What goes in a decision log entry
A decision log template needs a small set of core fields: date, decision, rationale, who decided, options considered, status. The template above has all of them, and each one has a job:
- Context. The constraint that forced a decision now. Without it, the decision looks arbitrary to anyone who joins later.
- Options considered, each with a reason for rejection. This is the field that stops relitigation. When someone proposes the rejected option in six months, the answer is already written.
- Decided by. One name or a named group and how it voted. "We decided" hides who is accountable.
- Affects. Who has to change what they do. It doubles as the list of people to tell.
- Next steps. A decision with no owner and date is a statement of intent.
The template adds three fields that most decision logs leave out, and they are the ones that make a log worth reading a year later.
Dissent, expected outcome and revisit
Dissent. Write who disagreed and what they predicted would go wrong. It costs one line. It makes people more willing to commit to a decision they argued against, because the objection is on record, and it gives the revisit something specific to check.
Expected outcome. What you should see, by when, if the decision was right. "Billing export never misses a run in December." "Net at least $15,000." Written before the result, it separates good decisions from lucky ones.
Revisit. A date, plus a trigger that would bring the review forward. Most logs only record decisions going in. A revisit date means each entry gets checked once against what actually happened.
Superseding and reversing decisions
Decisions change. The log should show that, not hide it.
- Never edit or delete the old entry. Change its status to "Superseded by D-022" and leave the text alone.
- The new entry names the old one in its status line and says what was learned. The reversal example above records that the first decision measured attendance when the goal was overlap.
- Keep the index current. The index is what people scan. A superseded decision with an "Active" status in the index is how teams act on rules that no longer exist.
Which decisions belong in the log
Log a decision when it costs money, changes how other people work, is hard to reverse, or is likely to be questioned later. Skip choices that can be undone next week at no cost. If you are unsure, write one line in the index and the short version of the entry. A log with 300 trivial entries hides the twenty that matter, and a log with three entries is not being used.
The personal decision journal
The same structure works for your own choices: changing jobs, moving, quitting a side project. A decision journal adds two lines: how you felt when deciding, and how confident you were. At the review, compare the expected outcome with what happened and ask whether the result came from the decision or from luck. Over a year, the pattern of your misses tells you more than any single entry.
Common mistakes
- Logging only the winner. Without the rejected options, the log cannot answer the question people actually bring to it.
- "The team decided." Name a person or a group and the vote.
- No revisit date. The decision is never checked, so the log never teaches anything.
- Editing history. Overwriting an old decision erases the reason you changed your mind.
- Keeping it in one person's head or inbox. The log is for the people who were not in the room. Share it where they can find it.
Stop deciding the same thing twice
Save this decision log template in Scribelet, put a revisit reminder on every entry, and ask your notes why a decision was made instead of reopening it. Encrypted, free to start.
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