This term can mean different things to different traders.
However, a Trade Diary should include:
- a complete list of trades taken
- notes on said trades
- management notes
- lessons learn
- post-trade review
At the end of the day, due to the volume of Trades taken, over time, there is no possibility that one will remember the specifics of any particular trade. We may remember our best and worst, but everything in between is often forgotten.
A Trade Diary will allow for reflection and learning on previous trades and one of the most positive results of keeping a Trade Diary is that one can measure how far we have come in terms of knowledge and implementation. That in and of itself cannot be underestimated. Information is key, a Trade Diary provides historical information for us to learn from.