I’ve been thinking a lot about trading journals lately, especially for Indian traders.
I’ve spent around decades in IT architecture, and one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t really improve a system unless you can observe what’s happening inside it. So I’ve started applying the same thinking to my own trading. But I’m curious about something:
When you look back at an old trade, what information do you actually want to remember?
For me, it’s becoming much more than:
Entry → Exit → P&L
I’m finding it useful to think about things like:
• Why did I enter?
• What setup did I see?
• What did I expect to happen?
• What were my stop loss and target?
• What were the market conditions?
• Did I actually follow my rules?
• What was I thinking during the trade?
• Where did the trade go differently from my plan?
• What would I do differently next time?
Because two trades with exactly the same ₹5,000 loss can tell completely different stories. One could be a perfectly valid trade that simply didn’t work. The other could be a trade where I ignored my own rules.
The P&L is the same. The lesson isn’t.
I’m curious how other traders approach this.
What are the 3–5 things you personally find most useful when reviewing an old trade?
I’m not looking for software recommendations here. I’m more interested in what information actually helps you learn from the trade.