Notes & trading journal — the process that turns analysis into discipline

Core idea

If you just click back and forth through timeframes on the chart and think it all through in your head, your emotions will automatically go looking for evidence to justify whatever you're already expecting, and will blur out the opposite direction — especially when the market is at 50/50. The act of writing it out by hand on paper slows the rhythm down, forces your reasoning mind to do the work, and automatically strips out most of the influence of greed and expectation. The teacher still writes every day even after years of trading, including for the Monthly timeframe — something that only closes one candle a month.

Details

Why you have to write it down

The justification mechanism is very specific:

• You're holding a short → your psychology generates the expectation that price will fall → your eyes automatically filter for evidence supporting the fall.
• The market is actually at 50/50 → if you don't write it down, emotion will blur out the other half → you lose clarity and make a decision that isn't objective.
• Once you write it into a table, the up-vs-down ratio shows up as an actual number → emotion can't argue back against that. "Whatever state the market is actually in, that's exactly what you have to write down."

This is also the answer to the most common complaint students have: "I understand the knowledge completely, whatever you analyze I follow along with, but when I try to analyze it myself I can't produce a scenario." → Because they're only clicking through timeframes and judging it verbally in their head.

THE 3-STEP ANALYSIS PROCESS (the compiled version, confirmed correct by the teacher)

Step 1 — A market overview by EACH timeframe, going from large down to small. Go through them in order: 1M → 3W/2W/1W → 6D…2D → 1D → H16, H12 → H6, H4 → H2, H1 → 45m, 30m → 15m, 5m, 1m.

• Timeframes with the same character get grouped together ("2D→6D: in a falling state").
• Write down the state it's CURRENTLY in, not the state you predict it'll be in. If RSI is rising but gradually being pulled down, write "rising but being pulled down gradually" — you're not allowed to write "falling."
• Add a note on force: "rising but hasn't reached the 60 zone yet → buying pressure isn't strong yet", "the previous high wasn't very high, the previous low wasn't very low → if it turns down it slides into sideways very easily."

Step 2 — Find which timeframes HAVE EVIDENCE.

• A sideways timeframe = no evidence → cross it off the scale entirely, no need to consider it. Write it straight out: "H4–H6: sideways, no evidence to observe."
• Only a timeframe with a clear pattern (RSI has a slope, the two moving averages are diverging) is a timeframe worth holding onto.

The image the teacher uses: three people voting, two say go down, and the third sits silent with no opinion → the decision belongs to the two who have a clear stance. A sideways timeframe is the one sitting silent.

Step 3 — Weigh the evidence for up vs. down on both sides, then decide.

• Leaning toward one side → decide in that direction.
• 50/50 → DON'T decide. Stand aside.

What exactly to write

a) A multi-timeframe state table (the main part, laid out as a list-style table).

b) Notes on how the timeframes correlate with each other — this is the part that produces the scenario. A sample example from the session:

"1D is falling → it could pull 1W down. But if 1D bounces back up, that bounce is exactly 1W's test leg. If 1D finishes bouncing and turns back down — that's the stretch where 1D and 1W both fall hard together."

c) A conclusion on your lean + the flip condition:

"Given 1D's current downtrend, every timeframe below 1D should always favor a short trade — until 1D narrows in (point 2), at which point you need to start being careful with short trades."

d) HAND-DRAW the RSI pattern and the expected price path. This has a double effect:

• It builds logical thinking through imagery, imprinting the pattern into your brain.
• When you draw by hand, your emotion slows way down, giving your reasoning mind time to work things out → the scenario comes out clearer.
• Most important of all: it imprints the entire chart into your head for that whole day. After that, wherever you go, one glance at your phone tells you exactly where price sits within your scenario — you're not reactive, and price doesn't drag your emotions along with it.

e) An "affirmation about yourself" — write one every day, to remind yourself and stay calm. → the trading iceberg

Frequency & ritual

• 1–2 times a day. The teacher does it twice: once in the morning, once in the afternoon/evening.
• Fix the time as a ritual — for example, sitting down to write at exactly 7am. Don't let emotion get to weigh in on "do I feel like writing today?" — if it's a rule, you do it, no thinking about it.
• Duration: once you're used to it, ~30 minutes; before that, ~1 hour. That's normal, not wasted time. What actually takes time isn't clicking through timeframes — it's the work of logically tying them all together.

THE TRADE JOURNAL (how one top student in the group does it)

Directly on the TradingView chart, marking every past position:

Each mark is attached with a trade-journal note. The advantage: when reviewing, you look straight at that trade's real chart context instead of reading plain text → you draw the lesson much faster.

Write it in right away, don't let it pile up: on any day you enter a trade, log it into the notebook immediately, both at entry and at exit.

