Suppose you want to decide whether you can do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year. I'm going to walk you through how to use a blank notebook and a 3-way truth scale.
Open your blank notebook to the first page, and write down your question, but not as a question. Make it a statement that you're going to debate with yourself. Put an empty circle to the left of it.
◯ I can do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year.
The blank circle indicates undecided. Your eventual goal is to put either a check mark or an X in that circle after you decide if the statement is true or false.
The blank circle is your friend. Here's the most important point of this post: The blank circle gives you emotional permission to write things down when you don't know (yet) whether they're true or false. It gets you past the writer's block that usually accompanies undecided questions. You're going to use this circle a lot.
Now continue the debate with yourself. Below the statement put:
Pro
Think of a piece of evidence that, if true, might help persuade you that you can do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year. You don't have to know yet whether or not it's true. Write it down with a circle to the left.
Think of a second piece of evidence that might help persuade you.
When you can't think of more such evidence, leave some vertical space in case you think of another pro argument later. Then put:
Con
Think of a piece of evidence that, if true, might help persuade you that you cannot do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year. Write it down with a circle to the left.
Think of a second piece of evidence.
When you can't think of more such evidence, go back over what you've already written down, both pro and con, and see if anything is obviously true (put a checkbox in its circle) or false (put an X). You might at this point be able to resolve the truth of the main statement.
If the main statement is still undecided, pick the most persuasive undecided piece of evidence. If you aren't sure what's most persuasive, just start with the first one.
Open to a new page in your notebook and rewrite that piece of evidence. Draw your friend, the empty circle, to the left of it.
Repeat the Pro and Con process above, except now this piece of evidence is the main statement.
Keep doing this until you either resolve the question, or you just don't want to think about it anymore. In the latter case, leave the notebook and come back to it later. I think that when you come back, you'll see a lot more progress toward answering the original question than you thought you could make.
Suppose you want to decide whether you can do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year. I'm going to walk you through how to use a blank notebook and a 3-way truth scale.
Open your blank notebook to the first page, and write down your question, but not as a question. Make it a statement that you're going to debate with yourself. Put an empty circle to the left of it.
◯ I can do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year.
The blank circle indicates undecided. Your eventual goal is to put either a check mark or an X in that circle after you decide if the statement is true or false.
The blank circle is your friend. Here's the most important point of this post: The blank circle gives you emotional permission to write things down when you don't know (yet) whether they're true or false. It gets you past the writer's block that usually accompanies undecided questions. You're going to use this circle a lot.
Now continue the debate with yourself. Below the statement put:
Pro
Think of a piece of evidence that, if true, might help persuade you that you can do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year. You don't have to know yet whether or not it's true. Write it down with a circle to the left.
Think of a second piece of evidence that might help persuade you.
When you can't think of more such evidence, leave some vertical space in case you think of another pro argument later. Then put:
Con
Think of a piece of evidence that, if true, might help persuade you that you cannot do a couch-to-5k fitness program this year. Write it down with a circle to the left.
Think of a second piece of evidence.
When you can't think of more such evidence, go back over what you've already written down, both pro and con, and see if anything is obviously true (put a checkbox in its circle) or false (put an X). You might at this point be able to resolve the truth of the main statement.
If the main statement is still undecided, pick the most persuasive undecided piece of evidence. If you aren't sure what's most persuasive, just start with the first one.
Open to a new page in your notebook and rewrite that piece of evidence. Draw your friend, the empty circle, to the left of it.
Repeat the Pro and Con process above, except now this piece of evidence is the main statement.
Keep doing this until you either resolve the question, or you just don't want to think about it anymore. In the latter case, leave the notebook and come back to it later. I think that when you come back, you'll see a lot more progress toward answering the original question than you thought you could make.