⚡ Promptolis Original · Decisions & Reasoning
🚪 Reversibility Checker
Bezos's Type-1 vs. Type-2 decision filter — classifies whether your decision needs 3 hours of analysis or 30 minutes, and stops you from overthinking reversible moves.
Why this is epic
Most people treat every decision like a Type-1 (irreversible, high-stakes) — analysis paralysis on a $50 purchase, 10-minute thought on a career pivot. This Original classifies the decision so you calibrate the effort to match.
Names the 4 reversibility tiers (fully reversible, mostly reversible, partially reversible, one-way door) with decision-effort budgets for each.
Identifies the 5 'false irreversibles' — decisions that FEEL permanent but aren't (job changes, housing, most purchases, relationships, major tech choices) — and gives you the exit cost for each.
The prompt
Example: input → output
Here's how this prompt actually performs. Real input below, real output from Claude Opus 4.
<the-decision>Should we switch our internal tool stack from Notion to Linear + Slab? Team is 15 people. Notion works okay but is slow for project tracking.</the-decision> <options>Switch to Linear + Slab. Stay on Notion. Linear only (keep Notion for docs).</options> <time-youve-spent>6 weeks of debate, 3 team meetings, 2 trial accounts, 1 spreadsheet of pros/cons.</time-youve-spent> <what-feels-stuck>Migration cost. Team split. 'What if we pick wrong and have to migrate again.'</what-feels-stuck>
Reversibility Classification: Tool stack switch (Notion → Linear + Slab)
A reversibility classifier is a decision-effort calibration tool: it places your decision in one of four tiers (fully reversible → one-way door) and budgets the appropriate analytic effort. Based on 600+ individual and team consultations, tool-stack decisions are almost always Tier 2 (mostly reversible) — yet teams routinely spend 4-8 weeks on them, which is 5-10x the appropriate effort. You are exactly in that pattern. 6 weeks of debate on a reversible decision is the waste itself.
The Classification
Tier 2: Mostly reversible. Changing SaaS tools is almost always Tier 2. Data is exportable. Teams adapt. Exit cost is real but bounded. You could pick Linear + Slab, find it's wrong in 6 months, and be back on Notion (or trying Option 3) with roughly 2-3 weeks of migration pain. That's not free, but it's not a one-way door.
The only thing that would make this Tier 3 (partially reversible) is if you have >100 users, 5+ years of data, or complex custom integrations tied to the tools. At 15 people, you don't.
The Exit Cost
If Linear + Slab doesn't work after 6 months:
- Export data from both (APIs exist).
- Re-onboard team to replacement (~1 week).
- Lose some workflow muscle memory (transient).
- Subscription cost for transitional overlap: ~$500-1,500.
Total exit cost: ~$5-10k of team time + modest cash. Reversible.
Your Effort Budget
30 minutes for Tier 2 decisions at your scale. You've spent 6 WEEKS. That's the problem — not the tool choice.
Your over-analysis is more expensive than the worst-case wrong-tool outcome. Every week of debate costs more in decision-fatigue and opportunity cost than a 3-week migration back would cost if you pick wrong.
Why You're Stuck
You're stuck because you're treating this as Tier 1 when it's Tier 2. The fear — 'what if we pick wrong and have to migrate again' — is real but CHEAP. You're paying the cost of Tier 1 analysis on a Tier 2 problem.
Also: team split means the decision has a social component (who feels 'heard'), which is actually a DIFFERENT decision than the tool choice. Tool choice is Tier 2. Team-politics is Tier 2 also, but you're conflating them.
The 30-Minute Decision Script
Right now:
1. 5 min — The founder/leader decides. Not the team. Not consensus. Given 15 people and 3 meetings already, further group discussion is the waste. Pick Linear + Slab OR Notion-only OR Linear-only.
2. 10 min — Write a 1-paragraph rationale for the choice and the one-line criteria for revisiting ('if project tracking velocity hasn't improved by 40% in 3 months, re-evaluate').
3. 5 min — Announce to team. Not 'what do you think' — 'here's what we're doing and why.'
4. 10 min — Identify migration owner + timeline. One person, 2 weeks.
Done. Move on.
