can customize his or her trading journal in a variety of formats to fit with trading style and needs.

The first step is to create a trading journal spreadsheet ( Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, etc.) as well as a written document ( Google Docs, Microsoft Word). A person will be using these to record your exact trades and your thoughts, respectively. Also, if this person prefers, he or she can include the written document as a second tab in the spreadsheet.

Moreover, it is important to know what this person will be recording daily. This way, the trading journal will have the highest possible impact. People should take into account that it is possible to find several trading journal examples online.

Importantly, when it comes to a written document or another tab, a person should have a section for each day. People can write down all their thoughts as well as ideas. Interestingly, the written document is where a trader lets loose their creativity while their spreadsheet helps to measure the profitability of their creativity. Importantly, both of them are very useful when creating and using a trading journal.

Traders and useful tips

It is worth noting that it is one thing to create a trading journal, but it is entirely another thing to know how to implement what a person learns from it into his or her trading system. Importantly, using a trade journal effectively can turn an unprofitable trader into a profitable trader.

People should take into account that, before entering any trade, they need to have a good reason for doing so. Traders should pay attention to a written document. It makes sense to write down ideas and feelings that come to mind. This way, it will be possible to spot anything that either can help or hinder the trading performance. Notably, this could include general market behavior, past trades, present trades, as well as potential trades.

Interestingly, it is desirable to record the information about the trades immediately after executing them. Moreover, it makes sense to review a trading journal spreadsheet every single day.