ADHD glossary · Family perspectives
Decision log: record the choice and what remains open
A decision log is a record of practical choices and the context participants want to keep. Our version separates what was decided, what remains open, and any action someone accepted. It is not a transcript or a place to turn suggestions into commitments.
General education and practical perspectives. Editorial standards.
A meeting agenda looks forward to questions for discussion. A decision log looks back at a choice people describe as made. General notes may contain many other kinds of information. This page concerns the decision-specific record, not an automatic history of document edits.
Worked example: a balcony planting project
In this fictional example, two partners and their child discuss planting something in two empty pots they already own. One partner wants herbs; the child wants flowers. They choose one pot for each and agree to check what will fit before buying anything.
The child suggests painting both pots blue. No one settles the color question. The note therefore reads “One herb pot and one flower pot; plants and colors undecided.” It does not read “Buy two blue pots,” which would introduce both a purchase and a choice they never made.
One partner offers to measure the pots. The other has not accepted a watering job, so “watering arrangement still open” stays visible. The child offers to sketch possible flower colors, not to organize the entire project.
They include one piece of context: “Use the pots we already have.” They leave out a disagreement about a previous shopping trip because it is not needed to understand this choice. The people involved read the entry and correct their contributions before using it to coordinate the next step.
Copy one decision entry
Topic / date recorded:
Choice, in the wording participants have checked:
Who participated in this choice:
Context we choose to keep:
What this choice does not settle:
Open question / information still needed:
Next action / person who accepted it:
When or under what condition we will revisit:
Corrections or disputed wording:
Current entry / replaces entry dated:
Leave a field blank or write “not settled” when appropriate. A person's name in a note is not a substitute for asking them about the statement attributed to them. Use this note for ordinary coordination; do not treat a name on the page as confirmation that someone approved every statement or accepted additional work.
When the choice changes
Suppose the family later decides to use only one pot. Add a dated replacement entry saying which earlier choice it replaces. Keep the older entry only if the participants want that context and agree where it belongs. Mark it as superseded so it is not mistaken for the current plan.
If someone disputes the record, mark the disputed point as unresolved. Do not rewrite their account into agreement, infer approval from silence, or use the log to settle who remembers correctly. A correction can be as small as “I offered to measure, not to buy.”
Keep the record proportionate
A child can check their own contribution without becoming the record keeper for adults. Partners can share the practical arrangement without including private explanations. Ask who needs the entry and what they need from it before circulating it. A shared note is not a privacy guarantee.
Two sentences may be enough for one confirmed choice and one open question. Distinguishing those states matters more than completing every field.
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Updates and corrections
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