The core fields, in one checklist
Here is a field list you can copy. The first column says when to write each field, because timing matters as much as content: a stop written after the trade is not a stop.
| When | Field | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|---|
| Before entry | Date, time, symbol, long or short | Basic identity of the trade |
| Before entry | Setup name (from a fixed list) | Lets you group and compare trades |
| Before entry | Planned entry, stop, target | Defines 1R and your reward to risk |
| Before entry | Position size and risk in dollars | Shows whether you sized by the rules |
| Before entry | Reason, in one line | Separates a plan from an impulse |
| After exit | Actual entry and exit prices | Measures slippage against the plan |
| After exit | Fees and commissions | Small per trade, large per year |
| After exit | Net P&L and R-multiple | Comparable result across any size |
| After exit | Followed plan? (yes / no) | Often the most revealing field to track |
| After exit | One honest sentence | The lesson, in your own words |
If you use a spreadsheet, our trading journal spreadsheet page turns these into columns with formulas. This guide is about what goes into them and how to write it well.
Before the trade: the plan
The pre-trade fields are the ones most traders skip and the ones that matter most. Without them, your journal can tell you what happened but never whether you did what you meant to do.
Write the setup name from a short fixed list. Three to six names is enough to start; you can split a setup later if you notice two different behaviours inside it.
Write the stop as a price, not as "if it looks weak". The distance from entry to stop is 1R, the unit every result gets measured in. Then size the position from that distance: position size = (account × risk %) ÷ |entry − stop|, rounded down. The position size calculator does it in one step.
Finally, write the target and check the reward to risk. If the target is closer than the stop, you need a high win rate just to break even; the risk reward calculator shows the break-even win rate for any ratio.
A worked example, field by field
Here is one complete entry, with the arithmetic shown so you can check it.
- Account: $15,000. Risk per trade: 1%, so $150.
- Plan: long, setup "pullback", entry $25.00, stop $24.20, target $26.60.
- Size: $150 ÷ $0.80 = 187.5, rounded down to 187 shares. Actual risk is 187 × $0.80 = $149.60.
- Exit: $26.60 at the target.
- R-multiple: ($26.60 − $25.00) ÷ ($25.00 − $24.20) = $1.60 ÷ $0.80 = 2.0R.
- P&L: 187 × $1.60 = $299.20 gross, minus $2.00 fees = $297.20 net.
- Followed plan: yes.
- Note: "Waited for the pullback to hold the prior day's high instead of chasing the open. Felt slow, worked."
Notice that the R-multiple uses prices only, so it is the same whether you traded 10 shares or 1,000. That is why it is the right number to compare trades with. You can confirm it with the R-multiple calculator.
For three more complete entries, including a losing short and an options trade, see trading journal examples.
After the trade: the facts
Write the after-trade fields as facts, not opinions. Record the actual entry and exit, not the planned ones; the gap between them is your slippage, and over a few months it can add up to a real cost.
Record fees on every trade, even when they are small. Active traders often find that commissions and spreads explain a surprising share of the difference between gross and net results.
Then mark followed plan as a plain yes or no. Do not allow "mostly". If you moved the stop, sized up, or exited early without a rule telling you to, the answer is no. Over time this one column often explains more than any other: compare the average R of "yes" trades with "no" trades and the cost of breaking your rules becomes a number.
Typing all of this by hand is where most journals stall. A journal app that imports fills from your broker can fill the price, size and fee columns for you; TradeGreen connects read-only to 20+ brokers and computes R, win rate and profit factor per setup, so you only write the plan and the note.
How to write a note that teaches you something
The note is the only field a computer cannot fill. Most notes are useless because they describe the market instead of the trader. Compare:
| Weak note | Useful note |
|---|---|
| Market was choppy. | Took a breakout in a range day; my rule says skip breakouts when the first hour is inside yesterday's range. |
| Bad luck, stopped out. | Stop was 3 cents under an obvious level; next time place it beyond the level and size down. |
| Got greedy. | Held past target because the move felt strong; gave back 0.8R. No rule allows that. |
| Good trade. | Waited for confirmation as planned; entry was 10 cents worse but the trade was cleaner. |
A good note names a specific action and, ideally, the rule it followed or broke. If you write the same note three weeks in a row, it has become a rule you should add to your trading plan.
Optional fields worth adding later
Add a field only when you have a question it answers. Some that traders find useful:
- Screenshot at entry and exit. Shows what you saw, not what you remember seeing.
- Time of day. Useful if you suspect your afternoon trades differ from your morning ones.
- Market condition tag, such as trending or range-bound, decided by a simple rule rather than feel.
- Emotion before entry, on a 1 to 5 scale. Only useful if you rate it before the result is known.
- Maximum favourable and adverse excursion: how far the trade went for and against you. Helps judge stop and target placement.
- For options: contracts, strike, expiry, premium paid and the ×100 multiplier, so the dollar risk is correct.
Resist adding all of them at once. Every extra field is one more reason to skip an entry on a busy day.
What to leave out
- Predictions about the market. A journal records your decisions, not forecasts.
- Long essays. If a note runs past three sentences, the lesson is usually in the first one.
- Rewritten reasons. Never edit the pre-trade reason after you see the result.
- Account totals as the main metric. The balance mixes good and bad setups together. Per-setup numbers are what you act on, as the weekly review guide explains.
A well-kept journal does not guarantee better results. It gives you accurate information about your own behaviour, which is the input every improvement depends on.