Stop Making Decisions – just do what’s important!

January 4, 2012 in No More Mondays with 20 Comments

I read in a interview this week where Dr. Mehmet Oz said:  “I recently learned that the more decisions we make in a day, the more likely we are to make bad decisions – because deciding wears us down.

You start making decisions in the morning, and by the middle of the afternoon, you’re running on fumes.”

Now – I like spontaneity and certainly don’t want to become a robot.  I don’t want to feel programmed to go to Taco Bell every day.  Some days I want to go to Garcias, or Panchos, or Nachos, or La Hacienda.  You get my drift.

But I realize that making the big decisions in advance frees me up to be most productive without interruption.  I don’t have to “decide” whether to answer the phone at 10:00 AM or to respond to the latest flurry of incoming emails.  I’ve decided way in advance that my mornings will be spent on my writing projects – so those potential interruptions are not weighty decisions at all.

So here’s a tip:  To the extent that it’s possible, don’t make so many decisions. 

If you have your goals set for 2012 you should already have major blocks of your activity laid out.  Decide how you will spend your time, what committees you’ll serve on, what you’re doing to stay in shape, how you will strengthen our relationships, etc.  This will free up your life and energy so you aren’t confronted with so many new decisions each day.  When 4:00 rolls around you’ll still have energy – knowing you’ve invested your time in the things that are most important.

Do you find yourself overwhelmed with making decisions?

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  • http://www.facebook.com/Chadjames Chad James

    Great stuff, Dan.  I think that it’s important to get off on the right foot and if the “big rocks” in your day/week/month/year are already in place your momentum can carry you much much farther!

    • Anonymous

      Chad – yeah we can spend a lot of time moving sand around if the big rocks aren’t in place.

  • http://www.MamaSaysNamaste.com NamasteMamaRose

    As a mommy with young kids, I can spend the whole day making decisions – what are three people going to wear, what we’re going to do, what we’re going to eat…all day long…how to handle this temper tantrum, this bout of boredom, and this great idea.  

    There is major beauty in delegation, and fostering independence in my children allows me to delegate some of those decisions on to the rest of my family.  It’s amazing to see what they are capable of, and oftentimes, the “urgent” matters that demand my refereeing end up working themselves out when they realized THEY are responsible for their actions, not me. 

    • Kim Hall

      You have highlighted a crucial part of parenting, Ashley! While many parents focus on developing their kids physical muscles for sports, they miss the crucial piece of developing their decision making muscles. The parents take control, and do all the refereeing, friend choosing, lunch making, laundry and house cleaning so that the child doesn’t know how to even make the simplest decisions when they leave home. I applaud your delegation-it will serve your children so well as they get older!

  • http://talesofwork.com kimanzi constable

    My family and I are planning a big move in 2012, and as we plan and make decisions, somethimes it gets scary and overwhelming! Like you said Dan, we just have to keep our eyes on the prize otherwise we’ll quit and give up!

  • http://www.suttonparks.com Sutton Parks

    Yes, there are too many options, possibilities and information available.  It would be easier o just “chop wood, carry water”. 

    • Tom53mba

      I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic and disagree with the article or are broadcasting the need for simplicity? I like the article personally.

      • http://www.suttonparks.com Sutton Parks

        I’m not being sarcastic.  I find myself getting bogged down in too many things and not focusing on what’s important. A Zen monk was asked what he did before enlightenment.  He said, “Chop wood, carry water”.  He was then asked what he did after enlightenment.  He said, “Chop wood, carry water”.  

  • http://www.StrengthLeader.com Deb Ingino

    Its funny but when I veer off my plan is typically when decision making gets a bit murky because the new activity may not be aligned with the plan. And its so interesting that our firing off decisions can in fact wear us down, I’ll be sure to be more mindful of that!

    • Anonymous

      Deb – yeah I actually like having a lot of decisions to make and have little trouble doing so.  But this article made me take a fresh look at how much intellectual capital I’m spending on just that alone.

  • Anonymous

    Yes, i am always overwhelmed with making decisions. There are just too many distractions! Especially the tv and the computer. They provide us with too much information and we have to learn how to focus on our goals. But its sooo hard.

    • Anonymous

      Identifying the “big rocks” is most helpful.  We can wear ourselves out making decisions between paper or plastic that should not be capturing much of your brain power.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1776483863 Michelle Wright

        So true! I had to allow myself the option of saying “It doesn’t matter” or “Either one is fine.” If it takes too much energy or distracts you and it’s really not important to you, let someone else decide. If the clerk hates landfills, they’ll give you paper. If they want to save trees, they’ll give you plastic. Both of you end up happy.

  • Theresa Lode

    Dr. Oz’s interview on Success touched on this thing too and it has stuck with me.  I know for me, I’m relieved that stores have quit asking “Paper or plastic?”  It’s bad enough trying to decide on which typed of canned tomatoes I’m trying to pick from the AISLE of options.  Yikes!
    This really has helped me with my fitness goals.  Sometime last year I decided: One hour of exercise daily.  Period.  Sure, some days it may be a leisurely stroll or simply stretching but no longer do I allow myself to make that decision on a daily basis.  It’s been decided.  Now go do it!  :)  

    • Anonymous

      Theresa – sounds good.  And I think that’s the point.  Make important decisions in advance so the outcome is automatic.  So did you struggle with “paper or plastic?”

  • Steve

    How do you drive someone crazy? Take them to Baskin Robbins and tell them to pick one. Remember when life was simple? We had chocolate and vanilla. Then, someone invented the twist cone. The choices began.

  • http://naturalhealthstrategies.com/ Tricia

    I think the principle of making as many decisions as possible beforehand is good; basically it’s the idea of establishing a routine. But I’d add a caveat: it’s very important to be open to spur of the moment changes. A Christian might call it being open to God’s still small voice guiding them; anyone, Christian or not, might consider it listening to your intuition. I’ve had some amazing, good things happen when I did something either completely different from what I’d planned, or seemingly illogical given the circumstances, when I listened to that voice.

  • Joel

    Hi Dan,

    Very well said.

    Not only can decision making be a draining and mind-numbing process, finding alternatives to base a decision on in the first place, can eat up huge chunks of time.

    Your title says it best, ” … just do what’s important.”

  • http://www.4PointsCoaching.com Joel Boggess

    Hi Dan,

    Very well said.

    Not only can decision making be a
    draining and mind-numbing process, finding alternatives to base a
    decision on in the first place, can eat up huge chunks of time.

    Your title says it best, ” … just do what’s important.” 

  • http://www.4PointsCoaching.com Joel Boggess

    Dan,

    One great piece of advice I got from Darren Hardy (publisher of Success magazine) is to “bookend your days”.

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