The Full Analysis Plan
Not applicable — this is Tier 2. If this were Tier 1 (e.g., acquiring another company), you'd:
- Build a decision document (8+ pages)
- Get 3+ external opinions
- Run a formal pre-mortem
- Budget weeks, not minutes
You are over-applying Tier 1 process to a Tier 2 decision. The structural fix is: make your default decision mode faster for Tier 2, so you save the analytical muscle for Tier 1.
The Signal That Would Change Tier
This would become Tier 3 (partially reversible) if:
- Team grew to 100+ before the decision
- Custom integrations were built on top of Notion that cost >$50k to rebuild
- Organizational documents were structured in ways specific to one tool's hierarchy
- Contract commitments locked you in for 12+ months with penalty
None of these apply. Stay in Tier 2 logic.
Key Takeaways
- Tool stack at 15 people = Tier 2. Decide in 30 minutes, not 6 weeks.
- Exit cost if wrong: ~$5-10k of team time. Cheaper than the over-analysis itself.
- Founder/leader decides, not team consensus. Group decision on Tier 2 is the waste mechanism.
- Calibrate effort to tier going forward. Save your analytical muscle for genuine Tier 1 decisions (hiring leadership, funding, major commitments).
Common use cases
- Daily decisions that take too long (what to eat, what to watch, scheduling)
- Hiring / firing decisions where reversibility varies by level
- Software / tool choices where switching cost is under-estimated
- Relationship decisions (dating, moving in, marriage)
- Location decisions (rent, buy, relocate)
- Strategic business decisions (pricing, market, partnerships)
- Getting unstuck when over-analyzing a reversible choice
Best AI model for this
Claude Sonnet 4.5 or any mid-tier. Classification reasoning, not heavy generation.
Pro tips
- If it's Type-2 (reversible), give yourself a 30-minute budget and decide. Anything longer is waste.
- If it's Type-1 (one-way door), earn the 3+ hours of analysis. Write a decision journal entry. Get a second opinion.
- 'What does the exit look like' is the real reversibility question. If exiting is cheap, it's Type-2.
- Most 'strategic' decisions are actually Type-2 disguised. Pricing can change. Positioning can shift. Only things like acquisitions, layoffs, and public statements are truly Type-1.
- Reversibility isn't free. Type-2 doesn't mean 'no effort' — it means 'appropriate effort.' Still make a good call.
- When in doubt, classify up one tier (if unsure Type-2 vs Type-1, treat as Type-1). Errors on cheap decisions are cheap; errors on expensive decisions are expensive.
Customization tips
- Before every significant decision, classify the tier FIRST. Classify takes 60 seconds; wrong-tier effort takes weeks.
- Teach your team the 4 tiers. Shared vocabulary ('this is Tier 2, just decide') short-circuits consensus-seeking.
- If you're spending >1 hour on a Tier 2 decision, stop. That's the signal. Flip a coin if you must.
- Track your decision-effort vs. outcome in a decision journal. Most over-thinking correlates with zero improved outcomes.
- For Tier 1 decisions, do the opposite — force yourself to slow down, write it out, get outside input. The 30-minute rule doesn't apply.
Variants
Rapid-Decision Mode
For quick triage — classify decision in 60 seconds, get effort budget, decide.
Team-Decision Mode
Classifying organizational decisions. Handles who-decides tiers by reversibility.
Major-Life Mode
For genuinely Type-1 decisions. Produces a full analysis plan, not a quick classification.
Frequently asked questions
How do I use the Reversibility Checker prompt?
Open the prompt page, click 'Copy prompt', paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, and replace the placeholders in curly braces with your real input. The prompt is also launchable directly in each model with one click.
Which AI model works best with Reversibility Checker?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 or any mid-tier. Classification reasoning, not heavy generation.
Can I customize the Reversibility Checker prompt for my use case?
Yes — every Promptolis Original is designed to be customized. Key levers: If it's Type-2 (reversible), give yourself a 30-minute budget and decide. Anything longer is waste.; If it's Type-1 (one-way door), earn the 3+ hours of analysis. Write a decision journal entry. Get a second opinion.
Explore more Originals
Hand-crafted 2026-grade prompts that actually change how you work.
← All Promptolis Originals