Just a litte indecisive?
Just a little indecisive?
Should you have a fixed or variable monthly payment on your banking loan? Are you getting up now or in five minutes? Black or blue socks? Decisions in life are many. Some of them you hardly notice while others can be quite demanding.
Why is it so hard to make up your mind sometimes? How many decisions do you make in a day? How can we make decisions without the agonizing?
Sometimes we are so afraid of making the wrong decision that some decisions are never taken. But is it really easy, when the choices are so many? Going into a coffe shop you can choose from seven different cakes, seventy varieties of pastries and not to mention how many versions of coffee and tea there are. Which will you choose? Today we have more information to sort out, more options to evaluate and inevitably less time.
Ari Riabacker who has a PhD in risk and decision analysis says that we sometimes spend a disproportionate amount of time to make certain decisions. We spend more time on choosing the right electricity contracts than in choosing our life partner.
During our vacation my family and I went to purchase ice cream almost every day. I was fascinated to acknowledge our decision process. My son always chose the same ice cream, my husband had three options and quickly chose one of them when opening the freezer. I was experimental and would often try something new, while my daughter went through all the options and scrutinized them, weighed the pros and cons, until we cried “Our ice cream is melting!”.
Whether we think we make too slow or hasty decisions, we can all agree that make many. In 24 hours we make between 2500-10000 decisions.
But the problem I have with my clients is, rather, that decisions are not taken. Options are weighing on their mind and they twist and turn them for ages. They sometimes delay making a decision for so long that they end up spending more time thinking about whether they should do something, than it would take time to do it. Entire organizations are frustrated for not getting on.
Why are some decisions so complicated? Do we lack information?
No, the more time we spend on trying to make a decision, the more nervous we get about making the wrong decision. Having spent so much time thinking about it, we feel obliged that it has to be the absolutely most perfect decision.
More data does not always help. We usually use the new information to strengthen us in what we already decided upon from the beginning. A kind of decision perfectionism?
A more time-efficient way to act is to pick out the absolute worst options, get rid of them and then select one of the good options we have left.
Of course there is a balance between decision consistency and time we put into it. The decisions that really matter to us, such as housing and pensions, for example, may be worth to spend more time on. Unfortunately, those decisions can sometimes be too hasty because we are all stressed out from getting stuck on all the smaller decisions in life.
If I have understood scientists and psychologists correctly the habit of making decisions can be improved and more efficient with the following tips.
• The perfect decision does not exist. Sort out the worst alternatives and choose one of the better ones.
• More information is not always better, it can even make you more hesitant.
• How have you solved a similar situation earlier? Re-use decisions patterns from similar decisions. Of course experience helps.
• Do not try to make “everyone happy”. Everyone will not like your decisions.
• Stop dwelling too much and end up procrastinating. Make a decision.
• If things go wrong, make a new decision.
If this does not get you ahead, there are some apps that can help you in the decision process:
Time Glass – An hourglass with green and red beads, a green bead means “yes”, if you get a red bead it is “no.”
I will Decide – different models to make decisions
Geek Logic – A real geek app that helps you figure out things like “If you have a chance in hell to get together with someone?”
My husband can confirm that I find it difficult to make up my mind sometimes. This morning, I asked him what I should wear, since I had some extra important meetings and wanted to feel really comfortable and professionally dressed. Patiently he responded and helped me to a really good decision while I looked enviously at his suit. He has three different ones that he alternates between and basically he just needs choose a shirt. So easy! What if it is only fair that I involve him more in my decisions?
Wishing you a decisive weekend
Petra Brask
“Peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one.”
Rita Mae Brown
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