How to make better decisions

In the article “Why are decisions so hard?” I explained to you why decisions are stressful, scary and exhausting — and you are not even particularly good at them.

That does not exactly make you keen on going out and making a few choices?

Therefore, I also want to provide you with some tips on how to feel less overwhelmed by the amount of choices you are facing and how to make better decisions when they matter most.

1. Content yourself with less

‘Content yourself with less’ — This advice might seem weird from a blog that espouses self-development. Isn’t more always better?

Not necessarily.

Consider how many decisions with how many alternatives you face everyday. And even more important: that you only have a limited amount of mental energy to spend on these decisions. Thus, it makes sense to economize. But not all of us are good at saving energy when it comes to decisions.

Experiments have found that there are two tendencies in people: On the one hand, there are satisficers who content themselves with an alternative as soon as it is good enough. On the other hand, there are maximizers who always seek to single out the best possible option for themselves.

For example, a satisficer is content with a random mobile plan that fits their needs. A maximizer, however, wants exactly that one from which they benefit most. It is self-evident: Being a maximizer is more tiring. And even if maximizers might make the better decisions, they are less content with their choices than the satisficers. Why? Since they consider more alternatives, they are always aware of all the options they did not chose — who knows if there might not be an even better mobile tariff hidden somewhere?

So trying to make the perfect choice can make you unhappy.

What does that mean to you?

Of course, I am not suggesting that you tackle the big decisions in your life with a “fair enough”-mentality. However, a bit of satisficing might do you good in regards to all those small decisions — such as buying socks, choosing a restaurant or deciding on a movie. A prominent supporter of this strategy is Barack Obama: “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.”

Take this as an example and train the satisficer inside of you: Go to supermarkets with two instead of 200 types of ketchup, eat the recommendation of the day in the restaurant and make Saturday night plans without checking all the possible events you could be going to. See it as an experiment!

2. Grow useful habits

Another good way to save energy on choices are habits. Yes, habits — or even routines — sound terribly boring. But they are useful, especially for all the small decisions.

A healthy morning routine helps you arrive at work full of power and decisiveness. A structure for your day rids you of all those small decisions, such as “Which task should I do next?”, “When will I have lunch?” or “Isn’t it time to check Facebook again?”. What sounds like a dull creativity killer can actually give you capacity for more challenging tasks. If you spend less mental energy on constantly making decisions about what to do now, you can use it for those tasks that really matter.

When you want to be productive, one of your habits should definitely be: creating a tranquil work environment. What does that have to do with decisions? Well, every disturbance you have to ignore is a choice. Every distraction (such as incoming emails) a decision if you should interrupt what you are doing or not. What can help here? A good time plan, which you also communicate to others, and switching off as many notifications as possible.

Last but not least: Pauses should be a vital part of your routine, so you can restore your energy.

3. The right circumstances for better decisions

Growing habits helps you to reduce energy you put in all those small decisions. But of course, you will always need mental energy for the big ones — so be very aware when you tackle them. A study by the National Academy of Sciences showed that the decisions judges make in court are influenced by a very mundane factor: How long since their last meal?

In the morning or after their lunch break, judges treat the accused significantly more benevolently in their sentences than when many choices have already made them worn out.

This shows how much fleeting moods influence your decisions. So find the right moment for big decisions — or even better — give yourself some time (and have a sandwich!) so that your mood does not make a decision for you.

4. Step out of your shoes

Giving yourself time for important decisions can also protect you from falling for the cognitive biases I told you about in the last article. These rules of thumb are designed to help you make quick, energy-saving decisions. With more time, however, you can try to dig deeper, for example, into why you might already tend toward an alternative. Might it have to do with a prejudice? Or exaggerated risk-avoidance?

Knowing the biases you might suffer from, helps with identifying them.

Another way to be more open-minded about a decision is to deliberately change perspectives. A way to do so are, for example, methods, based on the “Six Thinking Hats”. These make you single out different styles of thinking and apply them one after the other on the decision you are facing.

Methods like that (there are many more!) facilitate a creative approach to choices, which can prevent your thoughts from circling and you from being blinkered. All this contributes to better decisions.

Originally published at blog.delightex.com on January 11, 2016.