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Emotion tags in your trading journal: a simple 5-tag system and what to look for

How to tag your emotions on each trade with only five tags, and which patterns to look for in the Emotions report: fear, greed, frustration, boredom and calm.

2026-11-04 · 3 min read · ICC Zillas

Most traders know that emotions affect results, but few have proof. Writing "I felt bad" in a diary does not give you numbers. A tag on every trade does. After a few weeks you can see which feelings cost you money and which ones do not.

Why tags work better than long notes

A long note takes time, so you skip it on the days you need it most. A tag takes two seconds. In ICC Zillas you can tag the setup, the mistakes and your emotions on each trade, and each tag gets its own report (the guide shows where). The Emotions report then puts the same feeling from many trades side by side, so you can compare results.

A simple 5-tag system

More tags mean more choices and less honesty. Start with five:

  1. Calm. I followed my plan and did not care much about the outcome.
  2. Fear. I hesitated, closed early or skipped a valid setup.
  3. Greed. I moved a target, added size or held past my plan.
  4. Frustration. I was angry about a previous loss or a missed move.
  5. Bored. Nothing was happening, and I traded anyway.

Tag at the time of entry if you can, or right after you close. Do not tag with hindsight. A winning trade can still be a frustration trade, and that is exactly the kind of habit that is hard to see otherwise.

What patterns to look for

Calm trades versus all others

Compare the average R of calm trades with the rest. If calm trades are clearly better, the lesson is not "be calm", which is not an instruction. The lesson is to find what makes you calm: smaller size, fewer trades, a checked plan.

Frustration after a loss

Filter the frustration trades and check their timing. If they come right after a losing trade, this is the pattern described in revenge trading and overtrading. A written stop-trading rule is the usual answer.

Fear and early exits

Fear trades often show winners cut short. Compare the R you took with the R your plan allowed. Your payoff ratio will explain why a good win rate can still give a weak result (see win rate vs risk-reward).

Greed and size

Check whether greed trades have bigger size than normal. One oversized trade can wipe out a week of work.

Boredom and low-quality setups

Bored trades usually have no setup tag or a vague one. If many trades have an emotion tag but no setup, you are trading feelings, not a plan.

Turn the data into one rule

Do not try to fix all five feelings at once. Each week, pick the one tag with the worst result and write one small rule:

Review the result at your weekly review. Did the rule change the tag counts?

Be fair with small samples

Ten fear trades say little. Wait for 30 or more trades per tag before drawing hard conclusions, and look for patterns that repeat over several weeks. Also be honest: tags only help if you pick the true one.

Get started

Open the app, tag your next 20 trades with the five tags above and check the Emotions report. If you use a prop firm account, add the tags to your prop firm journal as well.

Trading carries a high risk of losing money. This article is education, not financial advice, and no rule or tool guarantees that you pass a challenge or make a profit.

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