The page that makes the journal workWhere your journal records how you think.
All the columns in your journal are useless without the page behind them: the detailed view of each trade. Its 7 sections turn a list of results into a record of your thinking, which is the part you can improve.
The columns say what, this page says why
All the columns so far hold numbers and yes or no answers. The last part of the journal is written out in full. Each trade has a button that opens a detailed view, and inside it is a trade journal template. Skip it, and all the effort you put into the other columns is wasted, because nothing explains the numbers.
The template has 7 sections. 5 are filled in before you enter, the screenshots come at the entry and after the close, and the post-trade analysis comes at the end.
| Section | What goes in |
|---|---|
| Reminders | Research notes, session recap notes and the economic calendar |
| Analysis | The whole process, and why you are long or short |
| Scoring | A score for each currency, such as USD +6 and JPY −8 |
| Detailed analysis | Fundamentals, risk mood, sentiment and what traders expect |
| Risk events | Anything this week that could hit the trade |
| Screenshots | A chart at the entry and another after the close |
| Post-trade analysis | What you would do better next time |
Reminders and analysis
First, the reminders. They are a short checklist: check your research notes, your session recap notes and the economic calendar, and prepare for any risk events or opportunities. Same steps, every single time, so no trade starts without them.
Then the analysis. Explain the whole process behind the trade, and why you are going long or short. Be as detailed as you can. The more detail you put in, the more you have to learn from later.
Score both sides, then explain the idea
Then the scoring. Give each currency in the pair a score. If you trade the dollar against the yen, the dollar might get +6 and the yen −8. The gap between the 2 scores sums up the case for the trade.
Then the detailed analysis. Cover the fundamentals, the risk mood, market sentiment and what other traders expect, and explain your trade idea properly.
USD +6, JPY −8
US data firm, the Fed in no hurry to cut. The Bank of Japan still cautious.
Calm markets, little demand for safe havens. The market expects the Fed to hold.
A strong dollar against a weak yen: long USD/JPY
US jobs report on Friday
Risk events and screenshots
Next, the risk events. List anything this week that could hit the trade. If you are trading the dollar against the yen and the US jobs report is out on Friday, it goes here.
Then screenshots of your chart. Best practice is 2: the first when you enter, the second after the trade closes. Side by side, they show what you saw at the time and what the market did next.
The post-trade analysis
Last comes the post-trade analysis. Look back and ask honestly what you could have done better: a different stop-loss, a different take profit, a better entry, or skipping the trade altogether.
Do this for every trade, and your journal stops being a list of results. It becomes a record of how you think, and that is the part you can actually improve.
Mistakes to avoid
- Filling in the columns and skipping the detailed view. The numbers then have nothing to explain them.
- Writing the analysis after the trade has closed. The result colours the reasons, and the page stops showing how you really thought.
- A post-trade analysis that only says “bad luck”. Ask whether a different stop, target or entry would have been better, or whether to skip the trade.
In short
- The columns show what happened. The detailed view behind each trade shows why, and without it the rest of the journal is wasted effort.
- Before the trade, run the reminders, write the analysis, score both currencies, explain the fundamentals, risk mood, sentiment and expectations, and list the week’s risk events.
- Add a screenshot at the entry and one after the close, then write an honest post-trade analysis: a different stop, target or entry, or no trade at all.
Questions
How detailed does the analysis need to be?
As detailed as you can make it: the whole process behind the trade and why you are long or short. Someone else reading it should be able to follow your reasoning.
Why 2 screenshots?
One shows the chart as you saw it at the entry, the other what happened after. Side by side, they show whether the entry, the stop or the target was the weak point.
Key terms
- Economic calendar
- A schedule of upcoming data releases and central bank events, with forecasts and previous values.
- Session recap
- A short summary of what moved the market in a trading session and why.
- Risk-on and risk-off
- Risk-on: investors feel confident and buy stocks and higher-yielding currencies. Risk-off: they get nervous and move into safe havens.
- Sentiment
- The mood of the market: how traders feel and how they are positioned. It often decides the timing of a move.
- NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls)
- The monthly US jobs report. It counts how many jobs were added outside farming and is one of the biggest market-moving releases.
- Long and short
- Long means you buy and profit if price rises. Short means you sell and profit if price falls.