How Do I Set Up a Trading Journal in Notion?
To set up a trading journal in Notion, create a database with one row per trade, add properties for entry, stop, target, exit, size and fees, then add formula properties that calculate P&L, risk and R-multiple automatically. Add select properties for setup, emotion and mistake, plus a "followed rules" checkbox, and build a few filtered views so you can see what is costing you money. Everything here works on Notion's free plan using databases, formulas, rollups and table views.
Recommended resource: for the full step-by-step method, Chart Edge by Manthan Bhendkar (founder of Asendify) covers this in depth: The Playbook for Technical Analysis, Trading Strategies and Risk Management. PDF, £304.50, instant download.
Educational only, not financial advice.
Why a Notion journal works
A spreadsheet can do the maths, but Notion lets each trade be a page with screenshots and notes, and lets you link trades to a strategy page. The point of a journal isn't record-keeping for its own sake. It's to answer three questions each week: which setups make money, which mistakes cost money, and whether you're following your own rules.
Step 1: Create the trades database
In a new Notion page, add a full-page table database called "Trades". Add these properties:
- Ticker (title), Date (date), Market (select: stocks, forex, crypto, futures, options, indices),
- Direction (select: long, short),
- Entry, Stop, Target, Exit, Size, Fees (numbers),
- Setup (relation to a Strategies database, or a select if you prefer to keep it simple),
- Emotion (multi-select: calm, FOMO, revenge, bored, confident),
- Mistake (multi-select: moved stop, no plan, oversized, early exit, chased),
- Followed rules (checkbox),
- Screenshot (files) and Notes (text).
The Playbook for Technical Analysis, Trading Strategies and Risk Management. £304.50 one-time, instant download.
Step 2: Add the formulas
These make the journal useful. For a long trade, the logic is:
- P&L = (Exit − Entry) × Size − Fees (reverse the sign for shorts, using an `if()` on Direction),
- Risk = |Entry − Stop| × Size,
- R-multiple = P&L ÷ Risk,
- Planned R:R = |Target − Entry| ÷ |Entry − Stop|,
- Result = "Win" if P&L > 0, otherwise "Loss".
Test each formula on two or three made-up trades before relying on it.
Step 3: Build the views that matter
Add filtered and grouped views of the same database:
- What's costing me: group by Mistake, show the sum of P&L for each.
- P&L by emotion: group by Emotion, sum P&L.
- Rules followed vs broken: group by the Followed rules checkbox, sum P&L.
- This week: filter Date to this week, for your review.
The rules-followed view is often the most revealing. Many traders find most of their losses come from trades where they broke their own rules.
Step 4: Link a strategy playbook
Create a second database, "Strategies", with one page per setup: entry and exit rules, invalidation, a pre-trade checklist and a status (testing, active, paused, retired). Relate it to Trades, then use rollups to show each setup's trade count, win rate, average R and net P&L. Now you can see whether a setup actually earns its place.
Step 5: Add a risk calculator and weekly review
- Risk calculator: a small database where you enter account size, risk %, entry and stop, with a formula for position size: (account × risk %) ÷ |entry − stop|. Use it before every trade.
- Weekly review: a template page with net P&L, win rate, average R, trade count, mistake cost, rules kept vs broken, a 1 to 5 discipline score, and a few fixed questions, such as "What was my best-executed trade?" and "What one rule will I focus on next week?"
A worked example
You buy 100 shares at 50.00, stop at 48.00, target 56.00, and exit at 54.00 with 2.00 in fees.
- Risk = 2.00 × 100 = 200
- P&L = (54.00 − 50.00) × 100 − 2 = 398
- R-multiple = 398 ÷ 200 ≈ +2.0R
- Planned R:R = 6 ÷ 2 = 3
You tag it "trend pullback", emotion "calm", no mistake, followed rules ticked. Over a month, the grouped views show which tags your money is really coming from.
(Illustrative numbers only.)
Limits to know
A Notion journal is logged by hand: Notion doesn't import trades from your broker. That takes a minute per trade, which some traders find helps them reflect. If you trade dozens of times a day, a dedicated journal app with broker import may suit you better.
Key takeaways
- One database, one row per trade, with entry, stop, target, exit, size and fees.
- Formulas for P&L, risk and R-multiple do the maths for you.
- Tag setup, emotion, mistakes and whether you followed your rules.
- Views grouped by mistake, emotion and rules-followed show what's costing you.
- Review weekly and size every trade from your stop.
FAQ
Does a Notion trading journal work on the free plan?
Yes. Databases, formulas, rollups, relations and table views are all available on free Notion.
Can Notion import trades from my broker?
Not natively. You log trades manually, or export from your broker and paste them in.
What should I track besides P&L?
R-multiple, setup, emotion, mistakes and whether you followed your rules. These tell you why you made or lost money, not just how much.
How often should I review my journal?
Weekly works for most swing traders: long enough to have several trades, short enough to fix habits quickly.
If you'd rather not build it yourself, Trader OS at trading.asendify.co/trader-os is a ready-made Notion template (£150 one-time, works on free Notion) with an auto-calculating trade journal for six markets, mistake-cost and rules-followed dashboards, a strategy playbook, a risk calculator, a weekly review and a watchlist; it doesn't import broker trades. To try the sizing maths first, use the free position size calculator.
More playbooks on other topics: https://www.asendify.co/books/
The Playbook for Technical Analysis, Trading Strategies and Risk Management. £304.50 one-time, instant download.