How to Review Your Trades Every Week
A weekly trade review is the single highest-return-on-investment practice available to improving traders. Here's the exact process.
Tutorials · April 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Most traders review trades only when something goes wrong — after a big loss or a string of losses. This is like only checking your car's oil when the engine starts smoking. Weekly trade review, done consistently whether the week was good or bad, builds the cumulative self-knowledge that separates improving traders from those who plateau indefinitely.
The Weekly Review Structure
Step 1: Export or open your journal for the week. List all trades. Step 2: For each trade, ask: Did the entry meet my plan criteria exactly? Did I manage the position according to my plan? Was the outcome driven by skill (good analysis, good execution) or luck (correct direction but poor execution)? Step 3: Identify the one thing you did best this week and the one thing you most need to improve. Write both down specifically — not 'I need to be more patient' but 'I need to wait for a candle close before entering.'
Building Over Time
The weekly review compounds. After four weeks, patterns emerge. After a quarter, you have enough data to make statistically meaningful changes to your approach. After a year, you have a detailed record of your development as a trader that is impossible to construct from memory alone. The time investment is 30–45 minutes per week. The return — faster development, fewer repeated mistakes, clearer understanding of your actual edge — is substantial.
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