Why You Should Have a Trading Journal.
You may be familiar with the idea of journaling in general, but you may not be aware of the specific benefits that come with journaling your trades. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the science behind why journaling can be so beneficial for traders. We'll also provide some tips on how to get started. By the end of this post, you will have a better understanding of the value of journaling and will be ready to start reaping its rewards!
The benefits of journaling have been proven by scientists.
Scientific research has uncovered the myriad of benefits that come from keeping a journal or diary. It has been found to reduce stress, increase emotional intelligence, boost memory, act as a form of self-reflection and even provide motivational boosts. In more concrete terms, several studies have shown that journaling can lead to lower levels of cortisol (the main stress hormone) and a higher reflection, enabling users to explore their thoughts and ideas more objectively with each entry. Furthermore, people who keep track of their actions are more likely to be successful in achieving their goals due to regular reflection on their results. It is clear that there are undeniable advantages to keeping up a journal; many scientists continue to study this topic in order to uncover even greater potential benefits.
Journaling will help you have the mentality of a trader.
Taking time out of your screen and charts to journal can be beneficial to overall mental health and trading results. Research has demonstrated its effectiveness in alleviating stress, anxiety and depression through reflection and perspective-taking. Indeed, using a trading journal is like a meeting with yourself, your thought, your emotions and the market. This will help you make the good decisions by taking into account all factors in a clear and objective way, without letting your thoughts and stress distort reality. In other terms, you will practice mindfulness. Additionally, simply taking time for yourself reinforces feelings of self-worth while offering an enhanced sense of control over your actions. As a result, the act of journaling can promote psychological well-being and assist in reducing rumination.
Journaling will help you improve your technique.
Trading can be a challenging and difficult undertaking. Journaling is a valuable tool that traders can use to improve their approach through gaining important insights into the decisions they make when trading. Not only can using a journal help provide clarity on current decisions, but it can also reveal deeper insights into the psychological tendencies of a trader over time. An accurate recording of trades in journal form allows for detailed examination of the motivations for each decision and its subsequent outcome. Reviewing your entries will put you on a path of improvement, you will be able to review your failures and your success and build a better system to ultimately increased success.
What to include in your trading journal.
Keeping a trading journal is absolutely essential, as it provides a comprehensive record to review and reflect upon your decisions over time. You should include the date and time of the trade, the financial instrument traded, the position size, the entry and exit price(s), any profit or loss generated, the trading logic but above all, the psychology behind every action on the market.
All of the above are includes in our trading journal.
We created a guided trading journal. So that you have a full review both of your strategy, your mathematical edge, your psychology and a part to debrief and review all your actions to improve. Here is a link to our guided trading journal, which includes prompts and questions to help you be the best trader you can be without letting your emotions interfere with your performance.