End-of-Day Review: What to Check

7 min read

An end-of-day review turns the day's activity into a habit of continuous improvement, rather than letting each session blur into the next without reflection.

It doesn't need to be elaborate - a short, consistent review tends to be more valuable over time than an occasional, exhaustive one.

Compare outcomes to your morning view

Revisit the view you had at the start of the day and compare it honestly to what actually happened.

Where the two diverged is often more instructive than where they matched, since it points to a gap in the original analysis worth understanding rather than simply confirming what you already believed.

• Morning view: The expectation you formed before the trading day began.
• Honest comparison: Comparing the view against what actually happened, without hindsight bias.
• Divergence is instructive: Where the view and the outcome differed is often the most valuable part to review.

Note the day's genuine catalysts

Record which scheduled or unscheduled events actually moved markets that day, separate from ones that were expected to but didn't.

Over time, this builds a personal sense for which types of events tend to matter most for the instruments you follow, refining your own read beyond any generic guide.

• Genuine catalysts: Events that actually moved the market that day, confirmed after the fact.
• Expected but inert: Noting events expected to matter that ultimately didn't is equally useful.
• Personal pattern recognition: This record builds a refined, instrument-specific sense of what tends to matter.

Set up tomorrow before you close

Finish by glancing at tomorrow's calendar and any key levels left unresolved from today.

So the next session starts with a plan rather than a blank page, carrying forward the context built up during today's review instead of starting from scratch.

• Tomorrow's calendar: A quick look ahead before closing out today's review.
• Unresolved levels: Key levels still in play that carry over into the next session.
• Start with a plan: The goal is to open the next session with context, not a blank page.