Before the open: 5 minutes
Write your bias in one sentence, mark the key levels, and describe two scenarios: what you do if price goes one way, and what you do if it goes the other. Set your max loss and max trades for the day, and check the economic releases scheduled during your session.
During the session: one line per trade
Log each trade right after you close it: time, contract, size, entry, exit, result in R, and whether it was in your plan. Answer your discipline checklist honestly. If you hit your max loss or max trades, the session is over.
After the close: 60 seconds
Three questions are enough: what went well, one thing to improve tomorrow, and did you follow your plan. Rate your discipline from 1 to 5. Keep it short so you do it every day.
Every Friday: the weekly review
Look at the week as a whole: P&L, win rate, trades in your plan, best and worst day. Find the one mistake that cost you the most, and turn it into one rule for next week. One rule, not five.
Why it works
The routine separates what you control from what you don’t. Over weeks, your journal shows which setups, sessions and habits actually make or cost you money, in your own numbers.