Trading Journal Template: Fields, Review and a Weekly Routine

A trading journal is not a diary. It is the evidence base for improving a process. If it records only profit and loss, it cannot tell you whether a good outcome came from a good decision or a bad one.

This template gives you the fields that matter, a weekly review structure and a simple way to use AI without letting it invent the entry. It is educational material, not financial advice.

A journal that records only P&L is a scoreboard. A journal that records compliance is a feedback loop.

The Minimum Fields

Copy this table into a spreadsheet, Notion database or paper log. Keep the same fields every day.

Field Type Why it matters
Date Date Context and clustering
Time (entry) Time Patterns often cluster by time of day
Instrument / contract Text Different instruments behave differently
Session Text London, New York, overnight, etc.
Setup name Text Must match the names in your plan
Scenario Text Which plan branch the trade came from (A/B/C)
Direction Long / short Basic segmentation
Entry price Number Execution quality
Stop price Number Risk definition
Target price Number Reward definition
Planned R Number Reward-to-risk before the trade
Exit price Number Outcome
Realized R Number Outcome in risk units
P&L Number Outcome in currency
Position size Number Size discipline
Plan compliance (1–10) Number The variable you control
Emotional state before Number + word “7 calm,” “3 rushed”
Emotional state during Number + word State at the decision point
Emotional state after Number + word State at the exit
Rule broken (if any) Text The specific rule, not a general feeling
What would have made the trade better Text Lesson
What would have made the decision worse Text Counterfactual
Screenshot link URL / file Evidence

If the list feels long, keep the first twelve fields and add the rest over time. The non-negotiable ones are setup, entry, stop, target, planned R, exit, realized R, compliance and emotional state.

The Compliance Score

The compliance score is a 1–10 rating of how closely the trade followed the plan.

Score Meaning
10 Exactly as planned: setup, entry, stop, size, management
8–9 Minor deviation that did not change the risk
6–7 Noticeable deviation; the trade was still recognisably the plan
4–5 Significant deviation; the trade was improvised
1–3 Not the plan; revenge, boredom or impulse

The score is not a judgment of the outcome. A profitable trade that broke the rules is a low-compliance trade and should be treated as a warning. A losing trade that followed the plan is a high-compliance trade and may be repeatable.

A useful weekly metric is the share of trades with a compliance score of 8 or higher. It is a process metric that works even with a small sample.

The Emotional State

Use a simple scale: 1 = flat, 10 = overwhelmed. Add a word that describes the state.

Examples:

  • “7 calm”
  • “5 rushed”
  • “3 frustrated after the last loss”
  • “8 excited about the setup”
  • “2 bored, looking for action”

The goal is not to eliminate emotion. It is to see the correlation between state and behavior. Most traders find that their worst decisions cluster around two states: frustration after a loss and boredom in a quiet market.

The Daily Entry

A complete entry takes two minutes. Fill it in during or immediately after the trade, not at the end of the week. Memory reconstructs; the journal should record.

Trade Entry

Date:
Time:
Instrument:
Session:
Setup:
Scenario (A/B/C):
Direction:
Entry:
Stop:
Target:
Planned R:
Exit:
Realized R:
P&L:
Size:
Compliance (1–10):
Emotional state before:
Emotional state during:
Emotional state after:
Rule broken:
What would have made the trade better:
What would have made the decision worse:
Screenshot:

End-Of-Day Reflection

  1. Did I follow the plan? (1–10)
  2. What worked and why?
  3. What failed and why?
  4. One lesson for tomorrow.
  5. Emotional discipline (1–10).
  6. One adjustment for tomorrow’s plan.

The Weekly Review

Set aside 30–45 minutes at the end of the week. The output is one change for the next week, not five.

1. Aggregate

Metric This week Last week Notes
Trades
Win rate
Average R
Profit factor
Largest win
Largest loss
Average compliance
Trades below 8/10 compliance

2. Cluster The Deviations

  • By time of day: __________________________________________________
  • By setup: __________________________________________________
  • By instrument: __________________________________________________
  • By emotional state: __________________________________________________
  • After a win vs. after a loss: __________________________________________________

3. Compare Plan To Behavior

  • Which scenarios were traded? __________________________________________________
  • Which were ignored? __________________________________________________
  • Which were invented? __________________________________________________

4. Choose One Change

Next week I will: __________________________________________________

Trigger: __________________________________________________

How I will measure it: __________________________________________________

5. Write It Into The Next Plan

The change should appear as a rule in the next daily plan. If it does not, it will be forgotten.

Using AI Without Letting It Write Fiction

AI is useful for summarizing entries you have written. It is not useful for inventing entries you did not write.

A safe prompt:

“Here are 20 anonymized journal entries. Identify the three most frequent deviations from the stated plan, the emotional states that precede them, and the times of day when they occur. Quote the entries that support each pattern. Do not give advice; show the evidence.”

A safer follow-up:

“For each pattern, tell me whether the sample is large enough to be meaningful, and what data would be needed to test it.”

Do not paste account numbers, balances, broker credentials or personal data into a consumer AI tool. Remove identifiers, use an approved business-tier tool and share only the minimum data needed. The journal can be anonymized and still be useful.

A Worked Example (Illustrative)

A trader reviews 18 trades over two weeks.

  • Average compliance: 6.8.
  • Trades below 8/10: 7.
  • Most common rule broken: “no market entries below the day low” (4 times).
  • Time cluster: 09:35–09:50, the first 15 minutes after the open.
  • Emotional cluster: “rushed” and “frustrated after a loss.”
  • Setup cluster: the retest short, which was the plan’s primary scenario, had high compliance; the “quick scalp” that was not in the plan had low compliance.

The change for next week:

“No entries in the first 15 minutes. If I miss the first move, I wait for the retest. Measure: zero entries before 09:45 for five sessions.”

The change is specific, observable and testable. That is the standard.

Common Mistakes

  • Recording only P&L.
  • Writing the entry at the end of the week.
  • Using a different setup name every day.
  • Scoring compliance based on whether the trade made money.
  • Reviewing only the losses.
  • Changing five things at once.
  • Letting AI write the entry.
  • Keeping the journal in a place you never open.

Disclaimer

This template is educational. It is not financial, investment, legal or tax advice, and it is not a recommendation or solicitation. Trading involves substantial risk of loss. AI output can be inaccurate or incomplete; verify every figure and keep personal data out of consumer AI tools. Past performance and backtests do not guarantee future results.

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