Sometimes we spend too much time waffling back and forth about a decision. This is generally referred to as procrastinating. And often we view it negatively. Sometimes it can be good to take time to make a decision, while other times it is best to just decide and move forward. Now let’s consider a when it is good to take time to make a decision, when it is good to be quick and what might help speed things up in the decision making process.
Slow decision time….
It is often good to take time to make decision which have long lasting impacts on you and your family. This might be decisions about buying a new car, making a career change, having children or moving to a new neighborhood and possibly which school to attend. Basically, these are all items which are difficult to reverse or undue. This is when it is good to take a deep breath and evaluate what it is you really want or need. Try to keep the emotion out of the equation. An example is buying a new car. Often there is pressure from others to do that and the reasons all seem legitimate…at the time. But really the only thing most of us need is a car good enough to get from point A to point B. In my situation, that is about 15 miles one way. I don’t need a fancy car to do that. I do however need a reliable car. The difference is the cost.
Quick decision time….
At times it is good to make quick decisions. Like what to have for lunch, or simply deciding not to eat at a restaurant. Deciding how much to put in savings each paycheck. Quick decisions usually have little or no impact on our overall quality of life (yes, I am excluding catastrophic or major emergency situations). These decisions are simple and leave us feeling generally good.
Decisions made easy…
What makes it easy to make decisions? When you know what you need or want and the difference; the decision making process becomes really simple. Going back to the car scenario, if you know what you need and your budget, then you have naturally limited the choices. So, we could say that in order to help the decision making process simple then we should find an easy method to limit the choices. There are three things to consider in the decision making process: values, cost, and does it help me achieve my long range goals? Every decision should be guided by those three considerations. Cost is a twofold scenario of economic or monetary and social. Remember that there could be a social cost associated with a decision. For example are you willing to risk public ridicule for your decision?
Establish your value, which means what you, as a person, are willing to allow in your world. You have direct control over this. You don’t have to buy that car, take that job, or eat that food if you don’t want to. Second always establishes a budget, what you are willing to spend or what the pay at a new job must be. Third, make sure it moves you toward your long term goal. If your goal is to be a millionaire, then buying fast food at every meal probably won’t help you get there very fast.
When you have established these three things you will become very focused and intentional about how you make your decision. Give it a try. Write it down and see how it works for you.