If you deliberated for 60+ seconds, the reasoning is worth…
Set the threshold for decision context documentation at any choice where you deliberated between options for more than sixty seconds, because if you considered alternatives consciously, the reasoning is worth preserving against memory reconstruction.
When This Fires
- After any decision where you paused, weighed options, and chose between alternatives
- When you notice yourself deliberating and realize it's been more than a minute
- As a filter for deciding what goes into your decision journal
- Any time you want a practical threshold for "is this worth documenting?"
Common Failure Mode
Setting the threshold too high: "I'll document only major strategic decisions." This produces 2 entries per year — not enough data for calibration. The 60-second threshold produces enough entries (10-20/month) to detect patterns in your decision-making, calibrate your confidence levels, and learn from outcomes.
The Protocol
After any decision where you deliberated for 60+ seconds: (1) Apply the five-element decision record (Record five elements at the moment of every significant…). (2) If 60 seconds of deliberation feels like too low a bar — that's the point. Your medium-stakes decisions are where the most learnable volume lives. (3) Over time, your decision journal reveals: which types of decisions are you best calibrated on? Where are you systematically over- or under-confident? What patterns appear in your reasoning?