Create a record that preserves the difference between what you knew at the time and what you learned later. No account balance, broker login or personal financial data is needed.
A record is more useful than a memory
After seeing an outcome, it is easy to make an earlier decision sound more obvious than it felt. A practice journal gives you an earlier version to compare with. It does not prove that a method works; it helps you ask more precise questions about your process.
The simplest useful entry is a short paragraph written before the outcome is known. Name the exercise, the available information and your assumption. Leave space for a later review rather than editing the original entry to fit what happened.
Five columns worth keeping
| Column | What to write | An invented example |
|---|---|---|
| Question | The narrow concept you are studying. | What can one candle tell me? |
| Observation | What is directly in the supplied data. | Open 100; close 104; high 106; low 98. |
| Assumption | An interpretation that goes beyond those facts. | I expect the next interval to rise. |
| Missing information | What would help you assess that assumption. | A defined test and examples where it fails. |
| Review | What you learned and what you would change. | The expectation was not established by this candle. |
Record the question before the answer
Try completing the first four columns while reading the open candle lesson. Use factual language in the observation column. Put any prediction in the assumption column, where it can be questioned rather than quietly treated as evidence.
You can add a date, the source of the example and the interval being studied. For paper order exercises, record the assumed fees and quantities. Avoid collecting irrelevant detail simply because a spreadsheet has spare columns.
Review the process, not just the result
A favourable hypothetical result does not show that the reasoning was sound. An unfavourable result does not, on its own, show that the reasoning was careless. Ask whether your entry distinguished fact from assumption, stated limitations and used the information available at the time.
Then choose one practical change. “State the execution assumption before calculating” is a clearer action than “be more disciplined”. Keep the next change small enough that you can tell whether you actually made it.
A ten-minute review ritual
- Read your original entry without changing it.
- Underline one statement that was an observation.
- Circle one statement that was an assumption.
- Add the missing information you can now identify.
- Write one question for your next exercise.
If you practise with a partner, exchange only the learning notes you are comfortable sharing. Do not send account statements, passwords or personal financial information.
A worksheet, ready to use
The free CSV below includes a header, one clearly labelled hypothetical example and an empty row for your own paper exercise. Open it in Excel, Numbers or another spreadsheet application. The file contains no macros or external connections.
Download the journal CSVYou can also print this note or save it as a PDF from your browser.
Keep the limits in view
A journal is an organisational aid, not a performance record, certificate or guarantee of improvement. The useful habit is to preserve your thinking, notice its limits and return with a better question.
Authorship & method
This is an original Courtyard worksheet and suggested self-study process. It makes no scientific claim about learning speed or investment outcomes. The example uses the invented candle from our open lesson. No external research or customer results are asserted.