Trading in financial markets is a very risky business. Here, as in any business, the strongest survive. To become a professional trader you need to work hard. The first thing you need to remember is that the work of the trader will always keep you nervous, you will always need to be in good shape and keep up.
Traders around the world are experiencing daily psychological stress. Especially this load is subject to intraday traders. Since they make a huge amount of trading operations. Many start with intraday trading, but then switch to higher timeframes. Therefore, in order to make informed and thoughtful decisions, you need to have a good trading system. Which includes many tools, one of which we will talk about today.
The tool is called a transaction diary. I believe that it should be kept constant. Since this is an integral part of success, allowing you to monitor yourself and your results, whatever they may be. What is a transaction diary, why keep it and how does it affect trade in general? Let's figure it out.
The transaction diary is primarily a transaction journal, which describes in detail all the conclusions about the transactions and their description. The diary can be kept both the old fashioned way and electronically. I do not know about you, but I would recommend that you start keeping a diary in the old fashioned way, especially if you are a beginner. And when you get bored already, then it will already be possible to start an electronic one.
Why keep a diary
Human life is a very confusing thing. Each has his own personal life, his own problems, his own family. As we all know, the human brain works only for 10-15% of its capabilities. In ordinary life, people do not particularly strain, they get used to the routine and live stability. As for stability in trading, you can even forget about it, at least for 2-3 years, until you learn to trade.
People often forget about something, especially when it comes to work. We all know statistics that about 90% of traders in the market lose their money. The main mistake of traders is that they do not learn from their mistakes, they are simply forgotten and moved on, and everyone repeats and repeats again. The man is upset and leaves. So keep a diary.
Thanks to him, you will first of all solve problems with repeated errors, and establish trading discipline. The diary also helps traders in feelings that very often interfere with the trading process. Another diary will help you reduce unnecessary transactions that we very often come up with during the work.
For example, you very often violate the rules of money management by risking 30-40% of the total deposit in one transaction. Such mistakes are made mainly by new traders who trade in the market for less than 6 months. So, now before making a deal, find in the diary the day where you already made such a jamb and think. This of course will not stop you from being stupid, but it will remind you of a past mistake.
Keeping a diary is a very specific job. Some write everything from the start of the transaction to the end, others write briefly on the contrary, and then they themselves cannot understand what they wrote. Therefore, make sections and write only specifics in them. For example, money management errors on page 2, errors on open transactions on page 1, news transactions on page 4, etc. In general, organize your book and keep it neat. Your success depends on it.
What should be in the diary of deals
Fundamental events, important news, political actions that were during the transactions;
The grounds for opening / closing transactions, the factors on the basis of which you made a decision with a full explanation;
Also, do not forget to indicate the date and time of the transaction, as well as the volume, opening price and Take Profit and Stop Loss levels;
Many people write down their thoughts about a tool, it also makes sense to write their mistakes and shortcomings (this will come in handy);
Do not forget to note your emotional state and feelings that arise during the trading process (opening, closing, infusion, reinstalling orders);
Next, try to read your notes and transaction histories every week to take stock and see where you made a mistake.
Some traders say, “I'm too lazy to keep a diary.” Hence the conclusion means you are too lazy to make money. Keeping notes for the trader is a very important thing. According to them, you can monitor your progress, monitor your transactions and track errors. There is no specific plan or standard for keeping a diary in the world of trading; each trader writes it in his own way, as he likes. However, there are recommendations you can work on:
First write down the date, and only then thoughts and comments on transactions. When opening transactions, immediately write the currency pair and transaction volume. Also do not forget to fix the closing time of the transaction;
Take screenshots of transactions with analysis. For more information, accompany screenshots with indicators and other technical and graphical tools of your system. If you write the diary the old fashioned way, put the printed drawings in the case;
Description of the charts. When maintaining a diary, be sure to write a description and write your thoughts and comments. On what basis and conclusion was this or that transaction completed. In the end, do not forget to write the result of the transaction, whatever it may be;
All traders are different, some may see a problem in filling out a diary. Namely, in the number of transactions. Since all trading styles are different, some get about 10 transactions a month, some 300 or more. And if you describe each transaction separately, when there are more than 300 of these transactions, you will quickly get tired of it and you will most likely abandon this venture. Therefore, if you really have a lot of transactions, record only those transactions that are most profitable and significant for you.
This is not a tricky way you can keep a diary. Optionally, you can add your notes and other elements that you consider necessary. Writing in a diary - do not write this is your personal business. But I, as an experienced trader who has seen almost everything about trading in this world, I advise you to carefully keep a diary of transactions. Since it is an integral part of success!