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Meeting decision log template — what each entry needs, a table you can paste, and how to keep it honest

By Jack Jay · 7 November 2026 · 4 min read

Minutes record what was said. Action items record who does what next. A decision log records what was settled, so nobody has to sit through the same argument again three weeks later. It's the one meeting document people actually come back to, usually when someone asks "wait, when did we agree to that?"

Below is a template you can copy, what each column is for, and the one habit that keeps a decision log from turning into fiction.

The template

Paste this into a Google Doc, a Notion page, a Confluence page or the first tab of a spreadsheet. One row per decision, newest at the top.

#DecisionDateMeetingWho decidedThe words that settled itReplacesOwnerRevisit byStatus
14Ship the API before the mobile app2026-11-04Weekly productDana (lead), agreed by the room"We do the API first. The app can wait for March." (Dana)#9, app firstSam2026-12-15Active
13Free plan keeps the transcript forever2026-10-28Pricing reviewPriya"Nobody should lose their own words because they stopped paying." (Priya)—Priya—Active

What each column is for

  • Decision. Write it as one sentence that could turn out to be wrong. "Ship the API before the mobile app" is a decision. "Discussed priorities" isn't.
  • Date and meeting. So anyone can find the conversation it came from.
  • Who decided. The person with the authority, plus whether the room agreed or merely didn't object. Those two aren't the same, and the difference matters later.
  • The words that settled it. Copy the sentence that actually made the decision, with the name of the person who said it. This column does more work than all the others put together (see below).
  • Replaces. If this decision overturns an earlier one, link that row. A log where decisions quietly contradict each other is worse than no log.
  • Owner. Who makes sure the decision is carried out. Not always the person who decided.
  • Revisit by. Optional. Most decisions don't need one. Give one to anything made on a guess ("we'll know more after the pilot").
  • Status. Active, replaced, or reversed. Never delete a row. A reversed decision is still history.

Decision log, decision register, decision record: the same thing?

Close enough. Decision log and decision register are both a running list of decisions, one row each. A decision record usually means one document per decision, with its context and the options that were turned down. Software teams call these architecture decision records (ADRs), after a 2011 post by Michael Nygard that proposed a short file for each significant decision. If a decision needs more than a row, give it a record and link the record from the log.

The habit that keeps it honest: quote, don't paraphrase

Most decision logs fail the same way. Someone writes up the decision from memory after the meeting, and what they write is a little cleaner and a little more certain than what was said. A week later two people remember it differently, and the log can't settle it, because the log is just a third memory.

The fix is the "words that settled it" column. If you can't find a sentence in the meeting where the decision was made, it wasn't made. It was discussed. Put it in the parking lot or on the next agenda instead.

That's also the test to run on an AI summary before its "decisions" go into your log. AI notes are good at sounding decided. Check each one against the transcript. Here's how to do that in five minutes.

Doing it without typing

In Meetful, the recap after a call lists the decisions it heard, and each one carries the exact words, the line in the transcript, and the name of the person who said them. Every person's microphone is transcribed separately, so that name is the microphone the words came from, not a guess from a mixed recording. Anything the recap can't back with a quote is marked unverified instead of being written up as settled. You copy the rows into your log, or keep the log in Meetful and search across all of it.

It's free, with no time limit on calls. See the plans.

Sources

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