What are the pros and cons of using "pros and cons" as a means to decision-making?

Pros They help to break down a big or complex decision into its components The act of getting your thoughts on paper is usually helpful in working through a tough choice Cons They make it easy to oversimplify your analysis They don't reflect how people actually decide I think the last con is my biggest qualm about using pros and cons lists. Some people see them as this scientifically objective method that will arrive at the "correct" decision by simply tallying up the lengths of each list (or some other formula). This might work fine for trivial things like Which pair of socks should I wear today? but doesn't make any sense for bigger life decisions like Should I take a great job in San Francisco or follow my girlfriend to Cleveland? People base these important choices on intuitive feelings that a pros and cons list can't understand. There might be 500 reasons to take the job and only one to follow the girl, but that one reason might make everything else inconsequential. While making a pros and cons list, I usually sense myself working a lot harder to find support for one choice over the others. So I'd argue that the best way to use a pros and cons list isn't to make a decision, but rather to realize the decision you have already made.