Home / Course / Module 6 / Keeping a Trading Journal and Reviewing Your Results
Module 6 · Lesson 6 of 10A trading journal is a log of every trade and the reasoning behind it. Reviewed regularly, it shows what you actually do, as opposed to what you think you do.
Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Educational content only. Nothing here is a recommendation, and no result is guaranteed.
Memory is selective. We remember the dramatic win and forget the five small losses that came with it. A trading journal replaces memory with records.
It does three jobs. It tells you whether your approach is working, with numbers rather than feelings. It reveals patterns, such as always losing on Fridays or breaking your rules after a loss. And it makes you accountable: writing down "I entered without my stop-loss rule" is uncomfortable enough to change behaviour.
Think of a fitness diary. Someone who writes down meals and workouts learns far more than someone who simply feels they are doing fine. The same is true here. If you want the plan that your journal measures you against, read Building a Trading Plan.
A journal is not a diary of how you felt about the market. It is data about your own decisions, which are the only part of trading you can control.
A spreadsheet is enough. The best journal is the one you will actually fill in, every trade, including demo trades.
Also record trades you considered but skipped. Noting why you stayed out shows whether your caution is protecting you or costing you good set-ups.
Record the facts at the time of the trade, not later. Here is a practical set of fields.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Date, time and session | Shows which times of day suit you |
| Market and direction | Gold buy or sell |
| Set-up name | Lets you compare how each type of trade performs |
| Entry, stop-loss, target | Proves you decided the exit before entering |
| Position size and money risked | Checks you followed your risk rule |
| Exit price and reason | Target, stop, manual close or news |
| Result in money and in R | R is the result divided by the amount risked |
| Costs | Spread, commission and overnight charges |
| Followed the plan? Yes or no | Separates good process from luck |
| Emotion before and after | Spots FOMO, revenge trading and fatigue |
| Screenshot | Reminds you what you saw at the time |
The "followed the plan" field is the most useful. A trade can lose money and still be a good trade if you followed your rules. A trade can win and still be a bad one if you broke them. Over time, process matters more than any single outcome.
Once you have a reasonable number of trades, calculate a few simple figures. Twenty trades is a very small sample, so treat early results with caution.
Over 20 demo trades a trader records 9 wins and 11 losses. The average win is £30 and the average loss is £18. Costs total £40.
The result is slightly positive, but with only 20 trades it could easily be luck, and a small change in costs would wipe it out. The right conclusion is "keep collecting data", not "this works".
Expectancy is the figure to watch. A high win rate with tiny wins and big losses can still have negative expectancy.
Set a fixed time each week, for example Sunday afternoon. Do not review during market hours or right after a loss, when you are likely to judge harshly or wishfully.
Ask questions that lead to action:
Choose only one improvement at a time. Trying to fix everything at once usually fixes nothing. Link what you find back to the emotional traps in Trading Psychology.
Over months, your journal becomes a personal rulebook built from your own evidence. It is the most reliable teacher you will have, because it is about you and your decisions, not someone else's highlights.
A journal shows you the past. It cannot tell you that a profitable run will continue. Markets change, and trading leveraged products can lose money quickly.
If you use signals, log those trades as well and note whether you followed the stop-loss and size. See How to Use Gold Signals for how to treat them.
No. A simple spreadsheet works. What matters is that you log every trade, including losers, with reasons and costs.
Yes. Demo journalling builds the habit and tests your plan, though remember demo results do not include real emotional pressure.
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