Just curious what others are tracking.... beyond the normal trades/profit/loss/percentages...etc... One thing that I do track are the trades I DID NOT take, but was tempted to. If you are not doing that, try it. It is absolutely amazing the high percentage of "no-go" trades that would have lost me money had I taken them. So, what do you have in your journal that is unique...
I track all signals and then compare them with trades taken from my execution report. On all defined signals, taken or not, I track the number of the days trade 1-2-3 etc and L or S, next column price, then time of entry, next type of trade, next MFE, next, MAE and finally number of ticks gained or lost.
In addition to all the standard stuff.. time of day a subjective "environment" numerical rating (includes news event/driven) Which set-up, which also implies an EXPECTED magnitude of movement. a 1-4 correlation rating of (my) 2 primary tools.
I don't get too deep into my rationale for most of my trades. I post the real time trades for my sentiment as well as observations and musings. In particular, I focus on certain risks, how I manage those risks specifically, and what I changed when something broke down, or what went right and why (my "damage reports"). I found that to be really useful to look back on and see why not to do certain things, or why I hedge something some way.
Journals are for women who are going through an existential crisis, But joking aside, I don't have a trading journal -- I try not to think too hard about it, as the above person mentioned, Because of course...Everything is crystal clear in Hindsight, ...Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda, You make a decision in the heat of the battle, and you have to stick through it, or manage it, No amount of reflecting in hindsight will make a difference -- the past is the past, Each Day, each Chart, each moment...is truly unique in its own right -- no two trading periods are ever an exact replication or recipe of each other, Dynamic variables are constantly dancing in the market, in varying degrees, Try to practice KISS: keep it Simple, stupid. Be a Master of One, not a jack of all trades, -- you don't really need a trading journal if you only have one thing on your plate,
I agree with LL, I haven't found journaling and recording trades to benefit me in the past as like he said, it seems every situation is unique. Of course I might be wrong but I prefer to just track my PL daily because that is the ultimate stat.
hmm.... you guys have me thinking about this.... the past is the past... but isn't it like a pro athlete reviewing films of previous games, to learn what you could have done better??
I'm sure keeping a detailed journal is a good thing that you should likely do, I just would rather get my trading in, win/lose/draw and then go about my day. I guess I'm lazy, I just don't want to sit around the computer when I'm done and mess with a journal.