Framework
Pros and Cons
The oldest tool — used properly.
- Best for
- Simple two-option decisions
- Time needed
- 15 minutes
- Origin
- Benjamin Franklin's 'Moral Algebra', 1772.
A pros-and-cons list is powerful when you weight each item and force yourself to think through second-order effects. Unweighted lists just count reasons, which is not the same as weighing them.
Use it when
- The decision is genuinely binary.
- You want a shared document you can revisit.
- The factors are qualitative and can't easily be scored.
Skip it when
- There are three or more real options — use a weighted matrix.
- You're using it to justify a decision you've already made.
The steps
- 01
Write the decision as a yes/no question
'Should I do X?' — not 'X or Y'.
- 02
List pros and cons freely
No filtering. Include emotional and practical items.
- 03
Weight each item 1–5
How much does this actually matter?
- 04
Sum both sides
Not to decide, but to see the shape.
- 05
Sit with the result overnight
If it still feels wrong, trust that — and dig into why.
A worked example
"Should I take the freelance contract?"
Pros total: 17 (money 5, freedom 4, portfolio 3, learning 5). Cons total: 14 (time 5, scope risk 4, taxes 2, admin 3). Close call — sleep on it.
Outcome
Overnight, the scope-risk con grows to 5. Decline unless scope is renegotiated.
Where it quietly breaks
- Counting items instead of weighing them.
- Padding one side to reach a conclusion you wanted.
- Ignoring the emotional 'still feels wrong' signal.
Run this on a real decision — in Compass.
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