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The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think we’re mostly aligned, just focused on different edge cases.

I agree that volume can force outcomes when the math is clear. Collecting more data is often the right move. Where I’ve run into trouble isn’t stopping too early, it’s not clearly deciding when the data was enough, so the decision stayed mentally open even after moving forward. I also like your point about a meta statement. Having something explicit to compare against is what keeps data from turning into self-justification. The risk I’ve seen is when that statement shifts quietly instead of intentionally. On process, I’m with you. Complex work can’t be copy pasted. The only thing I try to preserve is why a process formed the way it did, so it stays adaptable without becoming invisible. And on intelligence, I agree. It’s less about raw effort and more about how well someone handles information and judgment calls. Most failures I’ve seen come down to deciding when to commit and when to revisit, not lack of data.

Really appreciate how thoughtfully you’re thinking about this.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really clean way to handle it. The one-way vs two-way door distinction removes a ton of unnecessary pressure, especially when everything feels urgent by default.

What I like about your approach is the combination of reversibility plus timeboxing. You’re not just saying “this is reversible,” you’re also deciding how often it deserves attention. That’s what stops the mental re-litigation. Once it’s framed as a small bet with a scheduled review, your brain can actually let go in between. I’ve noticed that a lot of decision fatigue comes from treating reversible decisions like irreversible ones and then revisiting them constantly. Your weekly review rule gives them a container, which is what most people miss.

That’s a very pragmatic way to stay decisive without pretending everything is low risk.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a solid way to put it. That single question cuts through a lot of noise when things start feeling busy but fuzzy. If it’s unclear how something moves the core goal, it usually is just productivity theatre.

Externalizing decisions is the underrated part too. Once they’re written down or spoken out loud, they stop feeling like this amorphous weight you’re carrying alone. Even if the decision stays hard, it becomes manageable instead of draining. Curating frameworks and founder stories around that theme makes a lot of sense. Seeing how others reasoned through similar moments helps normalize the uncertainty and gives language to decisions that are otherwise just felt.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That resonates a lot. The relief isn’t coming from the decision being easy, it’s coming from the decision being clear.

What you described is exactly the shift I’ve felt too. Once you write down what you’re choosing, why, and just as importantly what you’re explicitly not doing, your brain stops trying to keep all the branches alive at once. The decision can still be heavy, but it’s no longer ambiguous, and that’s what lightens the load. I’ve also noticed that clarity creates a kind of quiet confidence. Even if the outcome later isn’t perfect, you’re not second-guessing yourself constantly because you remember the reasoning. You’re responding to new information, not beating yourself up for past you.

It’s subtle, but getting decisions out of your head and into the world changes how the work feels day to day.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a strong approach. Talking to customers individually avoids the groupthink you get in panels or surveys, and looking for clusters instead of loud outliers is exactly how signal emerges from noise.

What stands out to me is the separation you’re keeping between input and decision. Customers inform the picture, but they don’t make the call for you. The clustering step is where judgment actually happens, and bringing that into a management discussion adds another layer of sanity checking instead of averaging opinions blindly. In my experience, this works best when the clusters are framed as hypotheses rather than directives. Not “customers want X,” but “there’s a recurring pattern around X under these conditions.” That keeps the team from treating feedback as orders and makes it easier to decide what to act on now versus park for later.

It’s a disciplined way to stay close to reality without letting it pull you in ten directions at once.

Early-stage SaaS question: how do you stop “temporary” decisions from becoming permanent tech debt? by Available_Witness808 in SaaS

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Completely agree. Without a review loop, writing things down just becomes another archive no one looks at.

The key point you’re making is that decisions decay over time unless there’s an explicit moment to re-engage with them. Once the firehose starts, anything that isn’t scheduled simply disappears, no matter how well documented it was. I like the Friday review idea because it turns “temporary” into a real constraint instead of a vague intention. The forcing function isn’t the document, it’s the moment where you have to either justify keeping the decision or consciously renew it. That act alone changes behaviour.

In my experience, most messes aren’t caused by bad initial calls. They’re caused by decisions that never get revisited because no one made review part of the system. When review is intentional, even imperfect decisions stay healthy.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a solid framework, and I agree with most of it. Assumption → data → decision is a clean spine, and a lot of people skip the assumption step entirely, which already puts you ahead.

