How I Evolved My Trade Journal — And How You Can Too (With a Little Help from AI)

If you’ve been around our Trading Tribe for even a day or two, you’ve probably heard me talk about the importance of a trading journal.

I cannot stress it enough — journaling your trades can be transformative to your results.

Even if you’re already profitable, journaling can help you grow those profits with less effort. And if you’re just starting out, or still pre-revenue, your trading journal can massively speed up your learning curve.

My First Trading Journal Was a Notebook

When I first started trading I had just one computer screen. I was daytrading ES futures and keeping track of everything in a notebook.

It was simple, but it worked.

Here’s how I did it:

• I’d write the date at the top of the page.
  
• I’d jot down the time of entry, price, and a “B” for buy or “S” for short.
  
• My risk per trade and number of contracts were fixed, so I didn’t need to write those down each time.
  
• I’d mark every time I adjusted my trailing stop — sometimes once, sometimes five times.
  

Nothing fancy. Just a pen, paper, and my process.

Moving to Digital Journaling (Without Losing the Ritual)

Eventually, I added an external monitor, doubling to two screens. But even then, I realized I wasn’t expanding the way I traded. I was still focused on one chart, one setup.

So instead of adding even more screens, I used that second one to start journaling digitally.

Typing felt natural — my hand was already on the mouse by my keyboard.

And once I started that way, it became my new normal. To this day, I journal my trades digitally, typing onto a second screen that I can see at all times as I go.

Whether you’re analog or digital, the real value is in capturing why you did what you did:

• Why you entered
  
• Why you managed the trade the way you did
  
• Why you exited when you did
  

That “why” is what fuels growth.

Got a Handwritten Journal? Here’s How to Use AI With It

If you’re still using a written trading journal, that’s totally fine. But here’s a challenge: try bridging it with AI tools like ChatGPT.

You don’t have to change your process — just add a step to gain deeper insight.

Here’s what to try:

1. Use a free scanning app like Genius Scan to digitally capture your notes as a PDF file.
   
2. Upload the scanned PDF into ChatGPT.
   
3. Ask it what it sees — it can usually read your handwriting pretty well!
   
4. Once extracted, you can review the now typed-out notes and even prompt ChatGPT to analyze your trading decisions.
   

Bonus idea: if you have a trading plan saved digitally, you can upload that too and ask ChatGPT to compare your actions to your trading plan, to see how well you stuck to your trading rules 🤯

I mean… how cool is that?! That kind of personalized analysis wasn’t available when I started. And now it’s at your fingertips.

Already Digital? Here’s an Even Smoother Path

If you journal in something like Google Docs or a simple text file — great! You can copy-paste entries directly into ChatGPT, or just download your doc and upload it.

This allows for clean inputs for clean feedback.

Here’s what I do:

• I name files specifically for ChatGPT when I export them, so I remember why I created them.
  
• I download from Google Drive and upload directly, rather than using public links — ChatGPT handles it better that way.
  
• I use it to spot patterns, review setups, and even question if I’m following my plan most accurately.
  

And no, I don’t worry too much about privacy settings within ChatGPT,  because I never put anything super personal or sensitive in there. Just trades — the kind of stuff my 1on1 students bring to their private coaching sessions.

No Journal Yet? Start Simple — and Start Today

If you’ve never kept a trading journal before, today is the best day to start!

A journal doesn’t have to be fancy — it just has to be consistent.

You can:

• Use a physical notebook like I did. It’s back to school season folks, so pick you poison composition black and white, wide rules, or college-ruled if you’re feeling fancy 😉
  
• Try a tool like TradesViz.com if you like dashboards and charts. NOTE I have not used this yet but I’ve heard it’s cool.
  
• Or do what I still do: open a Google Doc, type your notes, and save it in Google Drive. PSA: If you are using a Gmail email account, you’ve automatically got access to Google Drive and all its awesomeness!
  

Whatever you choose, you’re now one step closer to letting AI help you improve faster.

Just remember:

• Protect your privacy (don’t drop account numbers or login into AI tools)
  
• Keep your system simple
  
• Let your journal reflect you — your logic, your growth, your process
  

That’s how you’ll get better — with fewer stumbles and faster wins.

~Hima