It’s a shame that many beginner traders overlook the importance of keeping a trading journal. Even some “experienced” traders refuse to do the tiny work that is required to log their trades each day onto a sheet of paper or in a computer program. I can guarantee you one thing: the beginners and “experienced” traders that refuse to keep a trading log are the ones that will – or already have – fail.
Why do successful traders keep a trading log?
Simply put, by taking note of their trades everyday professional traders gather highly important insights on their current trading habits and results. They get to see very rapidly if they are over trading, not following a rule of their system, overlooking an aspect of their trading plan, being too passive with their risk management, being overaggressive with their money management, and so on.
They also get to see what they do right. For instance after having logged in enough data, an experienced trader can see exactly which pair(s) has returned the most profits. The trader can then go back to the charts and take note of what went especially right in these trades – thus improving his overall strategy and potential return.
By refusing to keep an up to date trading journal, you might very well miss a ton of important information about yourself and your trading. This can result in you missing improvement opportunities and simply end up broke.
All the best professionals do it, and so should you!
Guest post by Brian Thomas from http://www.forextrainingworldwide.com