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If you’re habitually indecisive, decision making can feel like an extreme sport. Spending days on end trying to settle on a decision before you end up changing your mind a couple more times again is an exhausting endeavor — and quite a harmful habit.
Being skillfully decisive can be a determining factor in your work, business and personal life. In a professional environment, your decision-making skills can make all the difference between getting a promotion and getting fired. It’s a soft skill that employers are always on the lookout for, as it shows that you can arrive at a conclusion independently when faced with a problem.
It’s not just about being able to make big life-changing decisions, however. Being able to make trivial decisions successfully could also affect your overall performance and productivity. Whichever way you look at it, then, being a good decision-maker is a critical skill.
If you’re convinced that it’s time for a change, or if you haven’t quite decided yet, the following steps are a good starting point. Read on and learn how to develop your decision-making skills.
1. Have clear goals
Keeping a clear goal in mind is a very effective decision-making strategy. Let’s say you’re given two options: one, you keep your current job, which is monotonous but offers a high income, and two, you pursue an exciting new career without steady pay.
If your goal is to save up and have financial stability, then you would probably lean towards the first option. However, if your goal is to travel and learn new skills, then your decision should be based on that objective. Even if it’s riskier, it aligns with your personal career goals, thus making it the best choice.
Consequently, your decision-making criteria should be informed by your goals. This will allow you to settle on what can lead to the desired outcome. Therefore, keeping in mind what you want to achieve with your decision will improve your skills and help you effectively approach any catch-22 situation.
2. Don’t overthink it
This advice might be cliché, but it’s still good advice.
While weighing your options, you might find yourself considering how your decision could affect your career or personal life in a few years. This isn’t necessarily bad. Taking short- and long-term effects into account helps you realize what the best decision is. The problems arise, however, when you start overanalyzing those probabilities and ping-ponging between options.
It’s essential to consider the possible outcomes of a decision, especially if there are high stakes involved. However, when you spend hours analyzing and estimating every likely scenario, instead of preparing you for the impact, it hinders your ability to settle on a decision.
To avoid this, you need to follow a structured approach. Make a pros-and-cons list, if necessary, and try to be objective about which option outweighs the other. Having an objective tactic will help make informed decisions, and it will stop you from getting sucked into a whirlpool of what ifs. Even if those worst-case scenarios play out, don’t underestimate your ability to overcome them.
3. Set time limits
Sometimes, having too much time to decide on something can be your worst enemy. It could be useful to set yourself a timeframe (within reasonable bounds) in which you need to make your decision.
Let’s say you need to decide whether you should use the last of your vacation days to attend your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate’s wedding or not. Set yourself a specific date to make this decision.
Not only will it help you organize yourself better, but it will also restrict you from repeatedly jumping from one option to the next. As a result, having a virtual deadline will help you reach a conclusion quicker, and it will make you a more effective decision-maker.
4. Trust your gut
How many times have you based a decision on a feeling? Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re right to do so. Intuition is an important element in any decision-making process. It’s a combination of past experiences and personal values that affects every decision you make.
There’s actual science behind your “gut feeling”. William Duggan, associate professor of management at Columbia Business School, identifies three types of intuition — ordinary, expert and strategic — in his book Strategic Intuition. While the first two are based on instinct and snap judgements, the third one works in new and unfamiliar situations.
Consequently, it might be worth taking your intuition into account when trying to arrive at a decision. Sometimes you just know what is right for you, and being tuned in with those emotions could work to your advantage. That said, don’t base important decisions solely on intuition. While it should be a contributing factor to your decision-making process, you should refer to additional information on the matter and make an informed decision.
5. Do your research
Psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer suggests that people are inclined to automatically accept things as “true” and make snap decisions based on limited information.
When making everyday decisions that don’t require deliberation, this is quite useful. However, with decisions that could affect your career, your company or your personal life, doing your research could be a slightly more critical step.
If you want to develop the ways decisions are made in your company, you could implement evidence-based management. This management style incorporates scientific evidence to help you reach decisions and it enables you to pursue a logical and practical route when making decisions that affect your business. If the good old ways of management have not been effective, it might be time to switch the way decisions are made.
Major decisions usually require thorough research. The more informed you are, the less uncertain you’ll feel. Examine the data you have and consult the information available to you. Of course, make sure that these are both relevant and objective.
6. Think like a satisficer
According to psychology, there are two types of decision makers: satisficers and maximizers. Each type approaches decisions quite differently. A maximizer strives to make the most informed decision they can, but a satisficer evaluates options based on their essential needs.
When you are “satisficing”, you prioritize an adequate solution over an optimal solution. This does not mean that satisficers have low criteria. It simply means that they will make their decision as soon as they discover an option that meets their required standards.
A maximizer, on the other hand, is inclined to circulate all available options and exhaust every resource before reaching a conclusion. This takes a lot more time and energy, and it often leaves maximizers feeling uncertain and dissatisfied with the decision they end up making.
Consequently, while research is essential, knowing when to stop is equally so. Once you have all the information you need to make your decision, do so and don’t look back.
7. Check your confidence
Sometimes, it’s not about being unable to make a decision but rather about being unable to make the right one. Research has found that people tend to overestimate their abilities and knowledge. So, while some people don’t feel confident to make decisions, others are overconfident with the choices they make. As a result, this leads to ineffective decision-making, which can affect their performance at work and their personal life.
If you’re guilty of this, there are some steps you can take to overcome it. Being confident and self-assured is essential, but so is being self-aware. Having realistic expectations will help you create a better working pattern for yourself and will allow you to set logical targets for your work.
