Aah! The tragedy of choice! We’ve all been at a crossroads at one time or another. According to the latest psychological research, we make almost 122 informed decisions daily. While some choices might seem easy, others can be risky or scary to take. You might even get stuck in the “what if” spiral and keep changing your mind. So, what’s the secret to making good decisions? Trust us when we tell you; it takes time and patience to master decision-making! Journaling can help you learn the skill of decision-making. So, next time you have to choose between A or B, try to use journal prompts for decision-making. This post is all about decision-making journaling and how to use it. Let’s dive in!
Does Journaling Help With Decision Making?
Yes! You would be surprised to know that journaling can help teach you essential life skills. Journaling is a great way to explore our thought processes. Reaching clarity in our thoughts and emotions makes it easy for us to decide.
Our brain is prepared to make some decisions automatically based on previous experiences and intuition. However, it would be best to weigh your options to form an “informed” decision when a new situation arises.
Before we discuss this further, let’s look at the common decision-making styles. Try to figure out which one you use in your daily life.
Decision-Making Styles
Most individuals employ one or more decision-making styles in unfamiliar situations.
Compliance
This means choosing the option that complies with the majority. Such as choosing something trendy, famous, or most validated in society.
Impulsive
As the name suggests, it refers to making impulsive decisions. Such as selecting the first option presented without much thought or reflection.
Delegation
This decision-making style might reflect a lack of confidence. It is called delegation, and the person wants others to decide for them.
Avoidant
This is not an active decision-making style. Instead, it is a passive approach of letting fate take over. The person is hesitant to make decisions and runs away from responsibility.
Reflecting/ Balanced
A balanced process indicates the careful reflection of all the factors involved in a decision. The individuals form the conclusion by analyzing all the positive and negative aspects. This is the optimal approach for decision-making.
If you make decisions based on the first four strategies, you must learn the balanced process instead. While other strategies work sometimes, they are not recommended for important decisions. Putting pen to paper will help you learn the balanced approach.
Benefits of Journaling in Decision Making Process
Journaling can help the decision-making process in several ways:
Follows a Structure
Through journaling, you follow each decision and think of the outcomes. This reduces ambiguity and gives you clarity about what you want in life.
Confidence and Satisfaction
Writing down what you want will give you confidence in your decisions. You’ll rarely change your mind and can depend on your choices.
Less Time Consumption
Difficult decisions can occupy your head until you are fed up. Journaling can make this process easy and less time-consuming.
Improvement in Critical Thinking
Decision-making involves critical thinking. Keeping a journal will help you to analyze your past decisions and use these insights for the current situation. You can learn and improve your decision-making skills with every new journal entry!
Overcoming Decision Stress
Journaling combats the stress, anxiety, and confusion associated with making big decisions in life. It eliminates uncertainty and makes you content with your choices.
The above benefits are only possible with regular practice. So, it would be best if you followed a routine for decision journaling. You can start with journal prompts for decision-making (which we will discuss shortly). For now, let’s learn about decision journals.
What Are Decision Journals?
Decision-making is an inevitable part of our lives. A decision journal provides a strategic way to learn from our past decisions.
“Decision journals record, track, and reflect on the thought process behind any decision.”
They are meant to improve your decision quality by carefully monitoring past decisions. Learning from the past will help improve your future. Journal prompts for decision-making will help you in the following situations:
- You are indecisive and unsure about your choice.
- You forget how you made significant decisions.
- You get nervous when you have to make an important decision.
- You don’t realize your decision-making patterns and go with the flow.
- You cannot analyze the decision and its consequences.
- You want to improve your decision-making skills but don’t know how to take actionable steps.
- You struggle to make good decisions on your own.
- You often seek validation for your decisions.
Making smarter decisions will have a significant impact on your quality of life. No one can predict the future, but we can put ourselves in the best position to benefit from any situation. Improving your decision-making skills is the best way to be content in life and not have any regrets about the past.
What is Decision Making Analysis
Now we will discuss the “method” by which you make decisions through journaling. The method discussed below is inspired by Benjamin Franklin and various self-help books on decision-making. We are presenting a simplified version that you can use in daily life.
Identify the Outcome
The first step is identifying the outcome of the decision-making process. What do you want to achieve at the end?
For instance, “I want to decide if I should buy a car or not.”
Make the Columns
Next, make two columns in your journal—one for pros and the other for cons. You can give it a title about what you want to decide.
For example, “The pros and Cons of buying a car.”
