Your days are filled with a constant stream of
decisions. A study from Columbia University found that we’re bogged down by a
good 70 decisions a day.
Some decisions are minor, like what to eat, which
route to drive to work, or in what order to tackle tasks. Others are more
difficult, like deciding between two job offers, whether to move to a new city
for someone you love, or whether to cut a toxic person out of your life.
With so many decisions taking up each day, learning to
prioritize them and make them effectively is essential to your success and
happiness.
While I’m familiar with many strategies successful
people use for effective decision-making, what follows are the cream of the
crop.
They Turn Small Decisions Into Routines …
Decision-making works like a muscle: as you use it
over the course of the day, it gets too exhausted to function effectively. One
of the best strategies successful people use to work around their decision
fatigue is to eliminate smaller decisions by turning them into routines. Doing
so frees up mental resources for more complex decisions.
Steve Jobs famously wore a black
turtleneck to work every day. Mark Zuckerberg still dons a hoodie. Both men have stated
that these iconic images are the simple result of daily routines intended to
cut down on decision fatigue. They were both aware of our finite daily ability
to make good decisions, as is Barack Obama, who said, “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue
suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about
what I’m eating or wearing, because I have too many other decisions to make.”
… And Make Big Decisions In The Morning
Another great way to beat decision fatigue is to save
small decisions for after work (when decision fatigue is greatest) and to
tackle complex decisions in the morning, when your mind is fresh. When you’re
facing a stream of important decisions, a great trick is to wake up early and
work on your most complicated tasks before you get hit with a bunch of
distracting minor decisions (phones ringing, e-mails coming in). A similar
strategy is to do some of the smaller things the night before to get a head
start on the next day. For instance, lay out your outfit at night so you don’t
even have to think about it when you wake up.
They Pay Attention To Their
Emotions
There’s an old saying: “Don’t
make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions,” and it definitely rings
true. Successful people recognize and understand their emotions (including
their intensity and impact on behavior) so that they are able to look at
decisions as objectively and rationally as possible.
Unfortunately, most people
aren’t good at managing or even recognizing their emotions. TalentSmart has
tested more than a million people and found that only 36% of us are able to
accurately identify our emotions as they happen. Strong decision makers, on the
other hand, know that a bad mood can make them lash out or stray from their
moral compass just as easily as a good mood can make them overconfident and
impulsive.
They Evaluate Their Options
Objectively
When really wrapped up in a
decision, successful people weigh their options against a pre-determined set of
criteria because they know that this makes decision-making easier and more
effective. Here are some helpful criteria to consider: How does this decision
benefit me? How does it hurt me? How does this benefit ___? How does it hurt
___? Does the decision reflect my values? Would I regret making this decision?
Would I regret not making this decision? Does this decision reflect my values?
source:- www.forbes.com
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