When to use it
Use it when a decision is clouded by short-term emotion or pressure.
How to apply it
- Frame the decision and the main options in a sentence each.
- For each option, note the likely consequences in ten minutes.
- Note the likely consequences in ten months.
- Note the likely consequences in ten years.
- Choose the option whose consequences you are most comfortable with across all three horizons.
Tip: The exact time spans are flexible; the point is to force a comparison of short and long term.