Decision

A decision records something the team agreed, marked with a check mark so it stands out from the discussion around it. In meeting notes, it answers “so what did we decide?”. Months later, when someone asks why things are the way they are, the decision is easy to find, with the date and the context on the page around it.

Insert it

Type the command at the start of an empty line, press Enter and write what was decided. Or choose + on the toolbar, then Decision. If you select text first and use the + menu, the selected text becomes the decision.

Kinds of decision, and when to use each

Every decision looks the same. What changes is how much you put in it.

A one-line decision

Most decisions fit in a sentence. Write it as a plain statement, in the present tense, so it still reads correctly a year from now.

A decision with its reasons

A decision can hold more than one paragraph, and lists. Add the one or two reasons people will ask about, so the decision is not reopened for want of them.

Several decisions from one meeting

Kickoff, September 2

One decision to a block, so each can be read, quoted and found on its own. Keep them together under a heading such as Decisions, with the action items that follow from them.

Changing and removing a decision

Click inside a decision and a small bar appears above it with Remove decision, which takes the check mark away and keeps the text. There is nothing else to set: a decision has no types or colors.

Good practice

• Record the outcome, not the debate. The discussion can go in normal text around it.

• Say who agreed, and when, if the page does not already: Agreed by the product team on September 2.

• Do not rewrite an old decision. When it changes, add a new one that says what changed and why, and leave the old one where it is. The history is the point.

• Follow it with tasks. A decision usually means work: list it in a Task list below, with owners.

Related elements

• Task list says who does what because of the decision.

• Panels call out information rather than an agreement.

• Headings keep a meeting’s decisions in one findable place.