Record of Judgment
This is not a diary. It is an instrument: each entry is one complete examination of one real situation, from the first impression to the lived outcome.
What it trains has old names: , the watchful that catches the impression arriving; , the you give or withhold; and , the that no event can command without your consent.
The Event
Where, when, who was involved. One or two lines.
What appeared, exactly as it arrived, before any correction.
Only what a camera could have recorded.
What you added: readings, attributed intentions, unstated beliefs.
Named plainly: heat, tightness, the urge to reply, the sinking.
The Division of Control
Judgment, response, effort, words, timing.
The event, other people's opinions and choices, outcomes.
The Examination
The verdict that survives the facts, stated plainly.
Assent, withholding, or rejection
Which of the three the evidence permits, and why.
Relevant virtue
Which of the four this situation chiefly trains.
The Action
Concrete: what, when, in which words.
What you honestly expect to follow.
Afterwards
These three are filled in after the action has been lived. An entry is complete only when they are.
Filled in afterwards: what in fact happened, without varnish.
Where judgment and delivery deviated from plan, and why.
The one signal you want to catch sooner.