Contemplate and Gather Information
Try to fill the columns by collecting as much information as possible. Put in all the relevant facts and emotions associated with the decision. You don’t have to complete the list in one sitting. Give yourself time to think and keep your journal handy if anything comes to mind.
Take a look at the following example:
Pros and Cons of Buying a Car
| Pros | Cons |
| It will save office commute time. | I will have to bear the fuel prices. |
Give Yourself a Deadline
It is good to set a deadline for your process. You can tell yourself you will brainstorm for 2-3 days and try to form a conclusion after that. This also helps save time while making time-sensitive decisions.
Weigh Out Your List
After you have completed your pros and cons list, start to weigh out your options. Here, you can write your thoughts, emotions, and priorities. Cancel the pros and cons that are equal in weight.
Let’s continue the example above:
| Pros | Cons |
| It will save office commute time. | |
| I can pick up my wife and children | I might end up not using it much. |
After making a list, ask yourself, “how do I feel” about every option? Weigh each option from different perspectives. Set your emotions aside and introduce them into the process at a later stage.
Form a Decision and Analyze it Later
Formulate your decision based on the above process. After you have applied your decision, you should wait for the consequences and log them in your journal. Check if your decision was wise and what it led towards.
You can also analyze your patterns after practicing journaling for some time. Do you make impulsive decisions, or do you take your time? Are you risky or conservative? Do you change your choices with emotions or logic?
Ultimately, you will start realizing your strengths and weaknesses. You can leverage them for your future decisions and improve yourself. The goal is not to make a “correct” decision! It is to make an informed decision that you do not regret later.
Putting yourself in the best possible position is the way to improve your quality of life. We cannot control many factors, but we can understand patterns to improve our chances of success.
How To Start a Decision-Making Journal?
Although starting a journal is not tricky, you must try and become consistent. The benefits of the journal only appear when you do it as a routine activity. If you haven’t used a journal before, it is time to buy one and start practicing!
Tips For Starting Decision Journals
Here are some tips that will come in handy when you start your journaling journey for improving decision-making.
Simpler is Better
You need your journal to simplify decision-making, so don’t make it complicated. Write the main points in simple words. Keep it easy to refer back to and reflect on.
Use it Wisely
Keep your decision journal for the things that need your attention. Please don’t use it for every small decision. It will wear you out and cause decision fatigue. With practice, you will be able to apply the process mentally!
Make a Decision Template
After you have learned the process, craft a simple template to follow. It doesn’t have to be something fancy. Just some basic details that will save you time.
Learn From It
Decision journaling is not only about making decisions but also learning from them. Review your journal and try to learn from your decisions.
Watch the following YouTube video and start your journaling journey today!
20 Journal Prompts For Decision Making
We understand that starting from scratch can be challenging. Mental blocks are real and can waste a lot of precious time. Therefore, we suggest you take help from our journal prompts for decision-making. These will inspire you to keep writing.
- What is the first thought that comes to mind about the decision?
- What are the pros and cons of each option I am considering?
- How do the choices make you feel?
- Do you feel motivated or drained after a particular choice?
- Does this choice bring you closer to your mission in life?
- Do you need any extra information to proceed with this choice? If so, what is it?
- Imagine your life in five years. Are you happy with your choice?
- Is there any part of this choice that makes you anxious?
- Does this choice reflect my values in life?
- Describe your decision-making process. Can you improve it?
- What have you learned from your past decisions?
- What would I do if a friend was facing this decision?
- What is my gut telling me?
- How can I gather more information to make an informed decision?
- Who can I talk to for advice or perspective on this decision?
- How will this decision affect the people around me?
- How can I align this decision with my life purpose?
- What are my values and how do they relate this decision?
- What are my priorities in this decision?
- What are the most important factors in making this decision?
5 Book Recommendations to Improve Decision Making
We would go as far as to say that good decision-making is better than being productive all day! We cannot emphasize how important it is to learn the skill of making informed decisions. So, here are five books to help you learn this skill.
1- Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work (2013)
2- Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions (2015)
3- Thinking, Fast and Slow (2013)
4- The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less (2016)
5- Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts (2018)
Final Thoughts
If you are torn between the two choices, journaling is here for the rescue! Decision-making is a vital skill, and many fail to use it wisely. You can always learn to make informed decisions no matter the situation.
Journaling can help you clarify your thought processes which, in turn, helps you make good decisions. If you haven’t flexed your writing muscles in a while, we suggest using journal prompts for decision-making.
While journaling is not for routine decisions (such as what to eat), it will undoubtedly make you more confident when making difficult decisions! Let us know about your decision-making journey in the comments below.