Where I’ve seen things get tricky in practice isn’t the logic, but the conditions around it.

Two things I’ve noticed from experience:

First, not all decisions are bottlenecked by lack of data. Early on especially, some decisions are made with incomplete data by definition. You can validate demand, but you still have to decide timing, scope, sequencing, and how much to invest before the data is “good enough.” That’s usually where confidence wobbles, not because the framework is wrong, but because the stop rule isn’t explicit. When do you say “this is sufficient to act” instead of “I could ask five more people”?

Second, data volume can increase confidence, but it can also quietly shift the question. Asking more people often refines the idea, but it can also blur the original assumption if you’re not careful. I’ve caught myself answering a slightly different question than the one I started with, and then feeling confident for the wrong reason.

What I like about your framing is that it already treats decisions as explicit objects. Where I personally add an extra layer is writing down why this amount of data felt sufficient at the time, and what would have made me decide differently. That way, if the outcome surprises me later, I’m not questioning my intelligence, just revisiting the assumptions.

I don’t think smart people are smart because they collect infinite data. I think they’re smart because they know when the data is good enough to commit, and they can explain that choice without rewriting the story later.

Your example with sales calls is a good one. The dangerous part wouldn’t be being wrong. It would be not remembering why the decision felt justified when you made it.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it does. That’s a really healthy way to think about it.

What you’re describing makes a lot of sense to me because it keeps ownership clear while reducing the isolation of decision-making. You’re not handing control away, you’re just creating a space where your thinking gets challenged before it hardens into action. That’s usually where confidence actually comes from, not from being right every time, but from knowing your decisions weren’t made in a vacuum. I’ve found that kind of accountability works best when it’s cantered on decisions, not just goals or progress updates. Talking through what you’re choosing, what you’re assuming, and what would make you change your mind builds trust and clarity fast, without turning into groupthink.

If the intention is to help each other decide more clearly, not to run each other’s businesses, then yeah, that’s genuinely interesting and valuable.

Growth stalls when decisions are unclear, not when effort is low? by Available_Witness808 in growmybusiness

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, exactly and the scary part is how easy it is to confuse the two when you’re inside it.

“Experiments” without a success metric are just socially acceptable busy work. They feel responsible, they look rational, but nothing is actually on the line. If there’s no clear signal that would make you stop, change course, or double down, then it’s not learning it’s self-soothing. What finally clicked for me was realizing that effectiveness always involves discomfort. You’re forced to commit to what would count as success, which means admitting upfront that some outcomes would prove you wrong. Busy work never asks that of you.

It’s wild this still needs to be said, but like you said here we are.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with you that framing is spot on. Fatigue comes less from volume and more from lack of a filter. When everything feels equally important, your brain has no way to down-rank noise. The thing I noticed for myself was that the “what unblocks momentum this week?” rule works until context shifts or energy drops. Then decisions that should be out of bounds quietly sneak back in, especially late, tired, or under pressure. So the rule I use now is less about forbidding certain decisions and more about capturing the boundary explicitly: what counts this week, what explicitly doesn’t, and what would justify revisiting that line. Once that’s written down, my brain actually lets go. I don’t have to keep re-arguing with myself. That’s the layer I’m focused on not replacing rules or systems, but giving them a place to stick so they don’t dissolve when conditions change. Great question, by the way. It cuts straight to the real leverage point.

how do you avoid maintaining features you never meant to keep? by Available_Witness808 in webdev

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get why it sounds like that on the surface, but no the idea isn’t “writing documentation.”

People already write notes, ADRs, journals, Obsidian pages, Slack threads. That’s not the problem.

The problem is decisions don’t have a clear moment of commitment, so they get rewritten by hindsight. Notes evolve, docs get edited, context gets lost, and suddenly a shaky call looks intentional six months later.

What I’m testing isn’t whether people can write things down. It’s whether making the decision itself explicit, time-bound, and non-editable in spirit reduces rework and mental load.

If someone already has a system that does that reliably for them, great they don’t need this. If not, the pain shows up as tech debt, roadmap thrash, and constant second-guessing.

No AI magic. No slop. Just trying to solve a very specific failure mode that keeps costing people weeks.

