Trading journal – Edgewonk, TraderSync, Notion

Without a journal you do not have an edge, you have impressions. A journal is not a diary of emotions. It is a database that tells you which setup pays, at what hour you lose, and how much tilt costs you. Edgewonk and TraderSync are ready-made databases. Notion is a custom database. The choice is a matter of workflow, not fashion.

Lesson goal

• Understand the difference between an emotions diary and a statistical journal.
• Compare Edgewonk, TraderSync and Notion as systems.
• Build minimal and full trade tagging (10 tags that change decisions).
• Measure Tilt Score, Mistake Rate and Expectancy per setup.
• Automate the import and put a 15-minute review ritual in place.

Why Excel is not enough, and why a diary hurts

The rule: if after 100 trades you cannot export a table of setup | trades | winrate | avg R | expectancy | tilt trades, you do not have a journal.

Platform comparison

The KursTradera recommendation: Start with Edgewonk (because it requires manual entry, and that forces thinking). Once you have >300 trades and >3 setups – TraderSync for automation. Notion as an overlay – for the playbook, the weekly review and linking sessions.

Tagging architecture – 10 tags that change the game

Do not tag 40 things. Tag 10, but consistently.

Mandatory fields per trade:

The formulas you must have in your journal:

R_multiple = (Exit_Price - Entry_Price) / (Entry_Price - SL_Price) * Direction
For a long: (Close - Entry)/(Entry - SL). For a loss: negative.

Expectancy_per_setup = (WinRate * AvgWin_R) - (LossRate * AvgLoss_R)

Tilt_Score_day = (Trades_after_2_losses_in_a_row + Trades_with_Mistake=FOMO/Revenge) / All_trades_of_the_day
If Tilt_Score >0.3 – the day is closed, no discussion.

Mistake_Cost_R = Sum_of_R_of_trades_with_Mistake != No Mistake  (per week)
Target: Mistake_Cost_R <1R per week

MAE/MFE:
MAE = Max Adverse Excursion in R during the life of the trade
MFE = Max Favorable Excursion in R
If Avg MFE = 2.3R and you take 0.8R – you are exiting too early.

The 15-minute workflow – every day

Morning (2 min) – pre-market check:

• Max daily loss set in the platform and written into the journal as 1R daily
• Yesterday’s Mistake tag reviewed – 1 sentence on what you fix today

After every trade (1 min):

• Import / enter: setup, R, SL type, killzone, screenshot
• Mistake? Yes/No – if Yes, pick 1 tag, not 3
• Emotions 1-5 – no faking it

End of day (10 min):

• Close the day: P&L_R, Tilt_Score, Mistake_Cost
• Mark trades A-Quality (a play 100% according to plan) vs B/C
• 1 video of 30-60 sec for every A-Quality and 1 for the worst C – record a Loom, link it to the journal

Weekend (45 min):

• Filter per setup: Expectancy, WinRate, Avg R, number of trades (min 20 to judge)
• Filter per killzone: where you lose
• Filter per mistake: FOMO costs X R per month
• Decision: 1 setup to scale, 1 to kill, 1 rule to add to the plan

Notion as the hub – the KursTradera template

The Notion structure that connects Edgewonk/TraderSync:

Database 1: Trades (CSV import every weekend) – all fields + Rollup
Database 2: Setups – relation to Trades, fields: Expectancy, Trades Count, Avg R, Decision (Scale / Keep / Kill)
Database 3: Weekly Review – template with questions:
  - How much R did I make / lose?
  - How much R did the mistakes cost?
  - Which setup has Expectancy >0.3R?
  - Tilt_Score avg for the week?
  - What do I change next week (max 1 change)?
Database 4: Playbook – 1 page per setup, link to the 3 best and 3 worst trades

Automation: Make.com → when a new CSV file from the broker lands in Drive, add rows to Notion. Setup time 2h, saving of 30 min per week.

Dashboard – what to look at daily

An equity curve per setup, not just the overall one. If the ORB curve is rising while VWAP has been flat for 40 trades, you know what to scale.

