How to Use 10-10-10 to Get Unstuck | A Meaningful Existence

Some decisions keep you awake at night. Should I take the job? Should I have the difficult conversation? Should I move? You go round in circles, weighing pros and cons, and get nowhere. The 10-10-10 method offers a simple way to break the loop.

The technique was popularised by business journalist Suzy Welch in her 2009 book 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea. The idea is straightforward: for each option, ask how you'll feel about it in ten minutes, ten months and ten years.

Why it works

Our emotions in the moment have a strong pull on our decisions. Fear of an awkward conversation, guilt about disappointing someone, excitement about a shiny opportunity: these feelings can be intense right now but fade over time.

By deliberately considering three time frames, 10-10-10 helps you separate short-term emotions from long-term consequences. Often the ten-minute view is dominated by discomfort, while the ten-year view reveals what you really care about.

Step by step

1. State the decision clearly. Write it in one sentence. "Should I accept the job offer in another city?"

2. List your options. Usually at least two. If possible, generate more: accept, decline, negotiate, ask for a delay.

3. For each option, ask three questions:

In ten minutes, how will I feel?
In ten months, what will the consequences be?
In ten years, how will I see this decision?

Write your answers down. Writing forces clarity.

4. Look for patterns. Which option looks best across the longer time frames? Where is the short-term discomfort carrying too much weight?

5. Check against your values. Which option best reflects what matters most to you?

6. Decide, and set a review date if it's reversible.

An example

Decision: Should I tell my friend that a comment they made hurt me?

	Say something	Say nothing
10 minutes	Nervous, awkward	Relieved
10 months	Friendship likely clearer and stronger, or at least honest	Resentment may have grown; it may come out later
10 years	Likely forgotten, or remembered as the moment the friendship deepened	Possibly a slow drift apart

Seen this way, the short-term discomfort of speaking up looks smaller.

Common pitfalls

Using it for every choice. For small, reversible decisions, it's overkill.

Ignoring facts. 10-10-10 helps with priorities and emotions, but some decisions need research, numbers or expert advice: medical treatments, financial commitments, legal matters.

Assuming the long term always wins. Sometimes the short term matters. A decision that wrecks your health or finances this month isn't wise because it looks good in ten years.

Being too optimistic about the future. We tend to imagine future feelings in simplified ways. Try to picture the everyday reality, not just the highlights.

Using the tool

Our free 10-10-10 decision helper lets you write notes and score each option on all three horizons, with a weighting you choose. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Try this

Choose a decision you've been stuck on. Write down your options and answer the three questions for each. Notice which answers surprise you.

Sources and further reading

Suzy Welch, 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea (Scribner, 2009), Wikipedia: Suzy Welch

Questions people ask

Do the time frames have to be exactly ten?

No. The point is to look at a short, medium and long horizon. Some people use a week, a year and five years. Choose horizons that make sense for the decision in front of you.