I totally agree.... it only takes me about 10 minutes max to update my journal from my hand notes in a notebook, to the spreadsheet... it is way way easier now that I am taking much less trades...
ROFL, I'm sure if someone started a thread stating that eating fresh fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly and continually trying to improve oneself is good, someone is bound to emerge from the ET woodwork to opine how stupid all that is
Speedo... well said buddy..... I see value in journaling and most important,,, reviewing the journal. The biggest thing I am looking for is how well I am sticking to my own rules. I want to know what I was thinking, or what I thought I saw. I will again compare this to a pro athlete reviewing videos of himself and/or his opponents. I believe the skill level needed to be a successful trader are par with becoming a pro athlete... it's damm hard, but it is doable
Exactly, a world champion doesn't stop training when he or she reaches the top, you keep training...keep improving...keep working your game, or you will find yourself out of it. Now most on ET are not likely professional traders but those who are or who want to be, need to be doing these kinds of things.
Speedo.... dead on... I enjoy the time I spend reading, reviewing charts, journaling, etc... just trying to make little improvements along the way... I am not ready to be a full time trader yet, BUT I am 100 times better than when I started out.
I run two journals, one on ET and one for myself. The 'myself' journal is a comprehensive set of notes, my trading methodology which I review from time to time, also links to indexes etc which I monitor, also because for me distraction is a big enemy I make notes on things short term which I need to address, for example I need to double up on certain positions on the next buy signal. Regarding links to indexes, although I subscribe to a data service, there is some data lacking which I need to obtain via going onto other sites.
Oh, I didn't even think about that. Yeah, I have a private journal too that is considerably more detailed. Keep it in OpenOffice...I think it's around page 240...this year. Very few images too. That breaks down in excruciating detail the entirety of my methods...Probably time to revisit some of the earlier pages after a day like today.
I will not trade unless my journal has well thought out trades well in advance of pulling the trigger. The charts are how I evaluate the markets, the journal is where I evaluate myself. I track everything related to my trading in my journal - it is like my own personal book on how to trade complete with a my trading plan in the preface. For me the journal is like navigation maps are to a sailor leaving port. It helps me stay on track. 'Honest self-evaluation is one of the most important but elusive traits a trader can develop' Peter Brandt