The undervalued indexes that should have been added into the forex trading journal

Now, many forex trading education websites are always emphasizing that the trading journals should track some forex indexes as well.

For example, several websites have listed all the necessary statistical data that all traders should pay attention to in their courses on trading journal statistics.

Items listed include net profit, win rate, return on each order and max shrinkage.

By following these variables and statistics, traders can better track their performances and pin down areas they need to improve.

Now I’d like to focus on some other forex indexes which are often neglected but can provide important insights on forex trading.

Holding time

Do you often hold for over one day? Or you hold for only a couple of hours every time you trade?

To know the average holding time of trading will help you learn about your most accustomed trading techniques and styles, which will help you decide whether you are a short-swing trader or a long-term trader.

Scalping traders tend to trade frequently within a short period of time, whereas a position trader might hold the trading for months or even years!

By understanding what type of traders you are will help you make correspondent adjustments, thus optimize your personal trading strategies.

Holding time of profiting and loss orders

Now, let’s go one step further (like in the movie Inception) to compare the holding time between profiting order and loss orders. In doing so, you will see whether you reduced your shares too early or you hold for too long.

It is our hope that losses or low-yielding trading should be minimized as much as possible as they occupy the valuable forex capital!

Profit and loss trades based on trading hours

Another time-based index is the actual trading hours.

Analyzing the time when your trade can help you decide your optimal trading hour.

You probably live in Asia and come to realize that all the lucrative trading happened during London time. Then it is suggested that you trade for another couple of hours to make a profit.

Profit and loss trades based on the market situation

This index will help you to identify whether you are aware of the constantly-changing market situation and make advantage of it.

You will see whether you can use the recent trend through adjusting expectations, or you are suffering losses because you have been stubborn and determined to be the top and bottom-picker.

This index can also reveal your optimal trading conditions. For example, if the index shows that you profit more in market segments, it might indicate that you are more suitable to trade in a consolidation trend with support and resistance.  

Or, if you have been profiting through trading breakouts, this might show that you prefer news trading or setting the momentum.

Profit and loss trades based on position size

Unlike the clichés in sports, this saying is serious in forex trading, which is that size really matters. I’ve seen too many traders win like a champion when dealing with smaller positions but fail once they increased their positions!

Tracking your forex position size will help you understand your reactions once the size changes.

This can reveal whether you are making advantage of the strong trends by increasing your position or you are doing poorly in identifying market volatilities and not reducing your position.

Remember, the more detailed your trading journal is, the more likely you are to identify the key differences between profit and loss.

Most importantly is for you to always remember to keep updating your forex trading journal.

It is a boring and tedious job, but it’s necessary because this is the only way to improve.

Just remember, the difference between an ordinary and extraordinary trader is that the latter pays more efforts every single day!