In my own case each and every day I would take notes in a journal. I would try to interpret the market's action and try to figure out trades that would take advantage of my analysis. I took note of the ideas that seemed to work and those that did not. I wasn't focused on paper trading, or on recording my emotions, or anything of that sort. Instead I paid strict attention to the market's action and to the information I thought it was giving me about its condition and trend. Everything in my journal was about my own perception and interpretation of the market's action.
Day after day, week after week, I kept on making mistakes, wrong calls, being clueless about what was going on, not knowing how I should trade, and not knowing if my views made sense or not. Yet I refused to be discouraged and I continued taking notes and learning. I would view charts and combinations of historical intraday charts, and I'd note certain behavior. For example, I'd study trend day after trend day and try to notice what they had in common and how I could have picked up on it in real time. Then I'd study range days. Then I'd study a price chart of the ES versus the Advance decline line and see what the relationship was across many different days. Then I'd do the same with the ES and TICK chart. And on and on. Over time, this gave me a feel for the markets, and a certain understanding of how certain days differ and many subtle signs and tells for each type of environment and context.
As for set-ups, I didn't use any predefined ones. I just formed trading ideas and then tried to get in at good trade locations. Even this, which is the art of execution, can be quite complicated. I started realizing that in some environments it's best to wait for pullbacks, in others I need to get in at market or I'll be left in the dust. In some contexts I can buy low and sell high. In others I have to buy high and sell higher.. And so on.
I became consistently profitable in a timeframe of a few months by doing this. But of course before that I had read 30 or 40 books and so I had a lot of background in technical analysis. I had also worked a lot on my psychology and personal issues. But all of this was in conjunction with a method of learning and trading the markets that was contrary to what the general wisdom says about simple set-ups and exact rules.
Now of course you might say that everyone has their own style, some discretionary and some not. Absolutely. But even the successful system traders are very adept at reading markets. They are aware of all of the complexity and ambiguity inherent in it. Their systems might look simple, but they incorporate a deep and understanding of market contexts. Their systems are not just simple, mindless set-ups and signals.
In the end you have come to a personal realization. Take a look at your trading career thus far. Do you truly believe that if you just learn to focus and take all of your set-ups then your equity curve will reverse and you'll be a consistently profitable trader? Do you think a few simple set-ups could make you rich? I don't mean to imply that you need complex mathematical models. Far from it. What I do mean is that you must develop a mental map of market contexts and the experience and skill to tell where the market currently is on that map. This will take time, effort, and lot's of frustration to develop. And you won't be able to do this if you spend the whole trading day simply waiting for set-ups to materialize. That just won't cut it.
Right now your learning curve is stagnant because you're not truly involved with the markets and their behavior. You are acting like a statistician who is separate from the market. Your day is wasted in waiting mode. You are not in the observing and absorbing mode. Because you fear loss you aren't willing to experiment. This means that you aren't making mistakes and failing regularly, which is what you need to do to learn quickly.
So I think you need to make a mental shift. If the path you have followed hasn't brought you to your goal, try my path instead! Prepare to face uncertainty and ambiguity, the essence of financial markets. But don't be afraid. The market isn't out to hurt you. Success in trading requires the ability to be at home with ambiguity and uncertainty, to be able to take a market stance while accepting the fact that you cannot predict the future with any degree of certainty. This is what trading is about. This is why it is an ART. Once you change your focus and your learning process everything, including success, becomes possible. Until then it'll be a distant dream that keeps appearing to be so close and yet stays so far away.
So you need to re-align your thinking and get involved with the markets. Get a trading simulator and trade. Take losses. Make mistakes. Be clueless. Don't be afraid of it. It's okay, that's the only way you'll progress. And trust me, you will progress.
Face these challenges. The stuff you have heard about learning setups and applying discipline comes from gurus who cannot trade, who give advice based on their failed ventures.
These challenges most people find difficult to face. This is why most are not successful. If you can't do this profitable trading will remain a forlorn hope of yours.
I wish you all good luck and I hope some of you find this helpful. This is what I am giving back to the trading community, I hope someone of you have an epiphany over what I have said.

When I was in the 'holy-grail' search mentality, a friend explained all this to me. I took what he said to heart, and I believe this is why I am consistently profitable today. This the only real secret I can pass along to you as traders.

Happy Sunday...I think stops in percentage terms or dollar terms need to be tracked and you not be to ridged with them as long as you be true about the reason of changing targets. Best to journal your reasoning.
Here are more posts by this unknown day-trader regarding stops also another youtube by Norman Howard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo7i7JL0n3E&feature=related