Reviewing = exponential growth
Every day, since 2018, I have made it a point to journal every trading day. Journal the wins, losses, missed trades, ideal setups, etc. This has helped me create a vast pool of patterns to study and review each week. When you have numerous examples of your setups and you visually review them, it helps to internalize the patterns and execute in real time with minimal resistance.
I remember my first two years of trading, when I did not review my trades. During this period of time, I often felt like I was just trading all over the place. I couldn’t tell you what probability my setups had of working. I couldn’t tell you what specific pattern I was looking for regarding entry. I could barely remember what trade I placed the day before.
After I began day trading Crude Oil, I decided to start taking the following pictures:
My execution chart and my higher time frames charts - immediately after entry. This helped me come back and determine if I strictly followed my trade plan for entry. You would be surprised how different the charts look when you are no longer in the trade and emotionally charged.
If I start to feel emotions creep up and want to make a “random” trade management decision, I’ll take a picture of my management chart and I’ll journal why I want to manage the trade a certain way.
Pictures upon exit.
Pictures at the end of the day, once more price action has become available.
Some ‘epiphanies’ I have encountered while reviewing my pictures at the end of the trading day/week include:
For a long time, I was cutting my winners WAY too short.
There were many times when I was jumping the gun on trades and the setup was not fully developed. This helped me to add odds enhancers to help filter out “early entry” and wait for a full signal.
Studying my chart patterns has helped my setups “scream” at me, so I do not freeze up when executing. I react in real time without hesitation. This comes through pattern recognition and trust in ones trading system. I see my pattern(s) repeat over and over and I have confidence that it has a profitable edge based on backtesting and live trade review.
Taking pictures and journaling throughout the trading day has the advantage of SLOWING you down, which can help dissipate overcharged emotions. This is also priceless for those with tendencies to overtrade. ‘
Set “hot keys” to quickly take the screenshot and you can always add notes at a later time, if you are a high frequency trader. Otherwise, try to take the notes in real time to truly see what your analysis and emotions were, in the moment, when you come back for review.
SOME TOOLS FOR TAKING SCREENSHOTS: Lightshot, Snag It, Camtasia
