Template
Trading journal template
Most trading journals die because they are built like accounting ledgers. This one is small on purpose: enough to capture the decision and the behavior, light enough that you keep filling it.
When to use it
When to use a trading journal template
A journal of fills is a worse copy of your broker statement. The version that pays off captures the things the broker never sees: which setup you were trading, what the plan was, and how you behaved. This template puts those alongside the mechanical facts.
Use it every session, while it is fresh. A trade journaled three days later is fiction with a timestamp. The columns are fixed so that, over a few weeks, your entries become countable instead of anecdotal.
- Logging each trade at or near the time you take it
- Building a record you can review at the end of the session
- Spotting a recurring setup or mistake once you have a few weeks of rows
- Handing yourself honest data instead of a hazy memory of "how it went"
Template preview
One row per trade. The mechanical columns on the left you can import; the decision and behavior columns on the right are the ones that make the journal worth keeping.
- Date / time
- Symbol
- Direction & size
- Entry / exit
- P&L
- Setup
- Plan
- Behavior note
What each field means
Keep the mechanical facts automated and spend your effort on the last three columns — they hold the insight.
Date / time
When the trade happened. Import this; never type timestamps by hand.
Symbol
The instrument traded. Mechanical — import it with the fill.
Direction & size
Long or short, and how many contracts or shares. Mechanical.
Entry / exit
Your fill prices. Mechanical — these come straight from the broker or a CSV.
P&L
The result. Mechanical, and deliberately not the point of the journal.
Setup
Which named setup this was meant to be. The first column that actually requires a decision from you.
Plan
What you intended: planned entry, stop, and target. Write "no plan" when there was none — that entry is worth more than ten clean ones.
Behavior note
One short, self-reported tag for what you did: followed plan, chased, hesitated, moved stop, revenge. Consistency makes it countable.
Worked example
A filled-in journal row
One entry, with the mechanical facts imported and the decision columns filled in by hand.
- Date / time
- 2026-06-12 09:41
- Symbol
- MES
- Direction & size
- Long, 2 contracts
- Entry / exit
- 5412.25 → 5408.00
- P&L
- -$42.50
- Setup
- Opening-range breakout
- Plan
- Enter on retest of range high, stop below range, target 1.5R
- Behavior note
- chased — entered before the retest
The first five columns came from the broker import. The last three — setup, plan, behavior — are the ones you write, and they are the reason this row is worth more than a line on a statement.
Use this template
Copy the structure below into a notebook, spreadsheet, or notes app — it works anywhere. Or skip the setup and use it live in Mettle.
TRADING JOURNAL (one row per trade) Date/time | Symbol | Dir & size | Entry/Exit | P&L | Setup | Plan | Behavior note ---------- | ------ | ---------- | ---------- | --- | ----- | ---- | -------------
In Mettle the mechanical columns fill themselves — connect a broker or import a CSV and the fills, sizes, and P&L land automatically. You add the setup, plan, and behavior tag, which is where your attention should go anyway.
See how it works in MettleFAQ
Do I need software to use this template?
No. Every field here works in a paper notebook, a spreadsheet, or a notes app. The structure is the point. Software helps once you want the mechanical facts imported and the entries read back to you automatically.
How many columns should a trading journal have?
Fewer than you think. The mechanical facts (date, symbol, size, prices, P&L) can be imported, so your hand-entered columns should be just setup, plan, and one behavior note. A thirty-column journal is one you stop filling.
Should I journal every trade?
Log every trade — the mechanical row is cheap once it is imported. But you only need to deeply review the ones with a lesson. Logging is the wide net; reviewing is the deep pass.
Is Mettle free to start?
Yes. You get full access free for 14 days with no card. We only ask for a card once you have reviewed three sessions — after the product has proven it earns a place in your routine.
Stop hand-copying your fills
Mettle imports the mechanical columns so your journaling time goes to the decision and the behavior — the parts that actually change how you trade. Free to start, no card.
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Want the workflow, not just the template? Read the matching step-by-step guide.