Creating a Decision Journal

The second reason you should create a written record of your thinking is that it gives you a path of bread crumbs you can use to retrace your steps. This point is similar to the first one, but with several important distinctions.

safeguard: Keep a record of your thoughts at the time you make the decision. Don’t rely on your memory after the fact. Trying to recall what you knew and thought at the time you made the decision is a fool’s game.

value—a decision-making journal. Whenever you make an important decision, take a moment to write down what you decided, how you came to that decision, and what you expect to happen. If you have the time and the inclination, you can also note how you feel physically and mentally.

Psychologist Daniel Kahneman recommends keeping a decision journal: when you’re faced with a choice, write down exactly what you expect to happen and why that scenario makes you feel eager. This

In order to prepare to make any decision, you must systematically acquire the knowledge of everything that might impact any decision that you might make. Questions such as: What are the competitors likely to do? What’s possible technically and in what time frame? What are the true capabilities of the organization and how can you maximize them? How

I know of executives and investors who keep a “decision journal” in which they record the major decisions they make each week, why they made them, and what they expect the outcome to be. They review their choices at the end of each month or year to see where they were correct and where they went wrong.