Don’t Make That Decision!

Are you to busying making decisions? 

One of the worse uses of your time is in making decisions.

Decision-making is stressful, gobbles up a lot of time and energy, and takes you away from capitalizing on the few really good decisions you’ve made.

Here’s a few things to think about:

• If you find yourself making a particular decision repeatedly, create a system that makes the decision for you. 
  • For example, develop a daily routine and stick with it.   You should not have to decide when to get up or go to bed every day.  You shouldn’t be wasting time on what to wear, where to eat lunch, when to check your emails, and a dozen other things.  That’s a colossal waste of your time. 

• If someone else can make the decision, let them. 
  • Being “Mr. Decision-maker” is not a sign of great leadership, it’s a sign of insecurity or ineptitude. 

• Only make the decisions that are absolutely necessary and then, only when it is absolutely necessary. 
  • Learn to live with unresolved issues hanging over your head.  Most of them will go away or take care of themselves without your interference.  And the few that you must make, if you wait until a decision is absolutely necessary you will have the optimal amount of data available.

• If you do have to make a decision, own it.  No excuses, no scapegoats. 
  • Make the best decision you can with the information and experience you have and then throw yourself in full board at managing the decision wisely and hope for the best.   

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The ONE THING for today: Ideally, you should be operating in a no-decision/low decision zone and spending most of your time and energy managing the few great decisions you and others around you have made.  That’s where real progress happens.