When the plan says DO NOT TRADE

• You did not log yesterday’s trades – you do not trade today until yesterday is closed.
• Yesterday’s Mistake_Cost_R >1R – today demo or observation only, max 1R risk.
• Yesterday’s Tilt Score >0.3 – today a break, or only the A-List of 3 tickers and max 2 trades.
• You have <20 trades per setup and you are already changing the rules – you do not trade the new one, you just collect data on the old one.
• The journal shows Expectancy <0 for all setups over the last 30 days – stop, go back to demo for 2 weeks.
• You have no screenshot for >30% of the week’s trades – your review is incomplete, you do not scale size.

The mistakes that cost the most

1. The journal as punishment: You only log losses, because wins “are fine”. Effect: negative bias, you only see mistakes. Solution: make the A-Quality tag mandatory for wins that followed the plan.
2. 40 tags, 0 consequences: You tag everything and filter nothing. Effect: 3h of analysis, zero decisions. Solution: 10 tags max, 3 weekend filters – setup, mistake, killzone.
3. Automatic import without review: TraderSync pulls 50 trades, you add neither Mistake nor Emotion. Effect: P&L statistics without causes. Solution: auto-import + 1 minute of manual tagging per trade, mandatory.
4. No link to the video: A journal without recordings – you do not remember why you moved the SL. Solution: a Session Minute field + a Loom link, mandatory for C-quality.
5. Killing a setup after 8 trades: You have 3 losses and you change the setup. Effect: you never build a sample. Solution: min 30 trades per setup before a Kill decision, min 100 for Scaling.

Measurable exercise

Journal implementation – 21 days.

1. Day 1-2: Install Edgewonk or TraderSync. Import your last 30 trades (if you do not have them – 30 demo trades according to the playbook). Add the 10 fields from the table.
2. Day 3-21: after every trade 1 min of tagging, at the end of the day 10 min of review. Measure:
   • Logging discipline: % of days with a closed journal (target 100%)
   • Weekly Mistake Rate
   • A-Quality Rate
3. End of weeks 1, 2, 3: calculate Expectancy per setup and Tilt Score. Write down 1 decision: Scale / Keep / Kill for every setup.
4. Day 21: add up Mistake_Cost_R over 21 days. If >3R – identify the 1 dominant mistake and add a physical block (for example tape over the Add key, set auto-flatten).
5. Export: build 1 page in Notion: “My 3 setups – data after 21 days” with an Expectancy table.

Test yourself

1. Why is a journal based only on P&L in $ useless for improving your edge, and what does normalising to R give you?
2. List the 10 mandatory fields per trade and explain what MAE/MFE is for.
3. Calculate Expectancy: setup A has 40 trades, WR 45%, AvgWin 1.8R, AvgLoss -1R. Is this setup worth scaling?
4. What does a Tilt Score of 0.4 mean, and what action does your plan take the day after such a result?
5. Why does Edgewonk require manual entry, and why is that an advantage at the start even though TraderSync has auto-sync?

Frequently asked questions

Edgewonk or TraderSync? If you like R-multiple statistics and do not want a subscription – Edgewonk. If you have 5+ brokers and want mobile + auto-sync – TraderSync. The best traders use Edgewonk for analysis and Notion for the playbook.

Do I have to pay for a journal? Yes, it is the cost of running a trading business. 150 EUR once versus the cost of having no data – 3R a month on mistakes you cannot see. The ROI of a journal is the highest of all the tools.

How much time does a journal take? 1 min per trade + 10 min EOD + 45 min at the weekend. If that is too much, you do not have time to be a trader, only to gamble.

What if my broker has no integration? CSV + manual import. 5 minutes a day. No integration is not an excuse, it is a discipline test.

Is Notion enough as a journal? At the start, yes, if you build the formulas on R. Above 200 trades Excel/Notion falls apart on statistics – you need Edgewonk/TraderSync for Expectancy per tag.

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A journal that does not generate one decision a week – “scale/kill/change the rule” – is a diary. A Pro journal generates a decision from a number, not from an emotion.

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