A trading plan is the document you obey when the chart is exciting. If it only exists in your head, it will change every session.
Mine is one page plus the checklist. If it needs a binder, I will not read it at the open.
What the page must contain
1. Style and hours
Swing or session. Which clock I am allowed to trade. “Whenever I am free” is how swing rules die at 9:31. See day vs swing and opening range.
2. Markets
A short list. Five names, not the whole universe. Watchlist note.
3. Setup definitions
Each setup in one sentence: when it is valid, when it is not. If I cannot say it without a screenshot, it is not defined yet. New setups start at reduced size: first 20 trades.
4. Risk
Percent per idea, daily cap, correlated-as-one rule. Full version: risk management.
5. News mode
Sit, cut, or flatten — chosen the night before, not in the 3-minute candle. News-day rules.
6. Kill and review
When a method is retired. When the month gets its 45 minutes. Kill criteria and monthly review.
Psychology belongs on the page as rules, not slogans
Useful:
– No add to a loser
– No size-up after two winners in a day
– No new risk after the daily cap
Not useful:
– “Stay disciplined”
– “Think like an institution”
If a line cannot be checked yes/no, it is decoration. The longer version of the mental side is psychology and FOMO.
Tools I actually need
– One charting place
– One ticket place
– One journal
– One calendar
That is the stack. Reviews of extra software can wait. A longer list lives in free tools. None of those tools replace the one-page plan.
How the plan changes
Once a month, after the review, I may change one line. I do not rewrite the plan because Thursday was red. A plan that moves every day is a mood.
Write the current page. Date it. Put it where you see it before the platform. If you cannot find it, you do not have a plan. You have an intention.