Your own emotions are of great importance in day trading. They can make the difference between success and failure. If you manage to carry out your trades continuously like a robot according to the same pattern and principle, even if you have perhaps already recorded one or two daily losses, you will definitely have an easier time.
This is possible if you train your mind to do this and repeat the trade thousands of times without lying to yourself or glossing over your skills. The easiest thing would be to have a personal coach at your side who meticulously documents every trading decision, deciphers your emotions and provides ruthlessly honest feedback.
This is exactly what a trading journal can provide if you keep it continuously and honestly. But the figures show: Not even one in four traders uses one consistently. The result: the same mistakes over and over again, overlooked patterns and the nagging question “Why am I stagnating or failing?”.
From chaos to enlightenment: how the journal turns you into a pro
The magic of a trading journal lies not in the mere recording of price figures, but in the psychological mirror it holds up to every trader. It mercilessly reveals possible error patterns that you might not otherwise have noticed. An example: Markus trades the S&P 500 index on a daily basis. While documenting his impulsive midday trade on February 12, he stumbles across the entry “Boredom – no breakfast, just trade something”. Suddenly he realizes that 80% of his losing trades occur between 14:00 and 15:30, when his concentration wanes and the feeling of hunger sets in.
If he leaves out this weak phase in future, he suddenly becomes profitable in the long term. In addition, he has realized that he often risks more than he should after a winning streak and thus minimizes his CRV. If he pays attention to this and always sticks to his rules, his profit increases statistically, according to his trading journal. The adjustment screw he had to turn to achieve this was actually very simple. It was only noticed through his journal.
A trading journal – also known as a trading diary – should therefore record as much data as possible. The main components are, of course, exact entries and exits in trades, the associated thought processes and information on the context or the setup used, but also why you decided to take this trade. Emotional information is very important. For example, if you integrate an emotion traffic light and define red for FOMO-driven decisions (“Bitcoin is jumping right now – I have to be in!”) or green for strategically clear moments, you can quickly determine whether you have traded emotionally or rationally. If you catch yourself getting emotional, it’s better to take a break. This is only possible with strict personal responsibility.
The pitfalls: When the journal becomes the enemy
But beware: many traders sabotage themselves. The most common enemy is the rose-colored glasses syndrome: losses are meticulously noted, while winning trades only appear in bullet points. “It was obvious that the trade would work out” – but was it really expertise or just luck? Another stumbling block is self-deception. “Emotion: neutral” is often read, even though the alarm bells are ringing inside. The screenshot function helps here. When Markus analyzed his failed S&P trade, he discovered something uncanny in the chart snapshot: he had drawn his zone incorrectly in the chart three times in a row – a blind spot that only became visible through visual documentation and the controller.
The professional level is achieved through automation. Every TradingView* alarm trigger automatically ends up in a Google Sheet via Zapier – including timestamp and position size. Mobile traders use voice memos: a short “Feeling exuberant today because of yesterday’s profit” is transcribed by apps such as Otter.ai and ends up in the Emotions column. But the centerpiece remains the weekly reflection. Let’s take Markus again, who sets himself an unusual weekly reward: If he sticks to his limit of a maximum of three trades per day, he treats himself to an hour of video gaming. “Since I’ve been conditioning my brain in this way, I’ve been keeping stops more consistently and becoming calmer,” could be the conclusion.
Conclusion: the trading journal becomes a weapon
A trading journal is not an annoying log, but a biography of your own financial self. It reveals why you degenerate into a copy-paste machine during volatility or why trades systematically go wrong after reading the news. The good news is that our sample template with integrated emotion tracker makes this analysis easier than ever – provided you have the courage to be ruthlessly open and the discipline to remain consistent. Are we ready to break our own pattern?
Our sample template can help you get started with a trading journal. Have fun with it! It can be downloaded from this link.
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