We have way too many sh*t to choose from. This week I was reading “The Science of Overcoming Procrastination” and it emphasized how the paradox of choice is a factor to why we put things off for later. The paradox we face is the indecisiveness in making a decision due to all the choices we are given. When I’m faced with many choices I tend to struggle with choosing one, especially when all the choices are similar. If you’re anything like me, I seek to maximize all my choices; to ensure that my decision will provide the best or near the best value for me. There would be times where I would sit on the idea for days or even weeks before making a decision. Oftentimes, committing to a choice would still lead me unsatisfied. I may be unconfident if the choice I made was the right one, and I would still think about the alternatives that I gave up.
In our day and age, we have way too many things to choose from. From shopping to choosing what we do with our time, there is time to be spent more efficiently. We tend to put things off for later or until we are forced to make a decision. So why is this a concern?
- The choices and options that are provided to us every day often plague us with a lot of doubt
- The uncertainty and indecisiveness does not feel good
- The anxiety and concern of always making the best move may sometimes be of more harm than benefit
After learning about the paradox of choice, it seems to be an important aspect of living a happier and productive life. It seemingly appears that there are less marginal benefits in spending more time deciding rather than to just decide, move on and accept the positive or negative consequences that follow. I think there is real value to be found from reducing the time it takes to make the decisions we need in our lives, whether they are big or small.
Today I had to choose between which new pair of glasses I wanted. In the past, this was always stressful as there were so many choices to choose from. However, I saw improvements after learning about this paradox. I spent way less time choosing and I felt overall happier and more confident with my choice. What helped me was:
- acknowledging the indecisiveness
- creating predetermined key requirements
- choosing based on those requirements
(1) By simply acknowledging that we will be indecisive, it can help us reduce a lot of the stress and anxiety that follows. Oftenly, we are surprised by the amount of choices and become quickly overwhelmed. (2) From explicitly stating our key requirements, we create a foundation where we can compare our choices to. (3) After understanding what to look for, we can choose based on those predetermined requirements.
Of course, I don’t always have the luxury of time nor have a prior understanding of what I want. If that's the case, then determining a default choice and a 2-minute rule has helped me.
- Determine a default choice
- Set a 2-minute timer to look at alternatives
- Go with your default choice if you haven't decided on something else
I usually find that the first impression of our choices is a key indicator of our final decision. By determining a default choice, I have something to fall back on and it solves any problems of indecision. By looking at the alternatives, I give myself the opportunity to see if there's something better. And, if I haven’t decided after my timer, I would go with the default choice. The time set can be up to you, but I find that anything under 5-minutes work best.
Of course, I take more time on huge life or purchase decisions. The choices I’m referring to are more of daily life, school or personal responsibilities. I noticed that a lot of my indecisiveness takes time away from what I need to do, thus affecting my day. I look back to all the choices I spent an awful amount of time on, where I thought it was very important, only to realize I could’ve spent all that extra time on something else. I hope you learned something from this and I would love to hear your indecisive stories!