POST-TRADE REVIEW — the "pen, paper, and candles" exercise

Do this in the evening of the same day, for every trade you've closed. The core question isn't "did this trade profit or lose" — it's:

Why wasn't I able to take profit at the optimal level? How many points off was I? Because of which action of mine? Next time, at what zone could I have taken profit right away to optimize it?

Along with this: observe your emotions during that trade (irritated the wave didn't keep falling? regretful you couldn't take profit at that wick?).

The principle for observing your emotions: you yourself, and your psychology/emotions, are two separate entities. Emotion is just like a friend sitting next to you — observe it, don't equate it with yourself. Saying "I am an irritable person / I am a stressed person" is equating the two, and once you've equated them, you can't get out. Separate the two and the emotion passes through very quickly.

BACKTESTING THE RIGHT WAY — the most common error

Wrong: "I see this timeframe's RSI pattern looking exactly like this zone in the past, so I think price will move the same way."

Why this is wrong: the same H1 pattern can play out differently, because

• H1 in phase with H4/1D/H12 → price moves one way;
• H1 out of phase with H4/1D → price moves a different way;
• H4 sideways while 1D is in agreement → yet another way again.

Correct: MULTI-TIMEFRAME BACKTESTING. You're only allowed to compare when the correlated position of the whole cluster of timeframes matches: H1 alike, and at the same time H4 alike, H12 alike, 1D alike. Matching on just one single timeframe has no value.

Along with this comes a root principle found in every trading book: each point in time is independent.

REVIEWING — each pass has to go deeper than the last

• The first pass, you absorb at most ~30%. That's the figure the teacher gives, not a throwaway line.
• The 2nd pass has to be more thorough than the 1st; the 3rd more thorough than the 2nd; the 4th more thorough than the 3rd.
• The point of reviewing isn't repeating what you already know — it's finding the key details you missed the previous time.
• The mindset of "I already know this" is what kills a review pass. Putting on headphones to let it run in the background while you do something else = zero effect.
• Quality over quantity. One video over two days done properly beats two videos in one day. "No one's going to tax you for the time you take." If you only have 2 hours a day, then just go slower than someone with 4 hours — that's fine.
• When someone's analysis is wrong, the teacher's answer is the same for 10 out of 10 students: go review the knowledge again. There's no shortcut.

The habit of watching trades & alerts

Before you start watching: you must have already written out the scenario and hand-drawn the expected chart (item d above). Once you have the scenario in your head, you don't need to keep your eyes glued to the screen.

Checking rhythm: the teacher checks once an hour; in an important stretch, once every 30 minutes. If you see the timeframes still tangled up out of phase with each other, or the target timeframe's RSI still expanding → you know there's still a lot of ground to cover before reaching the entry point, so just take it easy.

Setting Alerts on TradingView / the exchange app:

• Set them at the 0.5 fibo zone of the current wave, or at the base of a significant candle (a candle with a long body and strong volume — the base of that candle is a zone worth watching).
• Alerts are NOT used to automatically cut a trade. An alert is only there to remind you to open the chart and see what's happening.
• The stop-loss must still be set according to the price structure that has already formed, not shifted along with fibo. → moving the stop-loss
• Cutting a trade early must have a basis: only cut when the up-trending nature/state of H1 and H4 has actually changed. If price comes back to test that zone while the uptrend's nature is still intact → there's no reason at all to exit. Cutting just because price hasn't reached the stop yet is completely wrong.

VOLUME IN YOUR NOTES — the law of cause and effect

Volume only has relative meaning, not an absolute quantitative one. It may only be compared against adjacent waves, never against some zone far away on the chart.

The law of cause and effect (from Wyckoff theory): the result has to be proportionate to the cause.

The general rule: a wave running hard with weak volume behind it → there's definitely a problem. A wave running with rising volume behind it → you can feel more secure about that wave.

Three questions you must write out before clicking long/short

These three questions must be written out on paper, not just asked in your head — asking in your head lets emotion answer on your behalf, and it answers very fast:

1. Why do I need to play this particular wave?
2. What's the probability of success for this decision?
3. What if there's an even better wave right after this one?

Question 1 filters out trades entered out of boredom/regret. Question 2 forces you back onto evidence instead of feeling. Question 3 is a direct dose of medicine for FOMO and for the fear of missing out (the rush psychology when entering a trade, knowledge is enough, the rest is hours spent building grit, the section "the goal is making money, not entering a lot of trades").

Along with this is the rule already given above, restated: the two-column table of favors up / favors down, leaning toward whichever side and acting on that side — and if 50/50, write one extra line: "no decision is to be made in this zone." Once written down, emotion can't argue against the fact ("H1 sideways, H4 sideways" is four words that shut down every "but what if it pulls up" argument on the spot).

The frequency of this "pen, paper, candles" exercise: 1–2 times a week (or any time it feels needed) — it acts as your own personal Monday kickoff and end-of-week wrap-up. Making mistakes at this stage is normal; what deserves blame is knowing about a problem and not correcting it.

