Managers should document major initiatives, significant decisions, and anything with legal or financial implications, but not every minor choice. The practical threshold is documenting decisions that affect team outcomes, involve multiple stakeholders, set precedents, or could be questioned later. Most effective managers use the "3-month test": if you'd need to remember why you made this decision 3 months from now, write it down.

The challenge isn't whether to document. It's knowing what's worth documenting and what's just bureaucratic noise.

What Actually Needs Documentation (The 70% Rule)

Most managers waste time documenting trivial decisions while failing to record critical ones. The 70% rule provides a clear filter: document decisions that affect 70% or more of your team, budget, or timeline.

High-priority documentation includes:

• Personnel decisions (hiring, firing, performance issues, accommodations)
• Budget allocations over your approval threshold
• Policy changes or exceptions to standard procedure
• Client or customer commitments
• Legal or compliance-related choices
• Strategic direction shifts

Skip documenting:

• Routine task assignments
• Standard operating procedures already covered elsewhere
• Casual team preferences (coffee brand, meeting room choices)
• Easily reversible micro-decisions

The difference? A decision to extend a project deadline by 6 weeks needs documentation. Choosing which intern reviews the draft report first doesn't.

The Real Costs of Getting This Wrong

Over-documentation creates:

• Time drain: Excessive administrative work that pulls managers away from actual leadership
• Decision paralysis: Hesitation before minor choices because "everything needs to be documented"
• Team bottlenecks: Staff waiting for written approval on routine matters
• Lost context: Important decisions buried in volumes of trivial notes

Under-documentation causes:

• "He said/she said" disputes with no paper trail
• Inability to defend decisions during audits or reviews
• Repeated mistakes from forgotten lessons
• Legal vulnerability in employment or contract disputes
• Loss of institutional knowledge when managers leave

A manager facing a wrongful termination claim without documented performance issues has a problem. A manager who documented 47 routine emails about office supply orders has wasted their time.

The Documentation Framework That Actually Works

Effective managers use a tiered system based on decision impact and risk.

Tier 1: Always Document (Same Day)

These decisions need documentation within 24 hours:

• Disciplinary actions or performance discussions
• Commitments made to clients, vendors, or senior leadership
• Budget changes above your approval threshold
• Deadline extensions with business impact
• Policy exceptions or special accommodations
• Decisions that override standard process

Required elements: What was decided, who was involved, why this choice was made, expected outcomes, and the date.

Tier 2: Document Within a Week

These warrant brief documentation but less urgency:

• Strategic planning decisions (if you're still working on your overall direction, our guide to writing a business plan is worth reading first, it covers the same principle of putting key decisions in writing before you're deep in execution)
• Team restructuring or role changes
• New process implementations
• Vendor or partner selections
• Project scope changes

Format: 3-4 sentence summary covering the decision, key stakeholders, and implementation timeline.

Tier 3: Don't Document (Unless a Pattern Emerges)

Skip documentation for:

• Routine approvals within your authority
• Standard task assignments
• Meeting schedules
• Minor workflow adjustments
• Individual work preferences

If you find yourself making the same Tier 3 decision repeatedly, it might signal a process gap worth documenting once as a new standard procedure.

Common Documentation Mistakes

1. Documenting decisions without reasoning

Six months later, no one remembers why a choice made sense. Always include "This decision was made because..." in 1-2 sentences.

• Bad: "Extended Project Phoenix deadline to June 30." 
• Good: "Extended Project Phoenix deadline from May 15 to June 30 because the client requested 3 additional features after kickoff. Client chose deadline extension over reduced scope."

2. Using vague language

"We'll look into improving response times" means nothing. Specific commitments work: "Reduce response time from 48 hours to 24 hours by Q3."

3. Documenting in inaccessible locations

Personal notebooks, random email threads, and dead Slack channels defeat the purpose. Use a centralized system—shared drive, project management tool, or team wiki.

4. Writing for yourself instead of others

Documentation should make sense to someone reading it without you present. Shorthand and personal context fail this test.

5. Missing dates or version control

"Updated pricing structure" could mean anything. Always include the date and note if this supersedes a previous policy.

When Documentation Becomes a Legal Necessity

Some decisions cross from "good practice" into "required for legal protection":

• Employment decisions (performance reviews, terminations, discrimination or harassment complaints)
• Safety or compliance violations
• Contract modifications
• Financial irregularities
• Customer disputes with potential legal action

According to SHRM, the country's leading HR authority, maintaining thorough records for personnel decisions is one of the most critical compliance practices a business can have, and one of the most commonly neglected by small and mid-sized operations. The same principle applies to your employee handbook and onboarding documents: having signed acknowledgment that employees received and understood your policies is its own form of decision documentation that protects you if a dispute arises later.

The test: If HR, legal, or your boss would ask "did you document this?", the answer needs to be yes.

Legal documentation should be factual, timely (within 24 hours), and stored securely. Avoid speculation or emotional language. Include dates, times, witnesses, and specific statements when relevant.

The "Three Questions" Test

Before spending time on documentation, ask:

1. Could someone question why I made this choice? If yes → Document the reasoning
2. Will this decision still matter in 90 days? If yes → Document the what and when
3. Would I be in trouble if there's no record of this? If yes → Document thoroughly and store securely

Answering no to all three means skip documentation. One yes means a brief note. Two or more yes answers require proper documentation.

Example: Approving a team member's vacation request? Three no answers—skip it. Denying that same request because it conflicts with a critical deadline? At least two yes answers—document it.

Documentation Methods That Don't Slow You Down

Email yourself (30 seconds): Quick summary after important conversations or decisions. Creates a searchable archive with timestamp proof.

Shared team log (5 minutes daily): End-of-day update with 3-5 bullet points covering key decisions, changes, or commitments.

Meeting notes template: Standard format built into meetings: decisions made, action items, owners, deadlines. Takes no extra time if done during the meeting.

Voice memos (convert later): Record a 60-second summary immediately after a decision. Transcribe only if needed for official records.

The method matters less than consistency and accessibility.

What Good Documentation Looks Like

Effective example:

Decision: Extended Project Phoenix deadline from May 15 to June 30

Date: March 3, 2024

Reason: Client requested 3 additional features after kickoff. Original scope didn't account for these changes. Options were: (1) charge extra and keep timeline, (2) remove features, (3) extend deadline. Client chose option 3.

Impact: Pushes Q2 delivery to Q3. Notified finance team for revenue recognition adjustment.

Stakeholders: Project team, client sponsor (J. Smith), finance (M. Johnson)

Ineffective example:

Moved the deadline for the project because things changed.

The effective version can be referenced months later, protects against "but you never told us" claims, and helps future managers understand context. The ineffective version creates more questions than it answers.

Documentation Decision Checklist

Document immediately if the decision:

• Involves personnel actions
• Changes budget or resources significantly
• Creates legal exposure
• Overrides standard policy
• Makes commitments to external parties
• Could be questioned by your boss or HR

Document within a week if the decision:

• Affects team structure or process
• Involves strategic planning
• Changes scope of ongoing projects
• Establishes a new precedent

Skip documentation if the decision:

• Falls within routine authority
• Is easily reversible
• Affects no stakeholders beyond your immediate team
• Is already covered by existing process documentation

FAQ

How long should managers keep documentation?

Keep personnel and legal documentation for the length of employment plus the statute of limitations in your jurisdiction (typically 3-5 years). Keep project documentation through project completion plus one fiscal year. Archive strategic decisions permanently as institutional knowledge.

What if documenting everything is required by company policy?

Focus effort on quality documentation for high-impact items. For required low-impact documentation, create templates that minimize time investment. If policy creates genuine productivity problems, consider presenting data on time costs to leadership.

Should documentation be shared immediately or kept private?

Share documentation that involves team decisions, commitments, or changes in direction. Keep private any documentation that's still under consideration, involves personnel issues, or contains sensitive information until appropriate to share.

What's the minimum acceptable documentation for a significant decision?

Four sentences cover the essentials: "On [date], we decided to [decision]. This choice was made because [reason]. [Names] were part of this decision. We expect [outcome] by [timeline]."

How do you handle documentation when decisions change rapidly?

Document the final decision and note it supersedes previous direction. For fast-moving situations, a daily summary is more useful than documenting every pivot. Version control matters more than capturing every step.

Looking for practical management tools that save time without creating risk? Visit the Unsexy Shop for documentation templates, decision frameworks, and systems that help you lead without drowning in paperwork.