Practical trading journal guides

Clear, useful writing for traders who want better review habits rather than louder motivation. Every guide comes with a short video of the real app.

Keep the journal

What to write, when, and how a useful entry looks.

Video

How to keep a trading journal that changes behavior.

Learn how to keep a trading journal: what to record before, during, and after each session so reviews change future trades.

2 min read

Video

What to write in a trading journal so it actually helps.

A practical list of what to write in a trading journal before, during, and after a trade so your notes become useful review data.

2 min read

Video

Trading journal examples should show the decision, not just the result.

See practical trading journal examples for a clean trade entry, mistake review, and end-of-day lesson.

2 min read

Video

A trading notebook should connect notes to decisions.

Set up a trading notebook for trade notes, screenshots, lessons, playbook links, and weekly review without losing context.

2 min read

Video

A futures journal template should track more than entries and exits.

A futures trading journal template for ES, NQ, MES, and MNQ: contract specs, points and ticks to dollars, planned vs actual risk, MAE/MFE, and a session review.

2 min read

Review trades

Find what costs you money and what to change.

Video

How to review a trade with a repeatable 7-step checklist.

Use a 7-step trade review checklist to assess setup, risk, execution, MAE/MFE, exits, rule breaks, and one testable correction.

2 min read

Video

Repeated mistakes hide in plain sight until you group them.

Find repeated trading mistakes: tag every trade with a small vocabulary, count the cost of each tag in R and money, and turn the most expensive one into a rule.

3 min read

Video

What are MAE and MFE in trading? Definitions and calculation examples.

What do MAE and MFE mean in trading? Calculate both in R with long and short examples, then review exits, initial risk, fees, and data limits.

6 min read

Video

Early exits are often a process bug, not a courage problem.

Fix early exits with data: compare realized R with planned R and MFE, separate weak targets from fear, and write one hold rule you can test.

3 min read

Rules and discipline

Turn what works into rules you check before entry.

Video

A checklist is friction in the exact place where impulse wants speed.

A pre-trade checklist with eight yes-or-no questions on setup, invalidation, risk, daily limit, scheduled news, and your state, plus how to keep it short enough to use.

2 min read

Video

Three trading playbook examples you can turn into testable rules.

Use three trading playbook examples with context, entry triggers, invalidation, risk rules, targets, and post-trade review criteria.

2 min read

Import and teams

Move your history in and review it with a group.

Video

Import first. Annotate second.

Import broker trade history from CSV: which columns to export, how to check times, fees, and duplicates, and what to review before trusting the analytics.

2 min read

Video

Notion works for trading notes. It breaks when review needs trade data.

Compare Notion with a trading journal built for imports, screenshots, MAE/MFE, playbooks, analytics, and review. Know when to stay or switch.

2 min read

Video

A mentor needs a system that scales judgment, not noise.

A weekly workflow for trading mentors: one shared standard, comments on the trade itself, group-level mistake review, and clear visibility rules.

2 min read