Second-order thinking | Untools - Deepstash
Design Frameworks

Learn more about problemsolving with this collection

How to beat procrastination

How to enhance your creative thinking

How to create a smooth transition in a new endeavor

Design Frameworks

Discover 55 similar ideas in

It takes just

8 mins to read

Second-order Thinking

Second-order Thinking

Second-order thinking is a tool that you can use for making decisions that are not just beneficial in the short-term but are also nondestructive over a longer period of time.

What looks like an investment now might turn out to be a liability later. What looked like a good decision earlier is now a bad one.

Second-order thinking is a is a mental tool that will help you examine the long-term consequences of your decisions, thereby helping you make decisions that will stand the test of time.

39

295 reads

How To Use It

You can use second-order thinking in two ways:

1. As a purely mental exercise

2. You can write it down on paper

Consider a decision you have to make.

Look at the most immediate (first-order) effects of making the decision. Then for each effect ask yourself: "And then What?"

That is how you examine the second-order of your decisions consequences.

This exercise can be repeated for as many orders as you find practical.

48

283 reads

Alternative

Alternatively, think about the decision in different timelines. Ask yourself: what will be the consequences of this decision in:

1. 5 minutes

2. 5 hours

3. 5 days

4. 5 months

5. 5 years

This means you get a chance to consider the short-term, medium-term, and long-term consequences.

48

276 reads

CURATED BY

tebohomatsoha

An aspiring writer. Loves reading, walking and spending time with my wife.

CURATOR'S NOTE

A mental tool for better decision making.

stash-superman-illustration

Explore the World’s

Best Ideas

200,000+ ideas on pretty much any topic. Created by the smartest people around & well-organized so you can explore at will.

An Idea for Everything

Explore the biggest library of insights. And we've infused it with powerful filtering tools so you can easily find what you need.

Knowledge Library

Powerful Saving & Organizational Tools

Save ideas for later reading, for personalized stashes, or for remembering it later.

# Personal Growth

Take Your Ideas

Anywhere

Organize your ideas & listen on the go. And with Pro, there are no limits.

Listen on the go

Just press play and we take care of the words.

Never worry about spotty connections

No Internet access? No problem. Within the mobile app, all your ideas are available, even when offline.

Get Organized with Stashes

Ideas for your next work project? Quotes that inspire you? Put them in the right place so you never lose them.

Join

2 Million Stashers

4.8

5,740 Reviews

App Store

4.7

72,690 Reviews

Google Play

Ashley Anthony

This app is LOADED with RELEVANT, HELPFUL, AND EDUCATIONAL material. It is creatively intellectual, yet minimal enough to not overstimulate and create a learning block. I am exceptionally impressed with this app!

Sean Green

Great interesting short snippets of informative articles. Highly recommended to anyone who loves information and lacks patience.

Shankul Varada

Best app ever! You heard it right. This app has helped me get back on my quest to get things done while equipping myself with knowledge everyday.

samz905

Don’t look further if you love learning new things. A refreshing concept that provides quick ideas for busy thought leaders.

Ghazala Begum

Even five minutes a day will improve your thinking. I've come across new ideas and learnt to improve existing ways to become more motivated, confident and happier.

Jamyson Haug

Great for quick bits of information and interesting ideas around whatever topics you are interested in. Visually, it looks great as well.

Laetitia Berton

I have only been using it for a few days now, but I have found answers to questions I had never consciously formulated, or to problems I face everyday at work or at home. I wish I had found this earlier, highly recommended!

Giovanna Scalzone

Brilliant. It feels fresh and encouraging. So many interesting pieces of information that are just enough to absorb and apply. So happy I found this.

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving & library

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Personalized recommendations

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates