Use an assumption journal before making a decision

A decision can feel clear because its most important assumption has gone unspoken. Writing that assumption down gives you something you can question before acting and revisit afterwards.

This journal exercise connects reflection with a concrete choice. Use an ordinary decision where you have some room to gather information. The examples are fictional prompts for your own thinking, rather than descriptions of anyone’s professional history.

Make four entries

Divide a page into four parts.

• The value or obligation you want to honor.
• The belief you are relying on about the situation.
• The action you are considering.
• The observation that would help you review the choice.

Keep the value and the belief separate. Wanting to be dependable is a commitment. Believing that accepting another task will make you more dependable is a proposition that may deserve testing.

You can use the page before a decision and add the observed result later. Date both entries so you can see what was known at each point.

Dilemma one, a request you may not be able to meet

A collaborator asks for a draft by tomorrow. You want to help and have another deadline. Your assumption is that agreeing immediately will preserve trust.

Write down what you know about both tasks. Then consider asking which part of the draft is needed first and whether a partial delivery would be useful. The action becomes a conversation about a realistic commitment.

Your review question could be, “Did the agreement give the collaborator something they could use at the stated time?” That question keeps the result tied to the original obligation.

The accountability worksheet can help record the promise you eventually make.

Dilemma two, a shortcut in a learning task

You are studying a difficult subject and could copy an answer into your notes. The value you name is understanding. The assumption is that possessing a complete answer will help you explain it later.

Try a small comparison. After reading the answer, close it and explain one step in your own words. Record where the explanation breaks down. You might decide to work through that step before continuing.

The review concerns what you can now explain. The presence of a finished page is a different observation.

Dilemma three, a change with an uneven burden

A shared process could become faster for you while adding work for someone else. You value fair cooperation. Your assumption is that the added burden will be minor.

Ask the other person to walk through the proposed change with you. Record where the extra work appears and what it displaces. That information may support a modified version or a different choice.

Avoid writing their response in advance. The purpose of the conversation is to learn how the decision looks from their position.

Review the reasoning as well as the result

An action can produce a welcome result for reasons you did not anticipate. It can also produce a disappointing result after a thoughtful decision. Review the assumption, the information available, and the consequence separately.

Write one sentence about what you would change next time. It may concern the action, the evidence you sought, or the obligation you gave too little attention.

For another way to connect reflection with an observable next step, try the values and tools notebook exercise.