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Impulsive trades usually happen when you open the chart without a plan and react to whatever moves first. A short checklist solves much of that. Mine has six lines. First, what is the higher timeframe bias, written in one sentence? Second, which liquidity levels are nearest above and below? Third, what are the news events today, and at what times? Fourth, what is my maximum loss for the day? Fifth, which session am I trading, and when do I stop? Sixth, how do I feel, on a scale of one to five, and if it is below three, I reduce size or skip. The last item sounds soft, but it matters because tiredness, stress, or distraction clearly affect my decisions. I keep the checklist in a text file and paste it into my journal each day, filling in the answers before I place any order. The routine takes about three minutes. It also creates a record, which lets me see on bad days whether I skipped the process or whether the process itself needs improving.

The question about how you feel is often overlooked, but it matters. When I am tired or stressed, my trading is worse, and having that check helps decide whether to trade smaller or skip the session.