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Decision making prompts

Pros, cons, trade-offs, the should-I that has been open for weeks.

• creative Compare Two Approaches to Developing a Consistent Creative Practice

  Choose between a daily creative practice and a burst model based on your specific context and creative form.

• play Compare Two Approaches to Getting Better Faster at a Skill-Based Hobby

  Compare two practice approaches for a skill-based hobby and design a structure that uses limited time well.

• self Decide Whether to Continue or Quit a Long-Term Commitment

  Make a clear decision about whether to continue or exit a long-term commitment, with the sunk cost set aside.

• life Decide Whether to Accept or Decline a Social Commitment When Overloaded

  Decide whether to accept or decline a social commitment when you are at capacity, with words to use if declining.

• self Translate Your Values List Into a Decision-Making Filter

  Turn your values from a list into a decision tool you can actually use in the moment.

• work Decide Whether to Raise a Workplace Concern Formally or Informally

  Work out whether to raise a workplace concern informally, through formal channels, or let it pass.

• self Decide Whether to Seek External Validation or Trust Your Own Judgement

  Work out whether you need outside input or whether you already know what you think and just need to act on it.

• life Compare Two Neighbourhoods Before Deciding Where to Live

  Compare two neighbourhoods systematically against the things that actually matter to you.

• learn Decide Which Skill to Develop Next in Your Career

  Choose the next skill to develop for career progression using marginal return, scarcity, and build time.

• work Compare Two Approaches to Managing Underperformance on a Team

  Choose between two underperformance management approaches based on root cause and the specific situation.

• life Critique a Plan to Make a Major Life Decision on a Tight Timeline

  Check whether your decision process under time pressure is actually going to help, and improve it.

• play Decide Which Type of Hobby to Try Next Based on What You Are Looking For

  Match a new hobby to what you are actually looking for using the evidence of what has and has not worked before.

• creative Decide What to Cut from an Overfull Creative Portfolio

  Find out what to cut from a creative portfolio that has grown too big to present a clear picture.

• self Translate Your Gut Feeling About a Decision into Explicit Reasoning

  Turn a strong gut feeling about a decision into explicit reasoning you can evaluate and act on.

• life Summarise the Trade-Offs in a Major Life Commitment You Are Considering

  See the full picture of what a major life commitment offers and what it costs before you make it.

• self Translate Your Values Into One Decision Rule

  Turn one of your values into a decision rule you can actually apply in the moment when it is hardest.

• self Decide Whether to Have a Difficult Conversation or Let It Go

  Work out whether a difficult conversation is worth having or whether letting it go is the more honest choice.

• self Decide Whether You Are Overthinking or Under-Thinking a Decision

  Work out whether you are spending the right amount of thinking on a decision or whether you should either decide now or gather more information.

• self Decide Whether to Set a Boundary or Adapt to a Situation

  Make a deliberate decision between setting a boundary and adapting to a situation based on what each option actually involves.

• life Compare Two Competing Visions of What a Good Life Looks Like

  Examine two competing visions of what a good life looks like that you hold at the same time without being able to live both.

• self Compare Two Ways of Thinking About a Problem You Cannot Solve

  Look at a problem you cannot solve through two different framings to see which one opens up a path forward.

• life Decide Whether to Address a Personal Problem Yourself or Get Professional Help

  Decide clearly whether to keep working on a personal problem yourself or whether it is time to seek professional help.

• self Decide Whether Your Discomfort Is a Signal or Noise

  Work out whether the discomfort you feel about something is telling you something important or whether it is just noise.

• self Compare Taking a Risk Now With Waiting for Better Conditions

  Make a deliberate decision between acting now and waiting for better conditions based on whether the conditions will actually improve.

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