YOUR PRE-TRADE ROUTINE
A pre-trade routine you can actually repeat
A trading plan is useful only if you return to it. Your pre-trade routine can be simple: choose the rules that matter today, read or listen to them, and decide what would make you step away.
Start with your existing plan
You do not need a new strategy for this exercise. Open the rules you already use. Pick the ones that address your recurring mistakes: entering without a clear reason, changing the plan mid-trade, or trying to make back a loss immediately.
Make each reminder actionable
“Be disciplined” is hard to act on. “If this trade is not in my plan, I skip it” gives you a decision to make. Write reminders in your own words. Keep each one short enough to understand in a single listen.
Choose the moment, not just the intention
Attach the routine to something you already do, such as opening your charts at the start of a session. Listen before you begin looking for an entry. If a rule no longer fits your plan, review it when you are away from the pressure of an open decision.
Repeat, then review
After the session, ask which reminder was useful and which was too vague. Keep the useful wording. Rewrite the unclear part. The aim is a routine you can come back to, not a longer and longer list.
Try a spoken reminder
Before my first trade, I review the rules I chose while calm.
Uses available voices on your device.
Turn this guide into one action
- Write your situation and one action below.
- Copy the sentence into the app’s add-principle screen and save it.
- Read or listen to that principle before your next trading session.
Notes are not saved or sent to a server. Print or save as PDF before leaving. This checklist is not a score for deciding whether to trade.
Make the words your own.
In Principle Keeper, save your own rules, select the ones you need today, and listen before you start. Personal rules do not require an account.
Explore the listening routine ↗Your personal principles stay on your device. Share only what you choose.