L5.3 — Building Your Personal Execution Protocol

An execution protocol is a written document that describes every step of your entry and exit process. It covers: how you build your pre-session bias, the conditions that qualify a setup, the confirmation trigger you require, where the stop goes, how you calculate position size, your management rules, and your exit criteria. It is the operating manual for your trading process.

Writing this document forces clarity. Ambiguous rules — "I enter when it looks right" or "I exit when I feel the trade is done" — cannot be in the protocol. Every rule must be specific enough that another person could follow it and produce the same execution decisions you would.

The protocol is not permanent. Review it after every 20-30 trades. Update rules that are too vague, too rigid, or consistently violated for a good reason. The protocol should evolve as your understanding improves — but it should always be current, written, and followed.