The beginnings and Journey of the Trading Journal Spreadsheet

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Come visit the home of TJS.

• We promise to be the missing piece of your trading puzzle.

Tracking your trades doesn't need to be difficult.

Tracking your trading progress with TJS is a rather simple process, and can actually be a lot of fun. More importantly though, with the TJS you'll gain a wealth of knowledge about your own trading habits.

We've spent many years creating and improving the TJS to make the process as easy as possible. Come see what other traders are saying about the Trading Journal Spreadsheet ®

...and then start 'Tracking' your trades today.


TJS trader reviews

TJS News!

Elite "v7" update

Want to know what we've been up to lately? Come check out the great new features and functionality of the all-new TJS Elite "v7".

Click to view "v7" Trading Log 

Click to view "v7" Tracking sheet

Click to view new "TradeSummary" sheet

Just recently, I was asked my recommendation on whether or not I would start my TJS Trading Journal over for the new trading year...

With the New Year (2014) come new expectations, new goals and a chance to reflect on the changes that we need to make going forward. If your plan has changed enough so that the information in your current spreadsheet or journal program is no longer valid, you may want to start anew, while taking the information you've gleaned from the prior sheet and using it to modify what you will (or will not) do... going forward.

Note which of your Performance-tracking categories had a positive expectancy and add those to the new sheet (or journal). For those categories that did not produce a positive income, look at those specific trades to find if there was a common denominator that produced the net losses that you incurred.

If there is no real common denominator, then maybe these type of trades really don't fit your trading style, your personality or you may not truly understand the concept of why you took these trades to begin with. Further study on the specific dynamics involved with these trades may be needed.

Would you like to start ‘anew’ with an updated TJS product file? In recent months, we have spent many 100’s of hours and many Thousands of dollars on coding costs to bring new Features and Functionality (your feedback) to light. 

Please click the following link to view the Update process: http://trading-journal-spreadsheet.com/contact-tjs-update-me/

Need help keeping focused? Lay down your bricks to trading success!

TJS Golden Rules (and/or) Trading Commandments:

• I will be disciplined every day, and in every trade.
• I will be my own trading “self”, never trading another’s plan.

• I love taking small losses.
• I will always earn the right to trade bigger.
• I am not addicted to trading just to see what happens.
• I will only trade high reward setups that have the probabilities in their favor.
• I will be a bricklayer – making the same type of trades over and over again.
• Once I find a setup, I do not hesitate; once in a trade, I do not over analyze.
• I will always keep a detailed trading log/journal and will act upon what it tells me.
• Everything I do will be for the success of my business!!!

This list, and other helpful information, is found on the TJS Trading Plan page - http://trading-journal-spreadsheet.com/trading-plan-example-template-download/

TJS Elite, v5 (update revision)

The new TJS Elite "v5" version will be coming to market shortly! As usual, this will be a free update for current 'Elite' users. 

Here's a really great new feature that is being added for your trade-tracking enjoyment...

The ability to see a customized view of your Equity-curve. No longer is this graph only capable of viewing all cumulative trades. You'll soon be able to view your Equity-curve based on your customized Performance-tracking codes, or a combination of each them.

Lost of other improvements and enhancements are happening as well.

Summer is over, school is back in session and TJS is back in the laboratory... 

creating great new features for the TJS Elite product. Since its release one year ago, the TJS Elite technicians have spent many 100’s of hours adding features & functionality, along with updating all internal links to the new www.Trading-Journal-Spreadsheet.com website.

Some new features that were not in the original TJS Elite release, are:

Minor revision updates:

1) Updated all hyperlinks and pointed them to the new TJS website (most of these links are inside the “Toolbox” sheet).

2) Comment changes.

3) New Data-validation formulas - now compatible for traders using both Excel 2007 and 2010 versions.

Major version updates:

4) File size is now much smaller - Opens and Saves quicker.

5) New 'Calendar' sheet - keep track of important events coming up.

6) TradingLog - New Candlestick (Weekly/Monthly) progress chart.

7) TradingLog - New Equity calculations (Open, Closed, Account).

8) Macro Automation's…
        • TradingLog - 'Quick-click' link to insert new trade rows. 
        • TradingLog - 'Quick-click' link to "Sort" by Exit Date. 
        • TradingLog - 'Quick-click' link to enable/disable the MAE/MFE analysis. 
        • Tracking sheet Category headings, now synced with the TradingLog headers. 

… and soon users will be able to filter their tracking categories to get customized views of their Equity-curve (currently this only works for all ‘cumulative’ trades). 

On the horizon… plans are to help automate the trade input process. We expect that users will be able to export their trade data, then import it to the TJS Trading-log with just a few clicks of the mouse. There are certain restrictions that your broker export file will need to meet, so not all users will be able to utilize the TJS Importer functionality.

If you're a current TJS Elite user and would like to update to the newest v4 version, please click here.


Keep on ‘Tracking’ !

As Microsoft ends its Office Live Small Business domain service (with a gracious 2-month formal notice), we are scrambling to build a new website home for "Trading Journal Spreadsheets".

While still under construction, much work has been completed...enough to get a good feel for the site. For any of those interested, please pay a visit and tell us what you think.

The new site should be live within a few weeks! Please remember this if trying to access links from the current (soon to be old) site.

http://trading-journal-spreadsheet.com/


Many thanks,
Greg

Excel Skills Builder

Although you don’t need to know much about Excel to use the TJS Trading Journal Spreadsheet, I am sometimes asked, “How can I learn more about Excel?”

