Share your rules for public trading journals
Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2026 12:40 am
I've kept a public journal on and off over the years, on other forums and here. Some versions helped me, others turned into performance art. These are the rules I've settled on, and I'd be interested in what others use.
Post the plan before the session, not just the result afterwards. Without the plan, a journal is just a highlight reel.
Post losing days with the same detail as winning days. I've noticed that I tend to write more on good days. I now have a fixed template so every day gets the same treatment.
Use R, not money. Partly privacy, partly because R makes it comparable across account sizes and over time.
Don't edit old posts, except to fix typos. If I got something wrong, I say so in a new post.
Keep it short. My best public journal entries are 150 words. My worst are long explanations of why a bad trade was really a good trade.
Don't respond to every comment during the trading day. I read them in the evening.
Stop if it starts changing how I trade. On one forum years ago I noticed I was taking trades partly because they'd look good in the journal. That was the end of that journal.
What rules do you follow, and has keeping a public journal ever made your trading worse?
Post the plan before the session, not just the result afterwards. Without the plan, a journal is just a highlight reel.
Post losing days with the same detail as winning days. I've noticed that I tend to write more on good days. I now have a fixed template so every day gets the same treatment.
Use R, not money. Partly privacy, partly because R makes it comparable across account sizes and over time.
Don't edit old posts, except to fix typos. If I got something wrong, I say so in a new post.
Keep it short. My best public journal entries are 150 words. My worst are long explanations of why a bad trade was really a good trade.
Don't respond to every comment during the trading day. I read them in the evening.
Stop if it starts changing how I trade. On one forum years ago I noticed I was taking trades partly because they'd look good in the journal. That was the end of that journal.
What rules do you follow, and has keeping a public journal ever made your trading worse?