Decision Guides

Frameworks for decisions that arrive on a schedule.

Some decisions recur at predictable points in the year: appraisal season, mid-year reviews, application windows, year-end financial close. These guides are written ahead of those moments so you have the framework before the pressure arrives.

Career April — June
Got Your Appraisal Letter? Here Is How Most People Make the Wrong Call.
Appraisal season puts the stay-or-leave question on every professional's desk. Most people decide in the 72 hours after the letter arrives — when emotion is highest and thinking is worst. This guide gives you a structured way through it.
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General June — July
The Mid-Year Reset: How to Audit Your Decisions Before the Second Half Begins.
January goals fade by March. By June, most people are on autopilot. The mid-year audit is a structured review of the decisions you made at the start of the year — what is working, what needs a course correction, and what to stop.
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Education July — September
Should I Do an MBA? The Decision Most People Outsource to the Wrong People.
Application windows open in the second half of the year. The MBA decision involves significant money, two years of foregone income, and a career bet. Most people make it based on peer pressure and rankings. This guide runs the numbers.
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Financial November — December
The Year-End Financial Audit: What to Decide Before December Closes.
The decisions most people defer to March — tax-saving investments, insurance review, portfolio rebalancing — cost more when made under deadline pressure. Two hours in November is worth more than a rushed afternoon in March.
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About these guides

Each guide applies mental models from the Decisions Matter book to a specific high-stakes decision that most people face at a predictable time of year. The frameworks are the same ones covered in Field Notes — applied to a real decision context.

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