Time management is also a crucial aspect. For example, if you’ve never finished a work report within an hour, maybe it’s better if you allocate more time for it. Consider your past performance levels to make estimates and adjust your time allocation accordingly. That way, you’ll be able to weigh your options and make informative decisions.
8. Be optimistic
Yes, another truism, but hear me out. It’s important to consider the negative aspects of your decisions. It helps you scale the available options and enables you to reach the most effective conclusion.
However, if you just focus on everything that could go wrong, that also means you eliminate the possibility of everything that could go right.
A pessimistic outlook will not help you make an informed decision. You might settle on the safest option, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right one. You need to weigh the negatives equally against the positives. This allows you to form a realistic understanding of the situation, and it will help you realize which option is more suitable.
9. Give it time
Not every decision can be made right away. While you need to make some decisions much faster (like what type of coffee you want because you’re holding up the line), others require a thorough thought process.
Studies show that by letting ideas “incubate”, you can arrive at a decision more effectively. Therefore, instead of spending days on end agonizing over your dilemma, allow your unconscious to process the situation.
While quick thinking is imperative for minor and everyday decisions, others require more deliberation. Taking time to consider the risks and possible outcomes, but also letting that information sit at the back of your head for a while, will benefit your process. Therefore, allow yourself enough time to consider all the facts before reaching the final verdict.
10. Don’t sugarcoat it
When you face an awkward situation, you might feel inclined to go for the easiest solution and save yourself from the hassle.
Let’s say your colleague is behaving inappropriately, and you can either report them or ignore them and save yourself from an awkward situation.
If you pick the latter option, you might convince yourself that it’s not that big a deal, after all. When neither choice is ideal, that can keep you from making one or push you in the wrong way. Nevertheless, to make the best decision, you need to acknowledge all the facts. If you’re tied between easy and right, consider the benefits of your choice and the positive changes it could bring. What, then, is the necessary decision you must take?
11. Economize your energy
Sometimes, the reason we can’t make better decisions is that we care too much about things that we shouldn’t. “Anti-guru” and author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck, Sarah Knight, stresses the importance of prioritizing and economizing the energy we put into various matters.
That way, you not only save yourself from spending precious energy on minimal issues, but you can also make the best decisions for yourself without hesitation. This easily extends to the workplace.
If you catch yourself wasting valuable energy and time on trivialities, ask yourself: “How long should I spend on this? How important is it?” Be strict with the amount of energy and time you invest in different things. Not only will it liberate you from tedious matters, but it will also make you an effective decision maker.
12. Be independent
When faced with hard choices, it’s reasonable to seek other people’s opinions. It gives you a new perspective on the matter, and it helps you consider aspects that you hadn’t before. However, becoming dependent on others’ views can stunt the development of your decision-making skills.
There are a few crucial steps you should follow to ensure that doesn’t happen. To begin with, limit the number of people you consult to a selective few. Too many opinions will leave you uncertain about what to do. Additionally, instead of asking others “What should I do?”, recalibrate your question to “What is your view on this?”
That way, you sustain your authority on the matter but also gain insight from others. It’s also essential to ensure your sources are trustworthy and knowledgeable — asking people at random will not do.
Sometimes, getting a different perspective on a situation can be the nudge you need to have a breakthrough moment. However, concluding independently is equally important. After all, it’s your decision to make; trust yourself that you can make the right one.
13. Get an expert’s opinion
While too much input from others can stall your decision-making, asking an expert for theirs can significantly improve this process. This is especially true when you must decide on something you’re not as familiar with or knowledgeable about. By asking someone with extensive knowledge of a particular subject, you’ll get more insight and be more confident about making an informed decision.
For example, say that you want to branch out and develop a new professional skill that is not directly related to your field; talking to a career coach, your supervisor or an experienced industry expert could help you settle on a skill that will complement your existing skill set.
14. Follow a process of elimination
Sometimes, making a decision outright can be very overwhelming. What you can do instead is create a list of options along with their merits and gradually start eliminating entries until you have reached a final decision. This can help you better understand which option you might be leaning toward as you slowly narrow down possibilities.
To make this work, you must set specific criteria that you will use to evaluate all options. When you’re ready, start examining each option, determining if they fit said criteria or not. You’ll need to repeat this process until you’ve reached a satisfactory decision based on these facts and relevant information.
15. Use the 10-10-10 rule
Applying the 10-10-10 rule can help you become a much more confident decision-maker. The premise is simple: when faced with a choice, consider how it will affect you in the next 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years. This approach can put things in perspective and help you make a decision that your future self will also be content with.
However, as already mentioned, you must tread carefully when using this framework to avoid overthinking every possible scenario and its impact on your life. The point of the 10-10-10 rule is to be more objective with your decisions and have a more thorough understanding of how you’ll feel about them in the future.
Final thoughts
If you want to live your best life, you need to be able to make better decisions. Lucky for you, it’s an art that you can easily learn with practice. Developing your decision-making abilities will benefit you personally but will also set your career forward.
Long gone will be the days you spent dueling over dilemmas or struggling to correct the outcomes of a thoughtless decision. Not only will your performance improve substantially, but you will be able to have ease of mind, too. So, the next time you have an important decision to make, keep these steps in mind.
Which of these steps did you find the most useful? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
This article is a partial update of an earlier version originally published on August 20, 2019. In the update, we added three additional tips and reviewed the existing content for accuracy.