Before waiting on a decision, write tripwires — what…

When This Fires

• Before entering any deliberate waiting period on a decision (see Wait 48 hours before acting on ambiguous decisions…)
• When "I need more information" is your reason for not deciding
• During strategic planning when decisions are deliberately deferred
• Any situation where patience is the strategy and you need to distinguish it from avoidance

Common Failure Mode

Writing vague tripwires: "If things get clearer, I'll decide." That's not a tripwire — it's a wish. A tripwire must specify a concrete, observable event: "If the client responds positively to the proposal by Friday, I'll commit to Option A" or "If the error rate stays above 5% through Tuesday, I'll switch to the backup plan."

The Protocol

Before entering any waiting period: (1) Write the decision and the options. (2) For each direction (each option), write: "I would choose Option [X] if I observe [specific, concrete, observable condition]." (3) Set a deadline: "If no tripwire fires by [date], I will choose [default option]." (4) The tripwires + deadline guarantee the wait ends — either triggered by evidence or terminated by the clock. Strategic patience without a termination condition is procrastination wearing a strategy hat.