[Do Or Die]

Hi,

For starters, keeping a proper trading journal can take your trading to a whole new level. Most traders tend to come up with a set of trading rules that, if followed, will be profitable. The problems occur that the trader is often not clear about all facets of his trading methodology and is unable to look at scenarios with probabilities. What follows is rules are not executed properly, which is the majority of the time for many traders. By journaling, you can go back and see exactly which trades worked, and which failed. Then, out of those that worked, how many followed your rules? etc.

Once you become profitable (recognize your edge), the journal can take you to the next level; determining which of the setups or which trading rule is working best for you, and which is working the worst. Basically you can use the journal to maximize the productivity of your work (research, analysis and execution).

• Looking at your journal is like looking in a mirror- it lets you know where you stand.
• It lets you perceive better patterns and recognize your trading edge
• Recognize the skills you have and that you lack
• There’s no one who can tell that your mistakes are dumb or your strategy is biased
• Your charts and instruments talk to you and you alone
• Helps in organizing your research. No new indicators, charts or methods. You work calmly (and consistently) on one method and if it is proved wrong only then you shift to something new.
• Helps you make a business sense of trading. You become conscious to minimize trading costs and maximize productivity.
• Helps you shift towards the internal locus of control

Basic Trading Template: Click Here to Download
A simple yet clear diary to note down your trades- could be used for your first trading journal.

Master Trading Template: Click Here to Download
It can be used for Stocks, Options and Futures. It graphs the essential metrics like how you risk/reward is improving per 25-trade interval. It also reports other metrics like win/loss ratio and profitable trade average.

The good part is that you do not have to buy these spreadsheets. The better part is that you can customize them to include other important metrics like Profit Factor, Alpha, Expectancy, Productivity Ratio and so on.


DD

[Luke3]

Fantastic spreadsheet. Way more detailed than I managed to make.
Thanks for your great contribution.