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What should I write down for every wheel trade?
For every wheel trade, write down the stock, the option, the premium, the cash or shares tied up, your reason, your plan if it goes wrong, and how it ended. That short record is what turns trades into lessons.
The short answer
A wheel trade journal is a simple log, one row per option you sell. It answers three questions later: what did I do, why did I do it, and how did it end?
You don't need software. A spreadsheet works. Our free trading journal template is a plain starting point; add the option columns below to it.
The columns that matter
| Column | Example | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Date opened | Oct 1 | Shows how long trades really last |
| Stock | XYZ | Lets you see which names work for you |
| Put or call | Put | Tells you which half of the wheel you're on |
| Strike and expiry | $45, Oct 31 | The promise you made, and until when |
| Premium | $1.00 ($100) | What you were paid |
| Cash or shares tied up | $4,500 | Your real size; the number that matters most |
| Delta at entry | 0.25 | Lets you compare how often each delta gets assigned |
| Earnings or Ex-dividend date inside? | No | Catches the trades where you took news risk |
| Reason, in one sentence | "I'd own XYZ at $45." | Shows if you picked for the stock or the premium |
| Plan if it goes wrong | "Take the shares; sell calls above $45." | Written before, not after |
| How it ended | Expired / closed / assigned / rolled | The outcome |
| Result | +$100 or −$400 | The money, counting the shares |
| Followed my plan? | Yes / No | The most useful column of all |
A sample log (an illustration, not a trade idea)
Here's what three rows might look like for a made-up stock, XYZ. These are not real trades.
| Opened | Option | Premium | Tied up | Ended | Result | Followed plan? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | $45 put | $100 | $4,500 | Expired | +$100 | Yes |
| Oct 1 | $45 put | $100 | $4,500 | Assigned; XYZ at $41 | −$300 on paper | Yes |
| Nov 1 | $40 call on assigned shares | $50 | 100 shares | Called away at $40 | Whole cycle: −$500 + $150 = −$350 | No: sold below cost |
Math examples, not promises. Row three's result covers the whole cycle (both premiums and the shares), so it replaces row two's paper number; count it once. The third row is also the lesson: the call strike was below the $45 paid.
Read the last column. The loss in row three came from breaking a rule, not from bad luck. That's the kind of thing a journal shows you and memory hides.
Why each wheel cycle needs one line of story
Numbers tell you what happened. One sentence tells you why. "Premium looked big" and "I'd own it at $45" lead to very different trades.
In the wheel strategy, one stock can pass through a put, an assignment and several calls. Group those rows together, so you can see the whole cycle's result, not just each piece.
How to review it
Once a month, read the journal and ask:
- Which trades broke my plan? What did they cost?
- Which stocks got assigned, and did I still want them?
- How much cash was tied up at the busiest point? Was that too much?
- What's the total result, counting the shares, not just the premiums?
Change one rule at a time. Then see if the next month's rows look different.
Mistakes to avoid
- Only logging premiums. The shares are where the big gains and losses are.
- Writing the reason after the trade. It turns into a story that fits the result.
- Skipping the losing trades. Those are the rows that teach the most.
Questions
Do I need a special app for a wheel journal?
No. A spreadsheet with the columns above works fine. Some brokers export trade history, but you'll still need to add your reason and plan by hand.
Should I log paper trades too?
Yes. Paper trades are where you learn the habit. Log them the same way and mark them "paper."
How do I count a trade that's still open?
Leave the result blank, or write the result "on paper" with today's date. Fill in the final number when it's closed.
What's the most important column?
"Followed my plan?" It tells you whether your losses came from the market or from you. Only the second one is fully in your control.
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