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What to write, how to review, and what matters more than P&L
Published by The Retail Trader · AUG 09, 2026 · Features
Every trader carries a version of their own trading in their head. That version is almost always wrong — memory makes wins bigger and losses smaller. This is the whole point of a journal: a record in place of memory.
A statement tells you what happened. A journal tells you why it happened. The first is data, the second is understanding.
So with every trade you have to write not just the entry and exit but the reason — and the reason has to be written before taking the trade, not afterwards. A reason written afterwards always matches the outcome.
A small template is enough:
• Setup name — what kind of trade this was. If you cannot name it, it was not a setup.
• Entry, stop, target — all three, before taking the trade.
• Why now — the reason for the timing. This is the most often missed field and the most useful.
• Size and risk — what % of capital was put at risk.
• Result and its R multiple — how many times the risk was made or lost. R is better than rupees, because it lets you compare trades of different sizes.
• One line — 'if this trade comes again, what will I do differently'.
Taking a screenshot of the chart at the time of entry is very useful. Two weeks later the same chart looks completely different, and you no longer remember what was visible at the time.
This is what breaks hindsight bias. You can see how the decision looked with the information of that moment, not the information of today.
20 minutes every week is enough. Two questions: how many times did I break my rules, and which setup is actually making money.
Most traders get their biggest surprise right here — a large part of their profit comes from one or two setups, and their time is divided the opposite way.
Keep one column: 'did I follow my rules — yes/no'. And judge the trade on this column, not on P&L.
Losing while following the rules is a good trade. Winning by breaking the rules is a bad trade that got rewarded — and that is the one that turns out the most expensive later.
This article is for educational purposes only — it is not a buy or sell recommendation, makes no claim of guaranteed returns, and is not advisory. Rules, rates and mechanics change from time to time at the exchanges, SEBI and RBI, so verify every number yourself with your broker or an official source.