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
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