4 Ultimate Decision-Making Habits to Transform Your Life!
Decisions are tricky.
Imagine choosing between two job offers: one that offers more money and one that aligns with your long-term goals. You’re torn between career and financial security. Which is the right decision? Well, it depends.
Various factors, such as conflicting priorities, limited information, emotional biases, uncertainty about outcomes, etc., make the decisions very challenging.
While we can flip a coin and leave some of our daily life decisions to fate, we need strategies for more critical decisions!
How do you make big decisions effectively?
If I were to ask you how to make better decisions, you would certainly advise using proper methods, learning decision-making frameworks, gathering information, and being more logical than emotional. While knowledge of tools and frameworks is important, cultivating the right mindset and habits is even more crucial for effective decision-making every time in the long run.
Therefore, I suggest you develop these four habits to ensure that you are in the right mindset before making that big decision in your life and work.
- Heuristics Awareness
- Trusting Instincts
- Reflecting on Decisions
- Exploring Alternatives
#1. Heuristics Awareness
Heuristics are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that we use to make quick decisions. They can help simplify decision-making and speed up the process with good enough calculations, but at times, they can lead to cognitive biases and errors.
For instance, hiring managers may use the availability heuristic when evaluating job candidates, favoring those whose qualifications come to mind quickly.
Awareness of heuristics helps us recognize when we rely too heavily on them to mitigate potential biases.
Take a step back and examine what other possibilities existed that you didn’t choose or even consider.
Building the Habit: Regularly question your assumptions and reasoning behind decisions. The more you know the “whys,” the more you will be aware of your biases. Engage in activities that challenge your thinking patterns, such as puzzles or logic games.
#2. Trusting Instincts
While it’s always a good idea to have a structured approach to decision-making, it’s also important to listen to your instincts and intuition when time and resources are limited. Trusting your gut feelings and inner wisdom, especially when rational analysis falls short, shows that you have confidence, self-trust, and emotional intelligence.
For example, a seasoned entrepreneur follows her intuition when pursuing a new business opportunity, drawing on her years of industry experience. Similarly, parents may rely on their intuition when deciding about their children’s well-being.
Building the habit: Reflect on past decisions where intuition played a role to strengthen trust in your instincts. Remember to track the accuracy of your gut feelings over time.
Delay the impulse emotional decision-making by 10 minutes and think again. If you still feel an inner voice, go with it.
#3. Reflecting on Decisions
It’s important to establish a routine of reflection and iteration, which involves regularly reviewing decisions and outcomes. This helps refine your decision-making skills over time. Reflective iteration ensures that decisions are continuously improved based on real-world feedback. This habit showcases your analytical thinking, self-awareness, and strategic planning skills. It’s essential when making quick decisions that may have lasting effects, such as revising organizational policies or introducing new vaccines.
Building the habit: Reflect regularly on important decisions by analyzing what worked well, what didn’t, and how to improve. Also, you should always welcome feedback from others to help you become even better.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes — they’re opportunities for growth!
#4. Exploring Alternatives
Consider multiple options before making a decision. This habit increases the likelihood of finding the best solution, especially when you have time to consider it carefully. By exploring different alternatives, you can make more informed choices and consider broader possibilities.
For example, before buying a new laptop, you must research several brands, read reviews, and compare features and prices. This approach also helps improve your research skills, creativity, and open-mindedness.
Building the habit: When deciding, brainstorm and explore at least four options. Try to think outside the box and consider alternative choices. This approach leads to the most satisfactory decision.
Learn how to make better decisions
In addition to developing good habits, learning the appropriate frameworks and techniques enhance your decision-making skills. Coaching can also be valuable in helping you find and overcome your specific challenges and struggles. Be it decision fatigue, biases, or unclear priorities, the right coaching can make you more confident in your choices.
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