How to keep a decision log
A decision log records what you chose, why, what you rejected and when to look at it again. Use it when someone asks in six months why the launch moved.
Updated 7 November 2026
At a glance
- Takes
- Three minutes, right after you decide.
- Write
- Six lines: the choice, who, why, what you rejected, what would change it, when to look again.
- Keep
- In the project’s own notes, the newest last.
- Read it
- When someone asks why, and on the day you said you’d look again.
A decision log template
Copy this into a new note each time you decide something you might have to explain later.
Decision: Who decided: Why: What we rejected, and why: What would change this: Look again on:
Put the date at the top if your tool doesn’t add it.
Filled in, for a product launch:
Decision: move the launch from 3 March to 24 March. Who decided: Ana, after the review with support. Why: support has no answers ready for the new billing page. What we rejected, and why: launching without billing, because existing customers would see two prices. What would change this: support ready by 10 March. Look again on: 10 March.
The same template for a small decision
Most decisions need less. A personal one, on a kitchen renovation:
Decision: Marek does the tiles. Why: he can start in January. What we rejected, and why: the cheaper quote, because that tiler can’t start before April. Look again on: when the deposit is due.
What’s worth logging
- A choice someone will question later: a price, a date, a supplier, a scope.
- A choice you’d forget the reason for by next month.
- A rejected option that keeps coming back.
- Skip what you can undo in a minute.
When a decision changes
Write a new entry that says what changed and why, and leave the old one as it is. The log is useful because it shows what you knew at the time.
Keep decisions next to the work they belong to. A work log says what happened; a decision entry says why you went this way.
Questions
What’s the difference between a decision log and an ADR?
An architecture decision record is a decision log for software design, kept with the code. The template above works for both.
Should a decision log be a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet works for dates and owners. Reasons and rejected options don’t fit in a cell, and those are what you’ll want later.
Who should write it?
Whoever made the decision, right after making it. Writing it a week later loses the rejected options.
Start with one thread.
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Project notes: one running log per project
Keep notes, tables and screenshots with each project. Before you switch, leave the next step in its thread. When you return, the context is there.
Free nothing to set upOne running record per client
Keep the brief, your call notes and each agreed change in one client thread. When the work resumes, the latest note tells you what happens next.
Free your own client notes