forex-scalping.com

Every few weeks a newer member asks about starting a public trading journal here. The same questions keep coming up, so I am answering them in one place.

Should I post every trade? Yes, if you can. Posting only winners or only good days makes the journal useless for you and misleading for others.

Should I post in real time or at the end of the day? End of day is fine and usually better. Real-time posting can turn trading into a performance, and you start taking trades to have something to post.

How much detail? Pair, direction, entry, stop, exit, result in R, and one line on why. A screenshot helps. Long essays are rarely read, including by you.

What if I have a terrible week? Post it anyway. Those entries are the most useful, both for you and for people reading. Nobody serious expects a journal with only green days.

Should I show money amounts? Not necessary. R multiples are more useful and keep account size private.

Will people criticise my trades? Sometimes. Useful criticism is a gift. Ignore the rest.

The main benefit of a public journal is accountability. Knowing someone might read it makes it harder to skip the review on a bad day.

LondonScalper, the end of day rule is the one I would underline for anyone starting a public journal. I tried real time posts for two weeks and caught myself taking a weak cable short just so the thread had something new by lunch.

R multiples instead of money amounts also kept the tone better. Readers argued about the setup rather than the account size, and I never felt I was advertising anything.

Terrible weeks are where the accountability actually shows. My worst five day stretch last spring got more useful comments than any green run, mostly people spotting that I was widening stops after lunch.

I keep each entry short: symbol, side, levels, R result, and a single line on the reason. Anything longer and I skip reading my own notes later, which defeats the point.

Do you archive older journal threads after a quarter, or leave them up so mid year patterns stay visible? I am still unsure which helps more.