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Trading journal
In one line: Writing down each trade, why you took it and how you felt.
Evidence
Strength: weak and indirect. We found no peer-reviewed randomized study showing that a trading journal improves real trading profits. The closest studies: in a randomized stock-market experiment, students who wrote review messages over a long enough period improved in behaviour, learning and attitudes. It did not measure trading profits (PLOS ONE, 2012). In a field experiment on a virtual platform, students who got a reminder about biases earned about 1.8 percentage points more. That was a reminder, not a journal (IJEF, 2020). Older indirect support: written records counter hindsight bias"I knew it all along" after the fact. (Fischhoff 1975), and biases can be measured from trade records (Odean 1998).
Strength: weak and indirect. We found no peer-reviewed randomized study showing that a trading journal improves real trading profits. The closest studies: in a randomized stock-market experiment, students who wrote review messages over a long enough period improved in behaviour, learning and attitudes. It did not measure trading profits (PLOS ONE, 2012). In a field experiment on a virtual platform, students who got a reminder about biases earned about 1.8 percentage points more. That was a reminder, not a journal (IJEF, 2020). Older indirect support: written records counter hindsight bias"I knew it all along" after the fact. (Fischhoff 1975), and biases can be measured from trade records (Odean 1998).
More videos on this (1)
- 7 Trading Habits That Will CHANGE Your Life Forever · Stick Trader · external
Present it as a tool, not a proven edge. A simple journal: date, market, plan, entry, stop, result in R (R-multiple), and one line on your mood.
Further viewing
External videos are for viewing only: we don't use them as a factual source.
External video, for viewing only7 Trading Habits That Will CHANGE Your Life Forever
Stick Trader · open on YouTube
Stick Trader · open on YouTube
Related
Sources & studies
- Fischhoff (1975), Journal of Experimental Psychology: HPP
- Odean (1998), Are Investors Reluctant to Realize Their Losses?
- PLOS ONE (2012): Does reviewing lead to better learning and decision making? Randomized stock market experiment
- Int. J. Economics and Finance 12(2): Does reminding of behavioural biases increase returns? Field experiment
Last checked: 2026-11-04 · Educational, not financial advice.
Education only, not financial advice. No signals. Backtests are hypothetical: real trading can be worse. Past results don't predict future results.