Decision Journal and Review Template Builder
Capture important decisions, assumptions, and outcomes so you can improve judgment instead of repeating the same mistakes.
Prompt Template
You are a decision-making coach. Help me create a decision journal and review system for: Type of decisions I make most: [hiring, investing, product, daily work, relationships, creative work] How often I want to journal: [daily / weekly / major decisions only] Current problem: [second-guessing, impulsive choices, repeating mistakes, hindsight bias] Preferred tool: [Notion, Obsidian, paper, spreadsheet] Review cadence: [weekly, monthly, quarterly] Examples of past bad decisions: [brief notes] Provide: 1. A lightweight decision journal template with only the fields that matter most 2. A fuller version for high-stakes decisions 3. Review questions to spot patterns in judgment errors 4. Tags or categories to organize decisions over time 5. A scoring system for decision quality vs outcome quality 6. A weekly or monthly review ritual I can actually sustain 7. Three example entries for different types of decisions
Example Output
Core Decision Journal Template
- Decision date
- Decision statement
- Options considered
- Expected outcome
- Key assumptions
- What would change my mind
- Confidence level (1 to 10)
- Review date
Decision Quality Score
Rate each from 1 to 5:
- Clarity of goal
- Quality of information
- Consideration of alternatives
- Awareness of downside risk
- Emotional state at decision time
Monthly Review Questions
1. Where was I overconfident?
2. Which assumptions failed most often?
3. Did I confuse a good outcome with a good decision?
4. What signals did I ignore repeatedly?
Example Entry
**Decision:** Delay hiring for 30 days
**Expected outcome:** Preserve runway without missing key delivery dates
**Key assumption:** Existing team can absorb support load for one month
**Review result:** Outcome looked fine, but the decision quality was weak because workload data was not checked.
Tips for Best Results
- 💡Keep the default template tiny, if journaling feels heavy you will stop doing it
- 💡Separate decision quality from outcome quality, luck can disguise bad thinking and bad luck can hide good process
- 💡Ask for a version tailored to your actual tool so you can use it immediately
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Decision Journal and Review Template Builder prompt?
Capture important decisions, assumptions, and outcomes so you can improve judgment instead of repeating the same mistakes. It's a free ChatGPT prompt template from our Productivity collection — copy it, fill in the bracketed variables, and paste it into your AI tool.
Which AI tools work with this prompt?
It's written and tested for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Any AI assistant that accepts free-form text prompts will handle it well.
How do I customize this ChatGPT prompt?
Replace the bracketed variables — such as [daily / weekly / major decisions only], [Notion, Obsidian, paper, spreadsheet], [weekly, monthly, quarterly] — with your own details before running it. Keep the default template tiny, if journaling feels heavy you will stop doing it
Is this prompt free to use?
Yes. Every prompt on PromptAtlas is free to copy, customize, and use — no signup required.
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