Practice tool · 15 minutes
Decision practice
Think a real decision through, step by step — without anyone telling you what to choose. Eight questions, in order.
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Think a real decision through, step by step — without anyone telling you what to choose.
Eight questions, in order. Write short answers; you can come back and change them. The point is to see the decision clearly, not to reach a verdict today.
The questions
- What decision am I actually making? Say it as a choice between options, not as a worry.
- What are my realistic options? Include “wait” and “do nothing” if they are real options.
- What matters most? Two or three things, in your own words.
- What information am I missing?
- What are the major trade-offs? What does each option cost, including what you would give up?
- What could happen next? The likely result — and what could follow from that.
- What would change my mind?
- What is the next action? Often not the final decision — perhaps one conversation or one fact to check.
Afterwards
Turn your answer into one next step, and take it to My Journal.
Lessons behind this tool
- What makes a decision difficult — Uncertainty, trade-offs, high stakes and too many options — and why a hard decision can freeze you. (7 min)
- Trade-offs and opportunity cost — Every choice has a price, and part of the price is what you didn’t choose. (8 min)
- Consequences — and their consequences — What happens next, and what happens after that. Short-term and long-term effects often point opposite ways. (8 min)
- Pre-mortems and decision journals — Imagine it failed and ask why. Write down what you expected. Then review it once — not forever. (9 min)