How To Journal Your Trades

Learn how to complete a full journal entry for any trade in EdgeFlo, including uploading chart screenshots, tagging entry confluences and mistakes, logging emotions, and writing or recording your reflection.

Every trade you close in EdgeFlo is automatically imported into the Journal. Journaling that trade means filling in the reflection side of the trade detail view: your chart screenshots, tags, emotions, and written or voice reflection. This article walks through each field and how to use it.

A green trade can be bad execution. A red trade can be excellent execution. Journaling is how you separate the two and stop confusing luck with skill.

Video walkthrough

Watch this video for a complete walkthrough of the journaling process:

Opening a Trade for Journaling

Select Journal from the left navigation bar.
Click the day on the calendar that contains the trade you want to journal.
In the day panel on the right, click the trade row. Trades that have not been journaled yet show a grey dot on the left.
The trade detail view opens. Execution data is on the left. Your reflection workspace is on the right.

Tip: Journal immediately after you exit a trade, or at the latest before you close your session. The further in time you get from the trade, the more your memory replaces reality with rationalization.

Step 1: Upload Chart Screenshots

The Charts section is at the top of the right column. It has three upload slots labelled MTF, HTF, and LTF, which stand for Medium Timeframe, Higher Timeframe, and Lower Timeframe.

There are three ways to upload a screenshot:

Drag and drop: Drag an image file directly into one of the slots.
File picker: Click the slot to open a file picker and select an image from your computer.
Copy and paste: Copy a screenshot directly from TradingView (or any charting platform), hover over the upload slot, and paste it using Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac). This saves you from downloading the image first.

You can upload multiple screenshots per slot using the additional image slots that appear after the first upload. Each timeframe serves a different purpose in your review:

HTF (Higher Timeframe): Documents your directional bias, market structure, and key levels. This answers the question: why this direction?
MTF (Medium Timeframe): Documents the specific zone, level, or area of interest where you entered. This answers: why this location?
LTF (Lower Timeframe): Documents the entry trigger or confirmation that caused you to execute. This answers: why this specific entry?

Step 2: Tag Your Plan and Entry Confluences

In the Review and Reflection section, the first field is Plan. Check the I followed my trade plan checkbox if you executed according to your active plan. If you followed a specific plan, select it from the Which plan did you intend to follow? dropdown on the right.

Next, fill in Entry Confluences. This is a tag field. Type each confluence that supported your entry decision and press Enter to save it as a tag. Previous tags you have used will appear as suggestions in the dropdown for faster entry. Aim for two to five confluences that genuinely drove the trade. Do not tag everything retrospectively.

Examples of entry confluence tags: Market Structure Shift, Liquidity Sweep, Supply Zone, London Open, Fair Value Gap, Confirmed Break of Structure.

Step 3: Document Trade Management

The Trade Management field is a free-text field where you describe how you managed the position after entry. Write what you did in your own words.

Examples: Trailed stop loss, Moved to breakeven at 1R, Took partial profit at 2R, Held to full take profit, Closed early due to news.

Be honest about any plan deviations. This field helps you identify patterns in how you manage positions over time.

Step 4: Tag Mistakes

The Mistakes field is below Trade Management. Tag any mistakes made, regardless of outcome. If there were no mistakes, leave the field blank. Do not force tags.

Examples: Entered before confirmation, Moved stop loss against position, Sized up after losses, Ignored guardrail warning.

Tip: Mistake tags accumulate over time, revealing patterns in your weekly AI report. You cannot fix what you do not name.

Step 5: Log Your Emotions

Entry Emotion and Exit Emotion dropdowns auto-fill from prompts at trade execution if you completed them during the trade. If not, you can select them manually after the fact.

Be honest about your feelings. This data feeds into AI analysis to identify patterns between emotions and trade outcomes.

Note: Emotion tags are powerful but underused. Tagging feelings at the time captures true context before memory fades.

Step 6: Write or Record Your Reflection

The Add a note or voice reflection field lets you type or record your thoughts on the trade.

To type, click into the field and start writing. It auto-saves as you type. To record a voice note, click the microphone icon, speak your reflection, and edit the auto-transcription if needed.

Reflect by answering at least one question:

Winning trade: Did I follow my plan or get lucky? What went well? How can I repeat it?
Losing trade: Was it a good loss (plan followed) or bad loss (plan ignored)? What caused it? What can I change to avoid repeating it?

Tip: The voice feature helps when typing feels tough after a long day. Speak as if debriefing a coach. Transcription does the rest.

Navigating Between Trades

Use the Previous and Next Trade buttons in the top-right of the trade detail view to move to the next trade without going back to the calendar. This keeps you in a journaling flow and makes it faster to work through all trades in a session.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a save button in the trade journal?

No. Everything in the reflection section auto-saves as you type or select. You can close the trade detail view at any time and your entries will be preserved.

Can I journal a trade that I executed outside EdgeFlo?

Yes. Use the Add Manual Trade button in the top-right of the Journal header to create a trade entry with full reflection fields. See the article on adding manual trades for a complete walkthrough.

What is the difference between entry confluences and trade management?

Entry Confluences describe the reasons you entered the trade and use a tag-based input system. Trade Management is a free-text field where you describe what you did after you were in the position. Both capture different phases of the trade lifecycle.

Can I go back and edit a journal entry after saving?

Yes. Open the trade detail view at any time and edit any field in the reflection section. Execution data imported from your broker cannot be changed, but all reflection fields remain editable.

Do the screenshots I upload affect my analytics or EdgeScore?

Screenshots are stored for your personal review only and do not feed into quantitative analytics or EdgeScore calculations. They are there to preserve visual context for your own reflection.