The useful record starts before the order.
A journal written only after a win or loss is a memory test. Save the setup version, trigger, failure point and planned risk first. Then the later review can compare what you intended with what you did, without asking hindsight to fill the gaps.
Save the plan and chart.
Record the actual fill.
Add outcome and markup.
Compare like with like.
Keep the capture quick. Most fields should be a choice, number or short phrase. A long diary entry is optional; a consistent decision-time record is not.
Record facts at the moment they become knowable.
- SETUP
- trend-pullback-v2
- TIMEFRAMES
- H1 context · M15 entry
- MARKET CONDITION
- Higher highs; price above 50 EMA
- TRIGGER
- M15 close above pullback high
- FAILURE POINT
- Close below pullback low
- ENTRY / STOP / TARGET
- 1.2700 / 1.2675 / 1.2750
- PLANNED RISK
- £50 · 0.50% · 25 pips
- EVENT CHECK
- Checked · no blocked event
- BEFORE CHART
- 2026-08-13_GBPUSD_M15_pullback-v2_before.png
- Planned timestamp and timezone
- Pair, direction and account
- Analysis and execution timeframes
- Session and market condition
- Setup name and version
- Exact trigger and failure point
- Entry, stop, target and planned risk
- Event-risk check and before-chart
- Order type and requested price
- Fill time and fill price
- Position size
- Spread and commission
- Slippage
- Any stop, target or size change
- Reason for the change
- Exit time, exit price and exit reason
- Swap or financing
- Net result in cash and R
- Maximum favourable/adverse R if measured
- Process grade and mistake tags
- After-chart and one review note
A marked chart should make the decision obvious.
Keep the first screenshot clean enough to read. Show the pair, timeframe and visible time axis; mark context, trigger, stop and planned target. The after-chart should use the same zoom where possible and add the actual fill, exit and any management change.
- 1What was the context?
- 2What exactly triggered entry?
- 3Where was the idea wrong?
- 4Was the target planned beforehand?
- BEFORECapture the untouched decision.
Save it before entry or immediately when the valid no-trade is identified.
- MARKUse four labels at most.
Context, trigger, failure point and target normally tell the story.
- AFTERMatch the frame.
Add fill, exit, changes and costs without hiding awkward price action.
- NAMEMake the file sortable.
YYYY-MM-DD_pair_timeframe_setup_before-or-after.png
A long trade, from plan to review.
Teaching example only. Prices and fills are invented.
- 07:42Plan savedPROCESS A
H1 structure was rising. The M15 rule required a completed close above the pullback high. Event check passed.
- 08:15Trigger completed1R = 25 PIPS
Long filled at 1.2700. Initial stop 1.2675; target 1.2750; no order change.
- 11:20Planned exit rule used+1.80R GROSS
Position closed at 1.2745 after the exit condition. Gross move +45 pips.
- 11:27Review completed+1.72R NET
£4 commission and financing recorded. Net £86, or +1.72R. After-chart saved. No deviation tag.
A filter that blocks a trade is still useful data.
- SETUP SEEN
- 08:15 UTC close above the marked range
- RULE
- Spread must be 1.2 pips or lower
- OBSERVED
- 2.4 pips at the decision point
- DECISION
- Pass; screenshot and platform quote saved
- LATER PRICE
- Reached the hypothetical target
- REVIEW
- Correct no-trade; do not score as a missed winner
The later move does not change what was knowable at 08:15. Keep this record in a no-trade group, then ask whether the filter helps across many comparable signals—not whether it hurt on this chart.
R makes different-sized trades comparable.
Define 1R as the original planned cash risk. Record cash too, because costs and account effects live in cash. Keep the denominator fixed even if the stop is later moved; a changing denominator can make the same trade tell different stories.
£50 = 1RThe denominator stays tied to the original plan.
45 pips ÷ 25 pips = +1.80REntry 1.2700; exit 1.2745; initial stop 1.2675.
£4 ÷ £50 = 0.08RCommission and financing in this example.
£86 ÷ £50 = +1.72RGross £90 less £4 recorded costs.
(exit − entry) ÷ (entry − initial stop)(entry − exit) ÷ (initial stop − entry)net cash result ÷ original planned risk cashsum of completed net R ÷ completed tradesWas it a good decision, and what happened next?
Keep collecting the same setup.
Valid sample. Do not repair it emotionally.
