Keeping a journal is one of the most effective ways to get better at trading, period. Many beginning traders, and I would suspect, failing traders, think that keeping a journal is just a hassle, but it is the most effective learning tool I have ever used. It's nice to learn about indicators and trading methods, but they are useless if you have no way of knowing how well they have worked for you. Knowing what is working or more importantly, being able to go back objectively and see what is not working is extremely valuable.