Paper journals versus screens when reviewing historical bars
Scrolling feels fast; handwriting forces decisions. Why our technical analysis rooms still keep a paper option beside the monitor.
Digital charts are essential for history. They are also frictionless in the wrong way: zoom, skip, rationalise, move on. A paper tick sheet beside the screen slows the hand enough that ambiguous bars get a verdict.
What we ask students to write
Date, instrument, setup name, whether rules were met without debate, stop distance in points or percent, and outcome. Three lines beat a vague screenshot folder.
When screens win
Large multi-year FX samples are painful on paper alone. Use the platform to locate candidates, then log the decision on paper or in a deliberately boring spreadsheet without conditional formatting that flatters winners.
Hybrid habit
Many intensive graduates keep paper for the first fifty instances of a new setup, then migrate the table once the language is stable. Speed comes after honesty, not before.