Prompt library
Create a decision journal template
Recording probability, mood, and rejected alternatives at decision time is what makes later review reliable; memory rewrites all three within weeks. The process-versus-luck question at review is the core of decision-quality practice, separating what you control from what happened to you.
Last reviewed July 17, 2026
The prompt
Create my decision journal template, then demonstrate it.
The kinds of decisions I make: {{decisionTypes}}
Part 1, the template, with a strict 10-minute budget to fill:
- The decision and the date, one line.
- The situation as I see it now: the 3-5 facts I am weighing (facts only; feelings go two lines down).
- What I expect to happen, with a rough probability on the main outcome, because vague expectations are unauditable later.
- How I feel right now, one line (tired, rushed, excited); mood at decision time is the variable everyone forgets.
- The alternatives I am rejecting and the strongest one's best case.
- Review date: when the outcome will be knowable.
Part 2: demonstrate the filled template on a sample decision from my types.
Part 3: the review ritual: at each review date, score expectation vs reality, then answer "was the process wrong or the luck wrong?", because good decisions lose and bad ones win often enough to corrupt learning that skips this question.
Keep every field one to three lines; a journal that takes 30 minutes stops in a week.Run in idaptOpens a new chat with the prompt prefilled. Nothing sends until you press send.
Fill in the variables
| Variable | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| {{decisionTypes}} | The decisions worth journaling for you | hiring, pricing changes, and which projects to take |