Figure out the real decision I need to make and structure it
Cuts through a messy situation to the actual decision, who owns it, the deadline, the options, and the criteria for choosing.
The prompt
Help me work out what decision I actually need to make, and set it up clearly.
The situation: [DESCRIBE IT - paste emails, notes, or a summary]
What I think the decision is: [MY CURRENT FRAMING, if I have one]
Who is involved: [PEOPLE, THEIR ROLES, AND WHAT THEY WANT]
Deadlines or pressures: [DATES, EVENTS, CONSEQUENCES OF WAITING]
Steps:
1. Identify the real decision. Check whether I'm framing it too narrowly (e.g. "hire Ana or Ben?" when the real question is "do we need this role?"), too broadly, or mixing several decisions into one.
2. If there are several decisions tangled together, separate them and put them in order.
3. Write the decision as one question, with what is in and out of scope.
4. Clarify the setup: who decides, who must be consulted, who just needs to be informed, and the real deadline (and the cost of deciding late).
5. List the realistic options, including doing nothing or waiting.
6. Propose 4-6 criteria for choosing, based on what matters to me and the people involved, and flag any that conflict.
Return:
1. The real decision (one sentence) and why it's different from my framing, if it is.
2. Related decisions and their order.
3. Decision owner, consulted, informed, deadline.
4. Options.
5. Criteria.
6. The 3 questions I should answer before choosing.
Don't make the decision for me. Mark anything you're assuming as [ASSUMPTION].
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Thinking & Decisions prompts
What to fill in
- DESCRIBE IT - paste emails, notes, or a summary
- MY CURRENT FRAMING, if I have one
- PEOPLE, THEIR ROLES, AND WHAT THEY WANT
- DATES, EVENTS, CONSEQUENCES OF WAITING
- ASSUMPTION
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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