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5 Expert-Approved Ways to Make Smarter Decisions
Mental time travel
A common decision-making problem is failing to have enough imagination with regards to what could go wrong or falling victim to simple overconfidence.
Envision the future. There’s evidence that this exercise can broaden your outlook and highlight problems that might not come to mind otherwise.
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Decision making and biases
Experts have known for a while that our decision-making processes are flawed — and often in predictable ways. We easily succumb to all sorts of biases that prevent us from making smart choices.
Don’t make an important decision
... when you're hungry, or sleepy, or angry.
Research has shown that our susceptibility to bias increases when we’re stressed, whether because of exhaustion, hunger, or a heightened emotional state.
Delaying a crucial decision, if possible, might be preferable to making it under conditions of stress.
Estimate twice, decide once
When it comes to decisions, conduct whatever research you need to and make your estimate — and then go through the whole thing again, generating a second estimate. Take the average of the two estimates, and you’ll likely make a better decision than you would if you used either on its own.
Use a “planning prompt”
When it comes to situations where the benefits of a good decision lie in the future (reduced weight) but compelling temptations to make bad decisions are all too present (nachos), writing down a specific plan of attack can be helpful.
It can help decision-makers avoid follow-through failures due to both procrastination and forgetfulness.
Decide in advance
For a wide range of decisions involving self-restraint, there’s pretty overwhelming evidence that most people are bad at making healthy in-the-moment choices.
Decide well in advance of the moment when those decisions will take effect. Present You, at the supermarket after a meal, is probably a better nutritional decision-maker than Future You, standing in front of the fridge, inexplicably starving at 3 a.m.
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Make Better Choices
- Seek good information. Be skeptic and never just assume that what you’re being told is always true.
- Avoid common pitfalls, like making decisions without enough time or in...
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Bias is everywhere
Being aware of your own biases doesn't mean you will be free of them. You need a system that will help prevent your proclivities from taking control.
You're not as smart as you think
It wasn't an individual that got people to the moon. It was all of NASA.
There should be recognition of how many people really should be involved and the need for mechanisms to deliver smarter decisions.
There is safety in numbers
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2,000 decisions per waking hour
Research has shown that the typical person makes about 2,000 decisions every waking hour. Most are minor ones and we make them automatically. But many have serious consequences.
That's why...
Decision fatigue
Our ability to perform mental tasks and make decisions wears thin when it’s repeatedly used.
Identify the most important decisions you need to make, and, as often as possible, prioritize your time so that you make them when your energy levels are highest.
A steady state of distraction
Our brains process five times as much information today as in 1986. Thus, many of us live in a continuous state of distraction and struggle to focus.
To counter this, find time each day to unplug and step back from email, social media and news.
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