Putting it into practice

A daily note-taking template (handwritten or typed, 30–60 minutes):

DATE ___  PASS ___ (morning/evening)

A. MULTI-TIMEFRAME STATE TABLE (large → small)
   1M      : ___ (which sensitive point number, if any?)
   2W/3W   : ___
   1W      : ___
   6D–2D   : ___ (grouped if same character)
   1D      : ___  ← usually the timeframe with the clearest evidence
   H16/H12 : ___
   H6/H4   : ___
   H2/H1   : ___
   45m/30m : ___
   15m/5m  : ___

B. WHICH TIMEFRAMES HAVE EVIDENCE? ___   WHICH ARE SIDEWAYS (skip)? ___

C. WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE:  favors UP ___ | favors DOWN ___  → leaning toward: ___ / 50-50 → stand aside

D. CORRELATION & SCENARIO: (write it as sentences, with the flip condition)
   ___________________________________________

E. HAND-DRAW: the RSI pattern on the decision timeframe + the expected price path

F. TODAY'S LEAN: favor ___ trades until ___ , then switch

G. AFFIRMATION ABOUT MYSELF: ___

A post-trade review template (each evening):

Trade: long/short, timeframe ___, entered ___ , stop ___ , exited ___

1. Which case did I enter under? Was there enough evidence?
2. Where did I take profit? Where should the OPTIMAL exit point have been? Off by ___ points.
3. Which of my actions/thoughts caused me to miss the optimal point?
4. Next time I see this context, what sign would let me take profit right away?
5. Emotions during the trade: ___ (observe, don't equate with yourself)

Longer cycles:

• Mark red/green/gray onto the chart + notes → your personal backtesting archive.
• End of month: gather up the wrong trades, diagnose which stage you're in from 20 investing rules | the 3 stages of improving your trading.

What the teacher stresses / common traps

• Writing it down is so "whatever state the market is actually in, you have to answer exactly that." Once your hand writes it down, emotion can no longer make excuses.
• Write down the real state, not the state you want. Seeing RSI gradually being pulled down and hastily writing "falling" is already bending the data at the very first step.
• Four factors have an order: knowledge → thinking → tactics → psychology. If you haven't locked down the first three, "having a psychology problem" is an inevitable consequence, not a personal flaw. If your knowledge isn't locked down, you hesitate while analyzing → you lose confidence when deciding.
• Body – Mind – Wisdom: you can only directly control the "body." If you want to change your mind and your wisdom, you have to put the body to work, diligently and persistently. Sitting in one place hoping your mind changes on its own is unreasonable. Immediate application: negative emotion → put on your running shoes and run for 30 minutes, and most of it will dissolve (heart rate and oxygen get redirected to the physical activity, dopamine releases and overrides the negative neurotransmitters).
• Discipline has to be a ritual, not a choice. At the fixed time, you sit down and do it — no deliberation.
• Don't race against other people. Comparing your pace to someone else's is a disguised form of breaking discipline.
• Backtesting the wrong way is more dangerous than not backtesting at all — because it builds false confidence, and you'll apply that to a real trade.
• A subtle trap when evaluating a pattern that's still forming: a pattern can only be evaluated from its starting point to its ending point. While it's still running in the middle, you don't yet know where it ends → no one should be making a decision at that point at all.

A MARKET-MOVEMENT JOURNAL — completely different from a trade journal

The teacher reads back the view of the author of The Way of Trading: the author does not keep a journal in the style of "how did I trade today, how did I feel." What he cares about most is every movement the market makes each day + how he himself perceives and interprets that movement — what ran, what didn't run, and why.

Why this layer of note-taking matters more than a trade journal: a trade journal only has data on the days you actually have a trade — a very small slice of the total time. A movement journal has data every single day, including days spent standing aside. Day after day, week after week, the mistakes · the unclear signals · the days of "not knowing how to trade at all" get reviewed on the chart, stitched together, and repeated behavior gets recognized → producing a feel for the market — something no model can ever describe.

The direct consequence: waiting without observing = wasted time. Standing aside correctly but sitting there doing nothing means your learning stands still too. The teacher says it plainly: if you're not studying the market while you wait, you should stop trading and change your method of learning sooner rather than letting it drag on.

An example of the level of detail: today the wave only ran below H1 → observe exactly that cluster to learn how price moves there, rather than sitting and waiting for a "big signal" and leaving the whole day blank.

Patience across multiple layers (the order the teacher lists them in — many people never even get past the first layer):

1. Patience to learn.
2. Patience to keep your capital small until you're winning consistently.
3. Patience to wait for the best opportunity.
4. Patience with losses and with heated words (both your own and other people's).

A tool note: the teacher mentions using a read-and-resurface app (the captions catch "read White / Miss White" — most likely Readwise) so that passages from a book resurface occasionally, since no one remembers an entire book. Careful: The app's name is a guess based on garbled captions.

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