If you read my recent blog post, or know anything about me, you know I do the same exact thing every day before the trading day starts…
And I’ve been doing it all of my trading career. I wouldn’t be here today talking to you without that daily routine.
It keeps me focused and fully prepared before that 9:30 am ET opening bell rings.
But is the day finished for me at 4:00 ET?
Not by a long shot!
This subject came up on Friday during my Premarket Prep session when one of my students asked how I remember all the trades that happened earlier in the week or even months before.
It’s quite simple, and just like my early morning routine, I do it every single day at 4:20 pm ET…and I’ve been doing it for fifteen years.
Table of Contents
Track Your Trades
If you’ve been learning from any decent mentor out there, you’ve probably heard it a million times: Track. Your. Trades.
Seriously, I can’t stress this enough. Use a trade journal. Digital or paper, I don’t care.
Whether you use a spreadsheet or an old-school paper notebook, I’ll show you exactly what you need to track to improve your strategy as a trader.
And this is not optional if you want to become the best trader you can be.
Most of you are part-time traders. You’re juggling a full-time job, family obligations, a million things pulling you in different directions.
If you’re not keeping track of your trades, you’re going to forget crucial details within hours.
When I first started trading, no one looked at float size, or VWAP, or many of the other concepts I use and teach all the time today.
If I hadn’t tracked my trades over the years, I would’ve overlooked entirely when those ideas started to matter.
And that’s why you need to track everything so you don’t miss out on key changes that can make or break your trades.
Choose Your Method
I used to have a massive stack of Moleskine journals. I’ve always been a paper guy, and I love the tactile nature of writing things down.
It’s been proven that writing things by hand helps commit them to memory in a way that typing doesn’t.
Remember back in school, when you took notes in class, you might not have even thought about what you were writing, but somehow, it stuck.
And I’m not saying digital tracking is the wrong way to do it. In fact, that’s how I do it today.
The key is finding a methodology that works for you. Writing it down on paper happened to work the best for me initially.
When I started physically writing down my trades, things started to click. I saw patterns emerge. I noticed patterns and setups that kept repeating. That’s when my trading leveled up.
Oh, and by the way, I write about 750 words per day in my journal…
When I say I track my trades, I’m not joking around!
How To Track Your Trades
There’s no single “best” method, but there is a best method for you. You just have to find it.
You might start off strong, tracking everything for a few weeks, but if the method you choose doesn’t fit your style, you’ll fall off.
I started by dedicating two full pages to each trading day.
Some days, I’d fill them up completely. On other days, I’d only jot down a couple of key notes.
But every single day, I’d go back and review. What stocks were still in play? What patterns were working? What did I do right? What did I screw up?
Every morning, I’d start fresh, but I’d pull forward the setups that were still relevant. This allowed me to see how things evolved from day to day.
Like so much of the advice I give in mastering your trading strategy, consistency is the name of the game.
Now, let’s talk about what you need to track.
Essential Trade Tracking Components:
Date: Always start with the date.
Ticker: Obvious, but critical.
Entry & Exit : Where you got in and where you got out.
Stop-Loss: If you don’t have a stop, you’re not managing your risk. I know I harp on this a lot, but you should always set your stop-loss before you enter a trade.
Position Size: You need this for tracking risk and knowing when to scale up.
Chart Setup: What was the pattern? Name your setups and track them.
Win Rate: Track whether the trade would’ve worked, even if you didn’t take it.
Profit/Loss: This helps you analyze performance and decide when it’s safe to increase your position size.
Like I said above, you should track trades even if you don’t take them. This is a HUGE mistake traders make.
Let’s say Stock XYZ was your top watch at $4.50, but you had to leave for work and missed the move.
If you don’t go back and review that trade later, you’re missing out on a valuable learning opportunity.
Maybe you nailed the setup but just couldn’t trade it. Or maybe it failed, and you dodged a bullet. Either way, there’s something to learn.
My Final Thoughts…
Your system will evolve. Mine certainly did.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a journal yet. I started with nothing, just like most of you.
But the time for you to start is today…
Then, you’ll refine your tracking system over time.
I’ve moved from paper journals to spreadsheets, and now I use a hybrid system with both Evernote and spreadsheets.
Whatever you choose, stick with it. Track your trades. Learn from them. That’s how you get better.
I promise you, it works!
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Have a great day, everyone. See you back here tomorrow.
Tim Bohen
Lead Trainer, StocksToTrade
P.S.
Next Wednesday, after the market closes, Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, will address Wall Street’s biggest banks and make a huge announcement.
We think it’s going to set the AI sector on fire.
That’s why my friend and fellow StocksToTrade trainer, Tim Sykes, is going live from Las Vegas at 8 pm ET the night before to talk about what will happen and to share his own AI TRADE IDEA with you…
All before the sector takes off Thursday morning.
Reserve your spot for this free webinar on February 25th.
Trust me, you don’t want to miss this.