The Regret Calculator

At the time, did you have enough information to make a different decision?

No — I made the best call I could with what I knew Partially — I had some warning signs I didn't fully weigh Yes — I knew better and ignored it

Is the outcome you're regretting one you could have predicted at the time?

No — this is hindsight. I couldn't have known. It was possible but not obvious Yes — it was a foreseeable consequence

Can you still do anything about this?

No — the decision is final and the outcome is set Partially — I can mitigate but not reverse Yes — I can still change course

Regret warranted?

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Findings

What to actually do

One reframe

How this works: Regret has two sources: bad decisions (where you had better information and ignored it) and bad outcomes (which can follow good decisions). These require different responses. This tool scores regret across five dimensions — information quality, predictability, time horizon, reversibility, and decision timing — to distinguish warranted regret (useful signal) from unwarranted regret (noise that costs you without teaching you anything). The goal isn't to make you feel better. It's to make the regret useful or let it go with cause.