I Hate Journaling: Here’s a Better Way to Build Trading Self-Awareness

“Then don’t journal.”

He looked confused.

I’m sure he expected a lecture about how “you MUST journal if you want any chance of making it!”

But I didn’t.

In a perfect world, sure… every trader would meticulously journal every detail of every trade.

But I live in the real world.

I know you’ve got a job, a family, commitments.

And traditional journaling takes time, time pulled from something else.

If that’s you, here’s the simple answer:

You have 3 minutes.

And you don’t even need to be at your desk.

 Open ChatGPT on your phone.
 Start a new conversation.
 Use advanced voice mode or just hit the mic icon.

(Or if you prefer, use the notes app or record a quick voice memo.)

And just talk through your trading day while it’s fresh:

“I bought the opening drive. Had my stop a bit tight. Got stopped. Market ranged for a while. I caught the break, but closed it too early…”

You get the idea.

No fancy tools.

No detailed stats.

Just a real-time reflection.

And here’s what happens:

• You relive the important moments of the day.
• You see them from a calmer, post-session perspective.
• You start to notice the same mistakes repeating.
• You start to self-correct, naturally.

Because the real value of journaling isn’t in the pretty charts.

It’s in the self-awareness it creates.

If nothing else… talking through your day for 3 minutes could save you months of spinning your wheels.

And my bet?

Once you start seeing the ROI from those 3 minutes, you’ll naturally start going deeper and getting even more value out of it.

There’s no “right” way to trade.
Forget about what you should be doing.

This week, find your groove, and make it happen.