The weekly review
Find the mistake you repeat, with your own numbers. · 8 min
Predict first
Your week: 11 calm charts averaged a process score of 79; 9 charts tagged revenge averaged 30. The week lost 15R. What is the one change for next week?
Once a week, read your journal back. Not every day: one day holds too few charts to show anything. Not every month: by then the same mistake has been made fifty times. A week of practice is enough charts to see a pattern and soon enough to change it.
Four questions, in this order
- Process by state. Average process score for each emotion tag, with the number of charts behind each figure. Rows with fewer than three charts say nothing yet.
- The mistake that repeats. Count rule breaks: no plan, stop moved, limit ignored, chased entry, size too big, profit taken early.
- Process against result. Compare the average R of well-run charts with badly run ones, and remember how much luck one week holds (lesson E1).
- One change. Pick the drill or lesson that fixes the top mistake. One change can be practised and measured next week.
Brett Steenbarger describes the trader as their own coach: someone who keeps records, looks for what repeats, and sets one specific goal at a time. Here is that review on an example week.
Example journal, invented data Week 1: 30 charts, total −8R, average process 63/100.
1. Process by state
| Tag | Charts | Avg process | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| calm | 14 | 83 | −3R |
| fearful | 2 | 58 | −2R |
| rushed | 7 | 53 | −4R |
| overconfident | 2 | 50 | +1R |
| revenge | 5 | 31 | 0R |
Greyed rows have fewer than three charts: too few to say anything about.
calm charts averaged 83; revenge charts averaged 31, on 5 charts. That gap, not the week's R, is the finding.
2. The mistake that repeats
- No written plan × 4. Write entry, stop and target before the next candle.
- Took profit early × 2. Cutting winners lowers the payoff the edge was built on.
- Chased the entry × 1. Entering far from the plan shrinks reward and grows risk.
3. Process against result
Charts with process 70 or more: 13, averaging −0.1R. Below 50: 9, averaging −0.4R. With ten or so charts each, luck can flip this in any one week; the process gap is the steadier signal.
4. Next week
One change only: fix no written plan.Lesson: Think in RDrill: Reward-to-risk
See the journal (30 rows)
| # | Day | Tag | Process | Result | Rule breaks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon | calm | 88 | −1R | – |
| 2 | Mon | calm | 67 | −1R | – |
| 3 | Mon | revenge | 27 | −1R | No written plan, Session limit ignored |
| 4 | Mon | calm | 83 | +1R | Took profit early |
| 5 | Mon | rushed | 49 | −1R | No written plan |
| 6 | Mon | calm | 88 | +2R | – |
| 7 | Tue | revenge | 25 | −1R | – |
| 8 | Tue | rushed | 61 | −1R | – |
| 9 | Tue | calm | 70 | −1R | – |
| 10 | Tue | fearful | 62 | −1R | Took profit early |
| 11 | Tue | rushed | 65 | +2R | – |
| 12 | Tue | fearful | 54 | −1R | – |
| 13 | Wed | calm | 91 | −1R | – |
| 14 | Wed | revenge | 34 | +2R | – |
| 15 | Wed | rushed | 52 | −1R | No written plan |
| 16 | Wed | calm | 94 | −1R | – |
| 17 | Wed | revenge | 48 | +2R | – |
| 18 | Wed | revenge | 20 | −2R | Size too big |
| 19 | Thu | calm | 90 | −1R | – |
| 20 | Thu | rushed | 49 | −1R | Chased the entry, No written plan |
| 21 | Thu | calm | 81 | +2R | – |
| 22 | Thu | overconfident | 60 | +2R | – |
| 23 | Thu | rushed | 54 | −1R | – |
| 24 | Thu | overconfident | 40 | −1R | – |
| 25 | Fri | calm | 89 | −1R | – |
| 26 | Fri | calm | 73 | −1R | – |
| 27 | Fri | rushed | 42 | −1R | – |
| 28 | Fri | calm | 77 | +2R | – |
| 29 | Fri | calm | 93 | −1R | – |
| 30 | Fri | calm | 76 | −1R | – |
Worked example: weight by charts
The rushed charts cost 30 points each. Four of them pulled the week down by 7.5 points: that is the number to bring to next week, not the week's R.
Common mistake: reviewing by profit. A winning week can hide the bad-process, good-result box, and a losing week can be mostly bad luck. Grade the decisions, count the charts, then change one thing.
Check your understanding
Calm: 12 charts averaging 80. Rushed: 4 charts averaging 50. What is the week’s average?
Why review process scores by state instead of profit by state?
Bored charts scored 41 on average, from 2 charts. What do you conclude?
How many changes should the review produce?
Closing round
Open your progress page and read your simulator results the same way: how many trades, the longest losing run, and whether it is normal at your win rate (the calculator in lesson E1 checks it). Then play one session with the pre-session checklist and note your mood for each chart.
The journal shown here is invented example data, labelled as such. Further reading: Steenbarger, The Daily Trading Coach.