Collect pros and cons for four days; cancel equal weights, then wait two days.
WhenAt a nonurgent decision
“Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure.”
Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley, 19 September 1772, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 19, ed. William B. Willcox (Yale, 1975), pp. 299–300. Read the source ↗
Why it works
He said reasons arrive at different times. His method holds them together and compares importance, not just the number on each side.
Start tiny
Draw Pro and Con columns and add one reason in 60 seconds.
What you’ll notice
Notice whether a late reason changes the apparent balance.
When it slips
Do not pretend the weights are exact. Mark uncertainty and defer a decision that needs missing facts.
Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley, 19 September 1772, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 19, ed. William B. Willcox (Yale, 1975), pp. 299–300. Read the source ↗
Mastery: Practices you develop over weeks through skill, planning and trade-offs.
