You make hundreds of decisions daily from minor to the big and serious ones! All these decisions construct your life and future. So, being able to make a good decision in an effective way is key to success in all aspects of your life.
Here we have some good tips for you to make your decision-making process more efficient and less stressful. Enjoy!
Find Out the Real Issue and Generate Alternatives
Before making decisions it is highly important to understand the real issue that will be handled by the decision. Only in this case it is possible to generate right alternatives and find the best and shortest way to reach your goal. Once the issue is clear, try to generate alternatives and discover the options that can lead to the same result.
There are 2 types of personalities: satisficers and maximizers. The first ones make the decision once they find an option that meets their criteria. Adversely, maximizers discover as many alternatives as they can trying to make the most optimal decision. You should try to be somewhere in the middle of these 2. Being a satisficer you will risk missing better opportunities, while maximizers waste a lot of time and energy even for minor decisions.
Also: What is Emotional Intelligence and How Can It Drive Success?
Minimize Your Options
There is a common belief that the best decision is the most informed one. But on the other hand, the overload of information even can have a more negative effect than the lack of it. Furthermore, the process of collecting information for more options can be time-consuming and confusing. So in this way, you will end up making endless comparisons and never reach a final solution.
Besides, people are more satisfied with their decision when making a choice among limited options. Adversely, the more options the more the feeling of missed opportunity and less satisfaction.
Consider Your Emotions
Although it can seem that emotions can paralyze rational decisions, in fact, they are essential for making optimal choices. People tend to consider facts, and numbers and rely only on logic to make a good decision. As a matter of fact, you can’t get rid of your emotions and decision-making will always be somehow emotional.
Scientific research shows that people having injuries in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for the integration of emotions and cognition, are less capable of making optimal decisions. This decline of optimism cannot be scientifically explained by simple cognitive changes. Thus, there is a theory that our brain keeps emotional memories of our past choices and uses it for making new decisions.
Do What Makes You Happy
Think about what you truly want to do. Sometimes more optimal decisions measured by facts will bring less satisfaction than the less optimal ones. So, take time to get what you really need even if the outcome of other options seems better.
Also: 5 Simple Yet Effective Tips To Build a New Habit!
Decision-making is not an inborn talent, you can develop it as all the other skills. Try to master more effective decision-making techniques, find the ones that better affect your productivity, and take your skill to the next level. Remember, our life is composed of tiny and big decisions we make. So, let’s do it all wisely!