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The Final Tape

Weekly Journal Review Checklist

45-minute ritual + 30-day bootstrap tracker — compliance → expectancy → tag ranking → one rule

Compliance bands

  • Green ≥80%: Process fidelity — learn from outcome second
  • Amber 50–79%: Partial adherence — note which rules broke
  • Red <50%: Out-of-process — exclude from setup-level expectancy

Minimum schema columns

Lock these before trade one (Excel, Notion, or any app):

portfolio_id · setup_name · compliance_% · planned_risk_$ · net_pnl · realized_r · regime_tag · entry_tag · exit_tag · risk_%_version

Step 1: Compliance check (0–10 min)

  • Pull last 20 trades
  • Filter to compliance ≥80%
  • If <70% of book is green, fix logging before reviewing edge

Step 2: R-multiple & expectancy (10–25 min)

  • On filtered rows: calculate expectancy in R
  • Record avg winner R and avg loser R
  • Compare filtered vs full book — green week + negative filtered expectancy = warning

Step 3: Tag ranking on losers (25–35 min)

  • Sort negative tags on losers by frequency × avg R lost
  • Pick top tag as single fix candidate
  • Do not fix three things — fix one

Step 4: One Kill List rule (35–45 min)

  • Write one specific, testable rule tied to top tag
  • Add to Kill List if you use one
  • Example: No manual exit before +1R unless stop is at breakeven

30-day bootstrap tracker

Install the daily log + weekly loop system in four weeks. Check off each item as you go.

Week 1 — Lock schema

  • Lock portfolio and column list
  • Log every trade with compliance % and at least one tag
  • Success: 100% of trades have compliance + tags

Week 2 — First loop

  • Run 45-minute loop on last 20 rows
  • Write Kill List item #1 (specific, testable)
  • Success: one rule written down

Week 3 — Execute

  • Obey Kill List item #1 only
  • Log whether you followed it on every trade
  • Success: rule compliance ≥80%

Week 4 — Compare

  • Run second weekly loop
  • Compare tag frequency and filtered expectancy to week 2
  • Success: Rank 1 tag frequency down OR filtered expectancy up

Full guides: How to Build a Trading Journal That Improves Your Edge · Why Most Trading Journals Lie to You

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