Toolkit to Get Better at Making Every Type of Decision
Life is a neverending series of decisions. Some of these decisions bear little weight on the rest of your life, but others can have huge consequences. The fact is, we make a ton of choices a day, from the micro (what should I eat today?) to the life-changing (do I start this enterprise?). The sheer number of decisions that require attention can be taxing. Decision-making is made harder when we have more choices, and that can feel overwhelming. Some tools to help in decision making
- Zero in to what you want. Without clear objectives for what you want to achieve with a decision, you might focus on the wrong things. Even if its small decisions. Like if going out for dinner with friends, and if you want to have some meaningful conversation you should choose a quieter restaurant. This will work in bigger life decisions. For example, when weighing multiple job offers, think about what aspects of a new job would make your life better, aside from salary: work-life balance, commute time, benefits.
- Don’t waste too much time on small decisions. What to make for lunch or what to wear in the morning or who to have drinks with — it’s reasonable to not worry about this stuff. Don’t waste your energy on these things. Also don’t worry about the quality of these decisions.
- Get opinion for the big stuff. Ask people who have experienced similar things.Get a second, third or fourth opinion. Don’t make major decisions in a vacuum.
- Feelings shape our thinking. Be mindful of your emotions. Its not a good idea to make decisions when in an emotionally fluctuating state. Like taking a decision after a fight with parter. Better to let things settle and then decide. Getting your emotion out by journaling is a great way to keep emotional decision making in check
- Make a pros and cons list. Prioritise decisions with respect to goals. For example, when deciding whether to skip a friend’s upcoming wedding due to the high cost of attending multiple nuptials in a year, a pros and cons list would push you to think about how highly you value this friendship versus your goal of putting more money into savings.
