VSAAcademy

Management · Intermediate worksheet

Trade Management Log

Record how the trade behaves after entry: confirmation, failure, effort/result changes, management decisions and rule compliance.

Record how the trade behaves after entry: confirmation, failure, effort/result changes, management decisions and rule compliance.

CategoryManagement
LevelIntermediate
Use typeProcess control
Signal statusNot a signal

Use note

This worksheet is an educational process-control template. It does not produce signals, recommendations or guaranteed outcomes. Record real decisions honestly; do not rewrite the journal after the result is known.

Purpose

To stop post-entry decision-making from becoming emotional. This log makes management evidence-based rather than outcome-based.

Best used when

  • After entry
  • During staged exits
  • When price gives new VSA evidence
  • When tempted to interfere with the plan

Core fields

  • Entry thesis
  • Current bar evidence
  • Volume change
  • Spread/result change
  • Stop adjustment rule
  • Partial exit rule
  • Management action
  • Reason
  • Rule compliance

Worksheet checklist

Questions to answer before the decision is accepted

Workflow

Step-by-step use

  1. 1

    Write the original thesis.

  2. 2

    At each decision point, record the new evidence.

  3. 3

    Classify it as confirm, weaken or invalidate.

  4. 4

    Choose the management action from the pre-written plan.

  5. 5

    Record whether the action followed the rule.

Scoring rubric

  • 5 = every management action evidence-led
  • 3 = mostly rule-based but some discomfort decisions
  • 1 = unmanaged emotional reaction

Red flags

  • Taking profit only because candle colour changed
  • Moving stop to avoid a loss
  • Adding because of confidence rather than evidence
  • Ignoring a failure to follow through

Practice task

Use this log on five replay trades. Do not judge by profit; judge by whether management followed evidence and plan.

Printable worksheet

Use this area for your own notes

Source notes

These sources inform the vocabulary, process framing, and risk discipline. The worksheet itself is an educational journaling tool, not financial advice.