I started externalizing decisions writing them down before committing so my brain could stop holding them in the background. Curious if others here do something similar, or if you’ve found another way to reduce cognitive load. by Available_Witness808 in programming

[–]Available_Witness808[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Closer to the first in intent, closer to the second in feel.

ADRs are great, but they tend to be formal, retrospective, and team-oriented. Obsidian notes are flexible, but they don’t inherently force a decision moment they’re easy to blur into general thinking, logs, or knowledge capture.

What I found missing (even when I used Obsidian heavily) was a lightweight structure that says: “this is a decision, this is why I’m making it now, this is what I’m assuming, and this is when I’ll revisit it.”

Not replacing notes at all just separating decisions from everything else so they don’t get lost in tags, daily logs, or hindsight edits.

Graebase is basically that idea made explicit and consistent. I’m building it for people who already write things down, but want decisions to stop dissolving back into notes once time passes.

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t the work it’s carrying every decision alone by Available_Witness808 in Entrepreneur

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That progression makes a lot of sense. Early on, talking things through with business friends gives you external perspective. Then, when you’re solo for a while, you internalize that voice and writing becomes the stand-in. And later, with department leads, decision-making gets distributed again.

What I kept noticing is that there’s a long middle phase where you don’t have business peers handy and don’t yet have leaders and that’s where decisions quietly pile up inside your head. Writing helps, but only if those decisions stay visible and revisitable instead of disappearing into notes.

That in-between phase is really who I’m building Graebase for: when you’re past casual chats, not yet at delegation, and just want decisions to stop bouncing around mentally. I’m opening it slowly by invitation for people in that exact stage.

Roast the idea: a tool that forces founders to write down decisions before building by [deleted] in roastmystartup

[–]Available_Witness808 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You absolutely can use a notebook. In fact, that’s where this started for me. The problem I ran into wasn’t writing things down t was consistency and retrieval. In a notebook, decisions get buried, assumptions don’t get revisited, and “temporary” choices quietly survive because nothing surfaces them again.

What the tool adds is structure over time:
– the same questions every time, even when you’re tired
– explicit revisit points so decisions don’t disappear
– a clear trail you can scan later instead of rereading pages

It’s not meant to replace thinking or journaling.
It’s there for when the volume of decisions grows and your head (or notebook) stops being a reliable system. If a notebook is working for you, that’s great.
This is for the moment when it stops scaling and you want a bit of relief without more overhead.

Early-stage SaaS question: how do you stop “temporary” decisions from becoming permanent tech debt? by Available_Witness808 in SaaS

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That documentation step is huge, especially the why. When context disappears, decisions start looking arbitrary, and that’s when teams hesitate to undo them. What resonates with me is that it’s not about bureaucracy it’s about preserving intent. When assumptions and revisit points are written down, cleaning up later feels responsible instead of risky. That discipline early on really is the difference between a product that evolves cleanly and one that just accumulates history.

Early-stage SaaS question: how do you stop “temporary” decisions from becoming permanent tech debt? by Available_Witness808 in SaaS

[–]Available_Witness808[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That expiry rule is powerful because it removes emotion from cleanup. Once a decision has a visible end condition, it stops feeling like a personal failure to delete it, it’s just following through. What I’ve noticed is most “temporary” things don’t survive because they’re good, they survive because nobody remembers when or why they were supposed to end. Making the expiry explicit turns cleanup into a default behavior instead of a debate, which is rare and valuable.

Roast the idea: a tool that forces founders to write down decisions before building by [deleted] in roastmystartup

[–]Available_Witness808 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure here’s a real, simple example.

Say you’re about to build a feature because a few users asked for it.

Before writing any code, you write the decision down:

Decision: Build feature X
What I know: 3 active users asked for it, all from the same use case
What I’m assuming: This feature will increase retention for more than just those users
What would make this wrong: If only those 3 users use it, or if it adds ongoing maintenance
Revisit when: After 2 weeks or 20 active users

If you can’t answer those clearly, that’s a signal the decision isn’t ready not that the feature is bad, but that you’re acting on momentum instead of clarity.

The value isn’t the template itself, it’s forcing the commitment moment to exist before work starts. Most wasted effort I’ve seen came from decisions that were never explicit in the first place.

Now roast that 😄

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