Trading Journal

What is a trading journal?

A trading journal is a record of what you planned, what you actually did and what happened. It preserves details that profit and loss alone cannot show, such as the setup you saw, the confirmation you waited for and whether you changed the plan.

Simple XAUUSD journal example

Imagine you are watching XAUUSD during the London session. Your setup is a breakout above the Asian-session high.

1. Plan: Wait for price to break the Asian high and for a candle to close above it. Use the stop and size written before entry.
2. What I did: Entered after the candle closed, used the planned stop and made no unplanned change.
3. Result and note: +$85 after the stated costs. Emotion: calm. Plan followed: yes. Screenshot attached.

Now compare that with a trade that made +$120 after you entered before the candle closed. The result was profitable, but the record should still say plan not followed. Profit does not rewrite the decision.

What should one entry record?

• Context: date, time, timezone, instrument, session, setup and timeframe.
• Plan: the conditions required before entry, the invalidation point and the planned exit method.
• Execution: actual entry, exit, size or planned risk, and any change made during the trade.
• Result: profit, loss or breakeven in USD, with commission, swap or other costs stated.
• Process note: whether your rules were followed, one emotion tag, a screenshot and one factual note.

Why is broker history not enough?

Your account history can show the order, entry, exit and result. It cannot always show why you entered, which setup you believed was present or whether the action matched your written conditions. The journal adds that missing decision context.

Journal entry vs trade review

A journal entry records the evidence from one trade. A trade review checks that evidence against the plan. A weekly or monthly review compares several entries and looks for something repeated.

Use stable labels such as XAUUSD, London and breakout. If the same idea has a different name in every entry, later comparisons become confusing. The trading journal template gives you a reusable form, while the prop firm trading journal guide explains the complete record-to-review workflow. If you want to record those details online, see the free trading journal.

What should you do next?

Record your next completed trade using the same three parts: plan, what you did, and result with one factual note. Add more fields only when you know which review question they should answer.