Advanced Lesson 18 of 18 · 6 min read Day Swing

The trading journal that makes you better

What to write down, the 15-minute weekly review, and turning patterns into rules.

In 30 seconds

Log every trade the same way: setup, entry, stop, target, exit, result in R, the reason, and how you felt.
Spend 15 minutes once a week reading the log. Look for the same mistake showing up twice.
Track win rate, average win vs average loss, and expectancy. Turn what you find into short written rules.

Traders repeat the same mistakes for years because they remember trades by feeling, not by record. A journal fixes that. It turns "I think I do fine on breakouts" into a number you can check.

What to record for every trade

Fill in the plan when you enter and the result when you exit. Memory edits itself to protect your ego.

Setup. The pattern name, such as "pullback" (a dip in a rising stock) or "breakout" (a push above a recent high). Reuse the same few names so you can sort by them later.
Entry, stop, target. Your price in, where you admit you were wrong, and where you plan to take profit. Write all three before you place the order.
Exit. The price you actually got out at.
R result. R is what you risked per share, entry minus stop. Divide your gain or loss per share by R. This puts a $20 stock and a $400 stock on the same scale.
Why. One sentence on why you took the trade. If you cannot write it, that is a finding.
Emotion. A word or two for how you felt at entry: calm, bored, rushed, angry after a loss.

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Education only. Not personal investment advice. Examples use round numbers for clarity; check current prices, fees and rules before acting.