# How to Journal Rule Compliance and Errors

> Tracking your mistakes is more important than tracking your wins. Learn how to log rules compliance and analyze trading errors.

**Tags:** rules, errors, discipline, self-evaluation
**URL:** https://traderjournal.app/trading-plans/how-to-journal-rule-compliance-and-errors

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# How to Journal Rule Compliance and Errors

Most traders fail not because their strategy is bad, but because they cannot follow their own rules. They enter trades too early due to FOMO, exit too early due to fear, or risk too much capital on a single setup.

To fix these behaviors, you must track your rule compliance and categorize your errors.

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## Categorizing Trading Errors

When you make a trade that violates your plan, log it with a specific mistake tag. Common tags include:

- **FOMO Entry:** Entering a trade without confirmation because you are afraid of missing the move.
- **Revenge Trade:** Entering a trade immediately after a loss to make your money back.
- **Over-Sized:** Risking more than your plan's allowed percentage.
- **Moved Stop:** Moving your stop loss wider to avoid getting stopped out.

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## Calculating the Cost of Mistakes

At the end of the month, calculate the financial cost of your mistakes.
- How much money did you lose on trades tagged "fomo-entry"?
- How much did you lose on "revenge-trade"?

Seeing the actual dollar amount you lost due to lack of discipline is a powerful motivator to follow your rules.

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## Enforcing Accountability

The simple act of knowing you have to write down your mistake in your journal before you enter an impulsive trade can help prevent the behavior entirely.

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Trader Journal for MT4 and MT5 allows you to tag and filter trades by errors, showing you the exact cost of your mistakes over time.

Download it today at android.traderjournal.app or ios.traderjournal.app.