Decision Log

Stop making the same expensive mistakes. Start learning from the ones you've already made.

by The Agent Ledger — theagentledger.com

The Problem

Most solopreneurs make dozens of meaningful decisions every week — which products to build, which clients to take, which tools to use, which strategies to pursue. They almost never write them down. Six months later, when a decision goes sideways, the context is gone: what were the alternatives? What did you expect to happen? Why did you choose this over that?

The result: you can't learn systematically from your own experience. You repeat mistakes. You forget what worked and why.

This skill turns your agent into a decision journal. Capture any decision in seconds. Get a structured record with context, alternatives, expected outcomes, and confidence level. Then, on a schedule you set, your agent reviews past decisions against what actually happened and surfaces patterns in your judgment.

Setup

Step 1 — Create Your Decisions Directory

mkdir -p decisions/

Step 2 — Create Your Decision Index

Create decisions/INDEX.md:

# Decision Log

**Started:** [date]
**Total decisions logged:** 0
**Last review:** —

---

## Open Decisions (awaiting outcome)

| ID | Date | Decision | Category | Expected Outcome | Review Date |
|----|------|----------|----------|-----------------|-------------|
| — | — | — | — | — | — |

---

## Reviewed Decisions

| ID | Date | Decision | Category | Outcome | Verdict | Lesson |
|----|------|----------|----------|---------|---------|--------|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

---

## Patterns (updated during reviews)

*Will be filled in by your agent after the first batch of reviews.*

Step 3 — Create Your First Decision Entry

Each decision gets its own file: decisions/YYYY-MM-DD-short-title.md

Template:

# Decision: [Short Title]

**ID:** DEC-[001]
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Category:** [business / product / operations / financial / personal / hiring / strategy]
**Status:** open

---

## The Decision

[What did you decide? Be specific. One sentence if possible.]

---

## Context

[What was happening when you made this decision? What problem were you solving? What constraints existed?]

---

## Alternatives Considered

1. **Option A (chosen):** [description]
   - Pros: [list]
   - Cons: [list]

2. **Option B:** [description]
   - Pros: [list]
   - Cons: [list]

3. **Option C (do nothing):** [description]
   - Why rejected: [reason]

---

## Why I Chose This

[The actual reasoning. Not the polished version — the real one. What tipped the scale?]

---

## Expected Outcome

[What do you expect to happen if this was the right call? Be specific and measurable where possible.]

**Time horizon:** [When will you know if this was right? 30 days? 6 months? 1 year?]

---

## Confidence Level

**Rating:** [1-10]
**Why:** [What would make this more or less confident?]

---