There are many books on the subject, along with low-cost courses at your local community college but if you’re looking for an easy interactive way to sharpen your Excel skills, Microsoft has put together a set of online tutorials for Excel.

To learn more, click one of the following links:

Excel 2010 Skills Builder
Excel 2007 Skills Builder
Excel 2003 Training


 

New features coming to the TJS Elite!!!  *** Beta testers needed ***
Some noteworthy enhancements are:

1) File size is now much smaller - Opens and Saves quicker.
2) TradingLog - New Candlestick (Weekly/Monthly) progress chart.
3) TradingLog - New Equity calculations (Open, Closed, Account).
4) TradingLog - New "Scale In/Out" icon.
5) Macro Automations

• TradingLog - 'Quick-click' link to insert new trade rows.
• TradingLog - 'Quick-click' link to "Sort" by Exit Date - Great for Swing/Position traders.
• TradingLog - 'Quick-click' link to enable and disable the MAE/MFE analysis columns.
• Tracking sheet Category headings are now synced with the TradingLog Tracking Code headers.
• AUTOMATIC Data-transfer from old file to the new file!

If you are a current TJS Elite (All-in-One) user and would like to get a free advanced beta copy of this v3 version, please contact me at: Greg@TradingSpreadsheets.com

2012

We're now underway in to a New Year and TJS would like to thank you for your support of the TJS products and wish you much happiness, health and prosperity in 2012.

If you've purchased the new TJS Elite, please know that the product collects no moss around here. We are adding some interesting touches to the Elite versions which should be complete within the next month. 100's of hours spent and substantial expenses on outsource coding, but rest assured... these updates are no charge to existing users.

Keep Tracking & Analyzing!

Trading Q and A

Q:  Is there a way to track other things?... I'm working with 'stops', and I want to track the size stop necessary for each trade so as to not get stopped out.


A:  You can certainly track different exit management techniques in the Exit Strategy section of the Tracking sheet. I’ll go into more detail below just in case I didn’t understand your question correctly, and then I’ll comment more just in case there is a hidden question in there somewhere  ;-)

Your Trading "Edge"

In pertaining to the TJS products, your 'edge' can be defined as this: "The TJS will give you the statistical analysis necessary to form the basis of all future decision making processes. The 'edge' simply put, is gaining the confidence knowing your trading plan is working in specific Performance-tracking segments, or knowing when certain aspects of your plan need to be refined, or abolished."

When trading with 'confidence', you are more apt to pulling the trigger each and every time you are presented with an opportunity that your analysis states has a positive expectancy. When trading with confidence and information to back it up, you can justifiably allow for more risk to be taken on those trade-types, gradually increasing your profits over time. Conversely, you will know what is taking away from your bottom-line so your focus can remain on what is working.

...here's to finding your edge!

Trading Progress

“Trading Progress”… Here are some ways to help you achieve the behavior/psychology needed to reach your goals of becoming a competent market trader.

For more on the psychological part of trading, I really recommend reading, “Trading In The Zone” by Mark Douglas. This is one of my few trading "bibles".

What is a trader, you say?

Interesting video I just ran across... sums it all up pretty well. Worth a peek.

Update Excel!

When is the last time you updated Excel or (MS Office)?

If you haven't done so recently, you may want to think about it, especially if you've been incurring issues. Click on the Microsoft "Update Excel" link (above) to download the updates.

You'll also have the ability to set up your updates automatically (from the links on the left side of the Windows Update box).

Quick 'Summary' Using Excel's Status Bar

For those that don't know... Excel displays a very helpful summary in the (lower status bar) window.

Just scroll & highlight any numeric data column and you'll see some interesting calculations come to life:

* Sum
* Average
* Minimum
* Maximum
* Count (# of items)

Unlike a formula entered into a cell, you cannot permanently keep these results in your trading spreadsheet, but when you want a quick answer to a question on your input area, it can't be beat for its quick and instant display.

To change your choice of what the status bar displays, just right-click in the status bar to see your choices (towards the bottom-half), then check or uncheck the ones you want displayed.

Click the image to see an example using the new TJS Elite.

Bye Bye April... Hello May

Bye April, hello May! I hope you all had a successful trading month and are eager to continue (or start) your trade-tracking endeavor.

Remember, success does not always mean being profitable, especially for beginning traders. You can judge your success by how well you followed your trading plan, and how diligent you were in recording ...and reviewing your trades.

Let May be the month where you continue tracking your trades, adding key data needed to properly analyze your results and progress. This data will soon present patterns of mini successes and failures so you know what to focus on, and perhaps... what needs to be abolished.

Remember, I am always here to lend a hand if you need any assistance getting up and running with your TJS Trading Journal Spreadsheet. Don't let the file sit in a dark directory somewhere collecting computer dust. Put the file icon front and center on your desktop. Make it your friend and ally and... create some data!

What's next?

TJS is looking to raise the bar on spreadsheet trade-tracking. We're thinking... all markets from 1-file, menu driven, multiple broker ledger, new design, more tracking capabilities, interactive macros, etc.

What do you think... comments, suggestions... anyone!

You don't need the luck of the Irish when you're trading with a sound trading-plan and tracking your progress with the TJS!

This St. Patrick's Day -- onward, your best chance for success is to follow your plan, track your trades, then adjust your plan when your analysis suggests to do so.

Be disciplined and keep a detailed trade log for consistency and ultimate success.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Greg at TJS