Year-end planning often produces another project list while earlier decisions remain scattered across emails. A decisions register gives those open questions a place to land. It should be short enough to review and specific enough to prevent the same discussion from starting again.
Capture the decision, not the whole conversation
For each item, state the question, the available options, the person who can decide, and the information still missing. Include the practical consequence of waiting, using observed conditions rather than invented urgency.
Link to the supporting record instead of pasting a long email chain. The register should help readers locate context, not make them reconstruct it.
Give old items an explicit outcome
Review whether each decision is still relevant. Some can be closed because the need has changed; others require a new owner or a more focused assessment. Record that outcome so an old item does not silently return under a different title.
Use the register to begin the next planning meeting. Carry forward only the items that still have a meaningful next step and explain who will take it.
Practical takeaway
End the planning cycle with a named owner and a clear question for every item that remains open.