Pros - Cons - List

When making a decision, it helps to take an organized approach. Thanks to technology, it’s easier than ever to use pros/cons lists online. The approach provides additional benefits such as taking a look at factors that impact each other.

The following are five steps on how to make a decision using pros and cons lists.

1. Write Down the Potential Decision

Successfully using pros and cons lists begins with understanding the final decision. For example, to relocate or to not relocate? To take the job or not? To go out to dinner or eat in? The decision usually comes down to doing something or something else, and the consequences of each, as well as the opportunity costs.

2. Create Two Columns, Pros and Cons

Next, create two columns under the potential decision. One column holds the pros, the other holds the cons, or for and against the decision. All decisions have consequences, positive and negative. Take the time to brainstorm them. During this exercise, it’s OK to write down anything that comes to mind. Nothing is too small or big.

Factors that people focus on include:

• Happiness
• Monetary gain or loss
• Family
• Immediate results

A for and against list is personal. Thus, even if two people face the same choice, the list can look different for each, depending on what they value most.

3. Fill in the Pros and Cons Columns

Fill in both columns with words or short phrases; skip writing paragraphs. It’s a brainstorming session that could spark a choice in one direction or another.

Some individuals find themselves so conflicted that they must see the exercise to the end. Plus, they might complete the exercise more than once. The goal is to gain confidence in a choice to avoid buyer’s remorse.

Add five items to each column and assess the progress. Then, add five more to each and assess again. Each additional item to the columns should make arriving at a decision easier. Sometimes, one column contains more items than the other. That’s OK too.

4. Assign a Value to Each Pro and Con

One way to make the list more useful is to assign values to the entries in each column. Not all reasons for an option are equal, some are more important or impactful than others. It can be helpful to weigh certain reasons for or against a decision more than others. With pros-cons-list.com, you can mark any item as "more important," a simple mechanism for assigning higher or lower value.

5. Make a Choice

The outcome of a pros and cons list is ultimately to make a decision. Not only can it help you make the right decision, it can also teach you a lot throughout the process and it can even provide insight into other decisions you need to make.

Conclusion

For an organized strategy that helps make confident, thoughtful, and informed decisions, consider using a pros/cons list.