How do you use the Decision Journal to improve your decision-making?

1 What is a Decision Journal?

A Decision Journal is a simple but powerful way to document your decisions and their outcomes. It's a record of what you did, why you did it, what you expected to happen, and what actually happened. By writing down these details, you can avoid hindsight bias, emotional distortion, and other cognitive traps that cloud your judgment. You can also identify patterns, gaps, and opportunities for improvement in your decision-making process.

2 How to create a Decision Journal?

Creating a Decision Journal doesn't require any fancy software or equipment; all you need is a notebook, a pen, and some time. You can use any format that works for you, but it should include the date and time of the decision, the situation and context of the decision, the options and alternatives you considered, the criteria and factors you used to evaluate those options, the decision you made and why, the expected outcome and your confidence level in that outcome, the actual outcome and the feedback received, as well as the lessons learned and actions to take.

3 When to use a Decision Journal?

You don't have to write down every decision you make in your Decision Journal. That would be impractical and overwhelming. Instead, focus on the decisions that are important, complex, uncertain, or novel. These are the decisions that have a significant impact on your goals, your career, your relationships, or your well-being. These are also the decisions that challenge your assumptions, your intuition, or your expertise.

4 How to review a Decision Journal?

Writing down your decisions is not enough. Regular and systematic review of your Decision Journal is essential to turning it into a learning tool. To do this, set a consistent and disciplined schedule for reviewing your journal, and compare your expected outcomes with the actual outcomes. Additionally, evaluate your decision-making process by considering the right criteria and factors, gathering enough information, avoiding biases, and consulting others. Identify your strengths and weaknesses in terms of decision-making, and update your action plan based on the review. This may include changing goals, strategies, methods, or tools; or seeking more advice or support.

5 How to benefit from a Decision Journal?

Using a Decision Journal can provide numerous advantages to your decision-making process. From learning from your experiences to improving your critical thinking and analytical skills, you can gain invaluable insight into yourself and your decisions. Additionally, you can become more creative and innovative, as well as achieve better results and outcomes. A Decision Journal is an uncomplicated but powerful tool that enables you to become a more proficient and successful decision-maker. Why not begin your own Decision Journal today and witness the difference it makes?

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?