Ten Review Questions That Turn Data Into Decisions

[Fairman]

Ten Review Questions That Turn Data Into Decisions

Having data is not the same as learning from it. A fixed set of questions guides weekly review so that it produces decisions.

Here are ten that work for many traders. Which setup earned the most R this week, and which lost the most? Did I follow my plan on every trade, and where did I deviate? What was my largest loss, and was it within my risk limit? Which trade would I most like to repeat, and why? Which would I avoid, and what warning sign did I ignore?

What was my emotional state at entries, and did it correlate with results? Did I respect my daily and weekly loss limits? How did costs, including spreads and slippage, affect my results compared with last week? What market conditions did I face, and did my strategy suit them? What one change will I make next week, and how will I measure it?

Write short answers each time. After a few weeks, read them together. Repeated answers show your real recurring issues.

The last question is the most important. Limit yourself to one change at a time, so that you can see its effect.

Keep the review time-boxed, about thirty minutes. If it takes longer, simplify the questions.

Practical step: copy these questions into a document, and answer them this weekend.

[Fairman]

The which trade would I repeat question is my favourite on the list. It forces you to describe what good looks like, not just complain about what went wrong. I'd go a step further and save a screenshot of that trade into a separate folder each week. After a couple of months you'll have a small gallery of your best decisions. Flicking through it before the session is a nice way to remind yourself what you're actually looking for. It works better than looking at examples from courses, because these are your own trades on your own pairs in your own session, with the same kind of conditions you'll see tomorrow.

[Fairman]

Time boxing it matters. If the review drags past thirty minutes, I've usually started re analysing charts instead of answering the questions. That's a trap because re analysing in hindsight always finds a better entry or a cleverer exit, and you end up changing rules based on perfect information you'll never have live. I set a timer, answer the ten questions with a sentence each, and pick the one change for next week. If I genuinely want to study a chart pattern more deeply, that goes into a separate study session later in the week, with a clear question to answer. Keeping the two apart keeps the review short and honest.