I've shared about my journal before, but this post will be very specific about why I have a journal and how I keep it. I had always taken notes from the very beginning of my trading days, but those notes were about stocks I was watching, price patterns, price action, trends, and many other things based on viewing charts. Now after over three years of trading I recall that this type of journal really wasn't giving me anything, it was a total waste of time. Thanks to the last few years of experience and thanks to many books that I went through, I started to learn how a journal is supposed to look and why I need it. And this book* had the biggest impact on my trading journal. I realized that my journal has to be something that both helps to find my mistakes and the problems with my thinking, and also helps me fix those problems. So my NEW journal started to have info about the market and what was happening based on my plan and rules. It had info about my feelings while watching what’s happening as well as at the end, and included all the consequences of that day’s thought patterns and of my actions.
Having a journal like this became very helpful with going through the day. I found that I love to use it with many aspects of trading. First off, I check myself on each and every single setup. I control my emotions, and work based on what I see not what I feel. Secondly, my new journal has helped me very much with my goals. After setting a goal for the day, week, or even month, I now have a way to check if I’m consistent in doing things towards achieving it. And thirdly, a journal like this happens to be the best way to check every single trade, the setup I was considering or did take, and whether I’m really following my rules and plan. There is no other way I would remember on Friday what I was doing on Monday. During the weekends I always review my journal and check myself. Why was the past week as it was, what was wrong or right, what am I supposed to do in order to correct myself and/or keep doing well.
"The psychological journal is a tool for developing your internal observer: learning to recognize what you’re doing, when you’re doing it."*
Thanks to this book* I started a very specific journal and with it I began to see what I do and when I do certain things. The journal I use is made of columns. The first column is about what I see on the market, what kind of pattern is unfolding on the chart. And based on what I see I study my rules to be prepared in case a pattern will show up so I’ll know what to do. As soon as my first column is filled, I move on to my second column which is about my feelings. In here I write about my feelings as I watch a pattern unfolding on the screen. Working on my notes allows me to see that I’m not doing anything against my rules, that I am following my plan, and that there’s nothing to worry about. It’s immediately evident there are no emotions connected to the situation. And after all this, I start the notes in the third column. If there was a trade, I use this column to record the resulting consequences, and if there was no trade I write why I didn't take it. If there are things that I did wrong I always go back and have a clear understanding of what I saw, thought and did then. I make mistakes, and by having notes like this I can see what they were. Sometimes it’s bad reading of the market, or I can be emotional, or it was bad execution. By going back over my notes I can correct it the next day or even the next week without any confusion.
"When we clearly link maladaptive patterns to negative consequences, we develop and sustain the motivation to change those patterns."*
"You cannot change something if you’re not aware of it."*
Having a journal like this became very helpful with going through the day. I found that I love to use it with many aspects of trading. First off, I check myself on each and every single setup. I control my emotions, and work based on what I see not what I feel. Secondly, my new journal has helped me very much with my goals. After setting a goal for the day, week, or even month, I now have a way to check if I’m consistent in doing things towards achieving it. And thirdly, a journal like this happens to be the best way to check every single trade, the setup I was considering or did take, and whether I’m really following my rules and plan. There is no other way I would remember on Friday what I was doing on Monday. During the weekends I always review my journal and check myself. Why was the past week as it was, what was wrong or right, what am I supposed to do in order to correct myself and/or keep doing well.
"The psychological journal is a tool for developing your internal observer: learning to recognize what you’re doing, when you’re doing it."*
Thanks to this book* I started a very specific journal and with it I began to see what I do and when I do certain things. The journal I use is made of columns. The first column is about what I see on the market, what kind of pattern is unfolding on the chart. And based on what I see I study my rules to be prepared in case a pattern will show up so I’ll know what to do. As soon as my first column is filled, I move on to my second column which is about my feelings. In here I write about my feelings as I watch a pattern unfolding on the screen. Working on my notes allows me to see that I’m not doing anything against my rules, that I am following my plan, and that there’s nothing to worry about. It’s immediately evident there are no emotions connected to the situation. And after all this, I start the notes in the third column. If there was a trade, I use this column to record the resulting consequences, and if there was no trade I write why I didn't take it. If there are things that I did wrong I always go back and have a clear understanding of what I saw, thought and did then. I make mistakes, and by having notes like this I can see what they were. Sometimes it’s bad reading of the market, or I can be emotional, or it was bad execution. By going back over my notes I can correct it the next day or even the next week without any confusion.
"When we clearly link maladaptive patterns to negative consequences, we develop and sustain the motivation to change those patterns."*
"You cannot change something if you’re not aware of it."*
*LESSON 14 The Daily Trading Coach 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist by Steenbarger, Brett N.
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