Trading psychology · Beginner

Keeping A Trading Journal

A 1-minute lesson from the MarketPro academy, one of 20 in trading psychology.

Last reviewed 15 September 2026 by the MarketPro research desk · Editorial policy

Short answer

A trading journal is simply a record of trades and the thinking behind them, kept consistently over time. It turns trading from a string of isolated moments into a body of evidence a trader can actually learn from.

What Belongs In It

The setup and reason for entering, in the trader's own words at the time
Entry, stop-loss, and target levels, and whether they were respected
The emotional state before and during the trade — calm, anxious, rushed, bored
What actually happened, and whether the outcome matched the original reasoning

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Why It Matters More Than Memory

Memory is selective; traders tend to remember dramatic wins and losses vividly while forgetting the many routine trades in between. A journal removes this distortion by keeping an unfiltered record. Reviewed periodically, it can reveal patterns that are hard to see trade by trade — for example, a tendency to abandon stops during volatile sessions, or better results when trades follow a specific setup.

The value of a journal comes from consistency, not perfection. A few honest lines after every trade, reviewed weekly or monthly, will teach a trader more about their own habits than any single win or loss ever could.

Lesson 10 of 20 in Trading psychology

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Written and reviewed by the MarketPro research desk

MarketPro is a trading-signal and trading-education app operated by Harajuku Holdings LTD (Cyprus). Our signal desk publishes and tracks every trade idea in-app, and every page here is checked against the app's live behaviour before publishing. Last reviewed 15 September 2026. How we produce signals and content · About MarketPro

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Not investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.