Decisions – Practice

Self-Awareness & Career Direction • Decision Making — Practical Exercise

Make a Real Career Decision in 45 Minutes

Self-Awareness & Career Direction — Practical Exercise

Most of us don’t lack information about the career decisions we’re facing — we lack a clear process for moving through them. This exercise gives you that process. You’ll take one real decision you’re currently sitting with and walk it through a structured framework: set your criteria, evaluate your options honestly, and arrive at a position you can actually act on. The goal isn’t to eliminate uncertainty. It’s to stop circling and start moving.

The Exercise

1. Name the decision (5 minutes) — Write down the specific decision you’re facing in one sentence. Be concrete: not “I need to figure out my career” but “I’m deciding whether to apply for the senior coordinator role at my current company or start searching externally.” If you have more than one decision pressing on you, pick the one that’s been sitting longest. One decision at a time.
2. Set your criteria first (10 minutes) — Before you look at any options, write down the three to four things that matter most to you in this decision right now. Think about what your work must have, what you’d prefer, and what you’d be willing to trade off. Order them. The top criterion is the one you won’t compromise on. This step is the most important one — and the one most people skip.
3. Evaluate each option against your criteria (15 minutes) — List two or three realistic options for your decision. For each one, go through your criteria one by one and give a brief, honest assessment: does this option meet it, partially meet it, or fall short? Don’t score it — just describe it honestly. Use plain language. If you find yourself saying “it depends,” ask yourself what it depends on and write that down too.
4. Name the real tradeoff (10 minutes) — Look at your evaluations. Where does the tension actually live? There’s almost always one key tradeoff that’s holding you back — something one option gives you that the other doesn’t. Write it out plainly: “If I choose X, I gain _______ but give up _______. If I choose Y, I gain _______ but give up _______.” Seeing it written makes the actual choice much clearer.
5. Set a decision deadline (5 minutes) — Write down today’s date and a specific date by which you will make this decision. Not “when I feel ready” — an actual date. Then write one sentence about what you’ll do the moment you decide: who you’ll tell, what you’ll send, what action you’ll take. Decisions without a clear next action tend to drift.

What to Do Next

Keep what you wrote. Review it the day before your deadline. If you’ve gathered any new information between now and then, check it against your criteria — don’t let it reopen the whole question. When the deadline arrives, make the call based on your best assessment at that moment. You don’t need to be certain. You need to be decided. Once you’ve made it, write one sentence on why you chose what you chose — this becomes useful data for the next time you’re in a similar situation.