Nicolas Cole & Dickie Bush – Decision Journaling

Here’s What You Get:

Nicolas Cole & Dickie Bush – Decision Journaling is a productivity and decision-making training created by Nicolas Cole and Dickie Bush, best known for founding Ship 30 for 30 and the Premium Ghostwriting Academy. The program teaches a structured system for documenting important decisions, analyzing outcomes over time, and improving judgment by identifying recurring thinking patterns and cognitive biases. It fits within their broader philosophy of using writing as a tool for clearer thinking and better execution.

Target Audience

The course is designed for:

• Entrepreneurs and business owners making high-impact decisions.
• Creators and writers seeking greater clarity in their thinking.
• Professionals responsible for strategy or leadership.
• Anyone interested in building better decision-making habits through reflective writing.

What You’ll Learn

The program typically focuses on:

• The fundamentals of decision journaling and why it improves long-term judgment.
• How to record the reasoning behind important decisions before outcomes are known.
• Distinguishing between good decisions and good outcomes.
• Identifying cognitive biases that influence choices.
• Building repeatable frameworks for business and personal decisions.
• Reviewing past journal entries to recognize patterns and continuously improve.

Core Concepts

Key ideas emphasized include:

• Decision-first thinking rather than outcome-based evaluation.
• Separating process quality from luck.
• Using written records to reduce hindsight bias.
• Creating personal feedback loops for continuous improvement.
• Developing a long-term “decision database” to refine judgment over time.

Practical Applications

Students learn how to apply decision journaling to situations such as:

• Business strategy and investments.
• Hiring and team management.
• Content and marketing decisions.
• Product launches.
• Career planning.
• Major personal life choices.

Course Format

The training is centered on practical implementation rather than theory and generally includes:

• Step-by-step lessons.
• Decision journal templates.
• Reflection exercises.
• Real-world examples.
• Frameworks that can be adapted to digital tools like Notion or traditional notebooks.

Benefits

• Encourages more objective thinking.
• Reduces hindsight and confirmation bias.
• Improves confidence in high-stakes decisions.
• Creates a measurable record of personal growth.
• Helps users learn from both successes and mistakes.

Potential Limitations

• Requires consistent journaling to produce meaningful results.
• Benefits accumulate gradually rather than immediately.
• Best suited for people willing to regularly review and analyze past decisions.

Overall Assessment

Decision Journaling is less about productivity hacks and more about building a disciplined thinking system. Instead of optimizing daily task management, Nicolas Cole and Dickie Bush focus on improving the quality of decisions by capturing reasoning before outcomes are known and reviewing those decisions over time. For entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals who make frequent strategic choices, it provides a practical framework for developing better judgment through structured reflection.