Voice memo to decision log
The job
When I think a decision through out loud on a walk and it's gone by the afternoon, I want to turn the rambling memo into a log I can act on, so that decisions stop evaporating between the walk and the desk.
Talking is faster than typing and worse at structure. The model is the reverse. Give it the transcript and a strict shape, and tell it not to invent. The one rule that matters: everything in the log must trace back to something you actually said.
- A voice memo app that transcribes (iPhone Voice Memos and most Android recorders do; so does the mic in the chat app)
- The transcript, pasted. Rough is fine.
Before
ok so the standup, the tuesday one, I think it's dead, nobody prepares, Dana said last week it's the only time she hears what sales is doing so maybe not kill it, maybe make it async, like a thread, um, actually let's try the thread for two weeks and if nobody posts we kill it for real, I'll set that up, and also the pricing page, we keep saying we'll fix the pricing page, I want that done before the webinar which is the 18th, Marat owns that I think, need to check with him
After
Decisions
- Replace the Tuesday standup with an async thread for two weeks, then decide.
- The pricing page gets fixed before the webinar on the 18th.
Why
- Nobody prepares for the standup, but it's the only time Dana hears what sales is doing. Async keeps the information without the meeting.
Open questions
- Does Marat actually own the pricing page? ("I think, need to check with him")
Next actions
- Set up the async thread (you).
- Confirm the pricing page owner with Marat; target: before the 18th.Paste into any chat; fill the brackets
Here is a transcript of me thinking out loud. Turn it into a decision log with these headings: Decisions (one line each), Why (the reasoning I gave, in my words where they're specific), Open questions, Next actions (with an owner and a date only if I said one). Drop the filler. Do not add anything I did not say; if something is unclear, put it under Open questions. Transcript: [paste the transcript]
Run it on yours
Paste your own material. It runs here, on a model that doesn't train on it, and you keep what comes back.
Goes to a model provider that doesn't train on it. Don't paste secrets, passwords, or customer personal data.
Read the log against the memo. Every line should trace back to something you said. If a decision appears that you didn't make, the model filled a gap: cut it, and add "do not infer decisions" to the prompt next time.
Nothing changed anywhere. The memo is still the memo; the log is a draft you can delete.