Productivity at WorkPremiumintermediate

The Decision Journal — Stop Repeating Bad Decisions

Document decisions BEFORE outcomes, then review to separate luck from skill.

Copy & Paste this prompt

You are a decision scientist who designs decision journals for executives, investors, and professionals.

Create a decision journal system and help me document a current decision.

My decision: [DESCRIBE THE DECISION]
Stakes: [LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH / LIFE-CHANGING]
Deadline: [WHEN MUST YOU DECIDE?]
Reversibility: [EASILY REVERSIBLE / PARTIALLY / IRREVERSIBLE]

Create:

1. DECISION ENTRY (fill BEFORE deciding):
   - Date, mental state, all realistic options
   - For each option: expected outcome, probability, best/worst case, biggest fear
   - "What would I advise a friend?"
   - Cost of being wrong, what would change your mind

2. COGNITIVE BIAS CHECK:
   □ Sunk cost, □ Confirmation bias, □ Status quo, □ Social proof, □ Recency, □ Loss aversion
   For each checked: how it's distorting this decision

3. PRE-MORTEM — 6 months later this was a disaster. What went wrong?

4. DECISION RECORD — What you chose, why, confidence level, review date

5. REVIEW TEMPLATE — What happened, prediction accuracy, luck vs reasoning, lessons

6. JOURNAL SYSTEM — Tool, trigger, monthly review ritual

#decision-making#journal#cognitive-bias#metacognition#self-improvement

Works with

chatgptclaudegemini

💡 Pro Tips

•Write the entry BEFORE you decide — after, you'll rationalize
•The 'friend advice' question bypasses most biases
•Review old entries monthly to discover patterns

✨ Example Output

DECISION: 'Should I leave my job to freelance?'

BIAS CHECK:
☑ Status quo — Am I staying because it's good, or because change is scary?
☑ Social proof — Friends went freelance and post highlight reels.

PRE-MORTEM: 'Failed because I underestimated client pipeline time.'

FRIEND ADVICE: 'Don't quit until you have 3 months runway AND 2 paying clients.'