Decision Making
Frameworks, mental models, and practices for making better choices.
Chapters
About this tutorial
Frameworks, mental models, and practices for making better choices.
Contents
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| 01-frameworks.md | Mental models and decision frameworks |
| 02-cognitive-biases.md | Common thinking errors and how to counter them |
| 03-risk-uncertainty.md | Evaluating risk, expected value, and unknowns |
| 04-big-decisions.md | Career, relationships, major purchases, life direction |
| 05-speed-quality.md | When to decide fast vs. slow, reversible vs. irreversible |
| 06-decision-journal.md | Tracking decisions to improve over time |
Why This Matters
Your life is the sum of your decisions. Career, relationships, health, finances: all downstream of choices you made.
Most people make decisions poorly because they:
- Rely on gut instinct when analysis is needed
- Over-analyze when speed is needed
- Fall prey to predictable cognitive biases
- Never review past decisions to improve
The goal isn't to eliminate uncertainty. That's impossible. The goal is to:
- Make good decisions more often
- Avoid catastrophic decisions
- Learn from every decision
Core Philosophy
Process over outcome - Good decisions can have bad outcomes; bad decisions can luck into good outcomes. Judge the decision quality, not just the result.
Reversibility matters - Two-way doors (reversible) should be decided quickly. One-way doors (irreversible) deserve careful analysis.
Biases are predictable - Knowing your cognitive weaknesses lets you compensate.
Time is a variable - The cost of delay is often underestimated. "No decision" is still a decision.
Write it down - Decisions made in writing are clearer. Tracking decisions reveals patterns.
Quick Decision Checklist
Before any significant decision:
□ What am I actually deciding?
□ Is this reversible or irreversible?
□ What are my options (including "do nothing")?
□ What information would change my decision?
□ What biases might be affecting me?
□ What's the cost of being wrong?
□ What's the cost of delay?
□ Have I consulted the right people?