Outcome was kind. Process still needs fixing.
Count the deviation before judging the method.
Plan saved, valid setup, risk and management rules followed.
The method stayed intact, but the capture or execution had a small fixable gap.
A rule affecting entry, size, stop, target or exit was broken.
No valid setup or the decision could not be reconstructed.
Grade against written rules, not mood or profit. If two traders would give the same record different grades, the grade definition is too vague.
Tags should point to something you can change.
Visible action; can be counted and interrupted.
Self-punishment does not define the next action.
Keep the tag list short. Add a new tag only when an old one cannot describe the behaviour. One trade may have several tags, but the weekly review should choose one repeated behaviour to work on next.
Review the week without rewriting the method.
- 01Complete missing records.
Pair platform history with charts; mark unknown fields as unknown rather than guessing.
- 02Separate the groups.
Setup version, direction, session and market condition must be comparable.
- 03Read process first.
Count valid setups, no-trades, missed setups and deviation tags before looking at P/L.
- 04Read outcome second.
Completed sample, net R, average win/loss, expectancy, drawdown and costs.
- 05Choose one next action.
For example: wait for a completed candle, or save the spread before entry.
- 06Keep strategy changes separate.
Write a proposed change; test it as a new version at the planned review.
- Which valid setups did I take, skip or miss?
- Which losses followed the method?
- Which deviation repeated?
- Did costs differ from the plan?
- What one action will I practise next week?
A neat percentage can still come from a thin sample.
4 pullbacks · 5 breakouts · 3 reversals
Early observation; methods mixedOne setup version · conditions tagged
More informative, still not a promiseThere is no magic trade count. Smaller samples carry more uncertainty, and a mixed sample can hide which method or condition produced the result. Display n, the setup version, date range and market conditions beside every statistic. NIST's sample-size guidance makes the wider point: the amount of data needed depends on variability and the precision required.[8]
- Do not optimise rules around the last two losses.
- Do not merge strategy versions without labelling the change.
- Do not treat demo, replay and live fills as identical samples.
- Do not hide skipped signals or valid no-trades.
MT4, MT5 and TradingView supply execution and chart facts.
Platform history answers what filled and when. Your journal adds what the setup required and why you acted. Use timestamps and the pair to match the two, and check whether the platform displays broker-server, exchange or local time.
- Open Terminal → Account History.
- Choose the period; save a report from the context menu.
- Use Save As Picture from the chart context menu, or an OS screenshot, for the marked chart.
- Copy setup, risk and process fields into the journal.
- Open Toolbox → History and choose the period.
- Use the report commands to save account history.
- Capture the chart before and after with pair, timeframe and time visible.
- Match deals that belong to one position before calculating net R.
- Use the camera tool to save or share a chart snapshot.
- Keep drawings, timeframe and visible scale consistent.
- Use Export chart data when it is available for the chart.
- Add actual broker fills and costs from the execution platform.
A CSV schema makes the record portable.
One row should represent one decision: a completed trade, an open trade, a missed valid setup or a valid no-trade. Keep timestamps in a stated timezone—UTC is easiest to merge—and put multiple tags in one consistently separated field.
| Stage | CSV columns | What they preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | trade_id, planned_at_utc, pair, direction | A stable key and the decision's basic context. |
| Context | analysis_timeframe, execution_timeframe, session, market_regime, setup_version | Comparable groups rather than one mixed pile. |
| Plan | entry_rule_met, event_risk_checked, planned_entry, planned_stop, planned_target, planned_risk_percent, planned_risk_cash | What was knowable before entry. |
| Execution | order_type, filled_at_utc, filled_price, spread_pips, commission, slippage_pips, swap | The difference between the plan and the fill. |
| Result | exit_at_utc, exit_price, result_cash, result_r, max_favourable_r, max_adverse_r | Outcome and path in consistent units. |
| Review | rule_adherence, mistake_tags, before_chart, after_chart, review_notes | Process, visuals and the next practical lesson. |
Before you call the record complete
- □ Plan timestamp and timezone saved before entry
- □ Setup version, trigger and failure point are specific
- □ Planned cash risk, entry, stop and target recorded
- □ Actual fill, exit, spread, commission and financing checked
- □ Result stated in net cash and R
- □ Process grade follows the written definition
- □ Before and after charts use clear filenames
- □ Review note names one fact or next action
Print this page, or keep the downloadable CSV beside the platform.