Discuss personal steps that you will take to train your snap judgments.
There are only so many hours in a day, and you want to make the most of them. Being more decisive will help you reclaim the time you spend going back and forth (and back again).
But for many people, it’s more natural to waffle. That’s because–especially at work–you want to be sure you’ve really thought through your approach and are making the very best choice.
Now, what if you could still make good decisions, and just do it faster? Sounds pretty ideal, right?
Luckily, this is a skill you can improve at. Here are four strategies to make it easier:
You’re already stretching yourself to make–and stick to–a decision, so don’t pressure yourself to work on this skill when you have a million other things going on. If you’re distracted by a totally unrelated urgent deadline, then it’s not the moment to challenge yourself to make a choice without second-guessing.
Instead, look for a time when you don’t feel pressured to multitask. Seize that window to think through some decisions, like what direction you want to take an upcoming project, or which of two approaches you think makes the most sense.
I know, this may sound a little far-fetched at first, but you set aside time to work on hard skills and you make space to think creatively–why not block off some time to focus in on making decisions?
Sometimes pushing outside of your comfort zone is important, and there are situations when you’ll have to make a choice regardless of whatever else is going on. But part of doing it well when push comes to shove is first giving yourself time to acquainted with how you think.
Decision Coach Nell Wulfhart points out that people who find themselves going back and forth on big decisions, generally struggle with the little things, too. In other words, if you can’t decide whether or not to go for a promotion, you probably also keep changing your mind about speaking up in a meeting, and even whether or not to pour a cup of coffee before you sit down.
