## Why a trading journal matters
Without a journal, you remember the most painful losses and most exciting wins, but forget the ordinary trades. A journal turns emotional stories into data and shows where you actually make money.
## Minimum fields
Record date, instrument, direction, timeframe, entry reason, screenshot, stop, target, actual exit, result, emotional state and whether you followed the plan. Screenshots matter because they restore market structure.
## Weekly review
Each week, ask three things: which setup has the best expectancy, which mistake is most expensive, and which time window triggers impulse. Do not review only profit and loss; review execution quality.
## Simple template
For every trade ask: why did I enter, where was I wrong, did I follow plan, and what changes next time? Thirty written trades teach more than thirty indicators.
