[decision-making] how to deal with decision paralysis ?

[mamelouk]

Hi,

I'm a newbie in self development, and I've just started using GTD. I wanted to ask you how to deal with the paralysis you experience when you look at your TODO list, and you have so many choices that you don't know where to start.

Somewhere I read you have to set priorities. Priorities depending on what? Time left before a deadline ? Importance in your life ?

I guess it's a large subject, but you have some good advice about setting priorities, I'll take them.

Regards

[Adrian]

Well, you said it yourself, the problem is that you have too many options. People are notorious for having decision making paralysis; if you have to choose between 7+ more options, you are incredibly likely to freeze up, then give up without choosing anything. (You see it all the time in grocery stores. If you tell two people to go out and buy you peanut butter, but you send one person to a store with two options and another person to a store with 7 options, the latter is more likely to come back with absolutely nothing and tell you "I couldn't decide!")

If you are talking about daily 'to-do' lists of things you want to accomplish throughout the day, this is what I would do:

• Break up your to-do into three groups - morning, afternoon, evening.
• Take your to-do list (which should have no more than ~10 items on it anyway), and put three items in the morning group, four items in the afternoon group, and three in the evening group. They shouldn't be items that take more than 20~30 minutes to do each.
• After that's done, go through each group and rank each one by priority. What needs to be done first? Last?

And there you go! A to-do list, divided up by time of day, in an easy form so you don't have decision paralysis!

[Holistic Star]

There's a guy called Mark Forster who says that you should ask yourself the following question:

"What am I most resisting doing right now?"

Got your answer? That's the thing you most need to do!

Believe me it works.

[mamelouk]

Adrian, thanks for your reply,


Just to be clear, when I'm talking about a todo list, I'm talking about a todo list from the GTD point of view. It means, it's a dump of every actionnable stuff that was in my head. And that means more, much more than 10 items.


Now, commenting what you said: you propose to remove decision paralysis by deciding which item should be done the morning, the afternoon and evening ? Isn't that just shifting the problem? (deciding what to do now into what to do in the morning?).

And sorry for my mean english.

--

Holistic Star, I'll try your advice

[Holistic Star]

I don't know what GTD means - but look at your list however long it is and ask yourself what you are resisting doing on the list - that's where you need to work first.

[mamelouk]

GTD mean Getting Things Done - a popular book by David Allen. see YouTube - David Allen: Getting Things Done

This rules of doing whatever you are resisting to do on the list could work if you have full faith in it.
But It's my habit to ask myself many questions, and if I don't know why it's a good way of choosing what to do, I'll pretty sure forget it soon.

(why choosing the more repulsive item is better than choosing the first item alphabetically for example ?)

[Kaspian]

Choosing the most repulsive item and completing it makes you feel better. Once it's out of the way you don't have to dread doing it anymore. Even if it's that low-level, not-quite-conscious dread, eliminating it helps. It's easier to want to do the other things on your list when the thing you don't feel like doing is done and out of the way.

[quin]

Originally Posted by Holistic Star

There's a guy called Mark Forster who says that you should ask yourself the following question:

"What am I most resisting doing right now?"

Got your answer? That's the thing you most need to do!

Believe me it works.

Whenever I procrastinate something at work, it always comes around to bite me in the ass

[Tobias Zimpel]

Originally Posted by mamelouk

I'm a newbie in self development, and I've just started using GTD. I wanted to ask you how to deal with the paralysis you experience when you look at your TODO list, and you have so many choices that you don't know where to start.

You already got some smart advice. so I will not repeat them.

David Allen himself gives some advice on how to chose what to do, basically looking at your current context(s), your energy level, the time available, and then if still in doubt, flip a coin to decide what you want to do.

According to GTD it is more important that you do something at all, than what you do.

The way GTD advises you to decide is a very intuitive in-the-moment way. And you will improve in your decision making skills over time.

However, as much as I love the GTD principle, I don't subscribe fully to its mindset. I like to add some balancing to it.

As I'm a tech guy, I love to use software-based solutions. My preferred software is Life Balance by Llamagraphics using the template using the Ratz template from the Life Balance Sample Exchange Files

Here's a forum article by Ratz on his intentions for this outline: Llamagraphics User Forums - Balance all around

If you have further questions on my use of Life Balance, feel free to ask.

[mamelouk]

Thank you all,

I've tried the "more repulsive choice" this week end, and it seem to work as you said. But I have to try it some more to be sure.

I'm also starting to play with "Life balance", it looks a lot like the software I had in mind (and that I wanted to start some day )

I'll come back later to give you more feedback.

[Kaybee]

Mamelouk,

I have the bad habit of trying to focus on too many things at one time. However, I've learned to prioritize tasks on my 'to do' list by impact. I find that some tasks must be completed before others. Additionally, I find that some tasks may not help me progress in the achievement of goals, so I cross those off the list.

I've learned by focusing on one task at a time and completing that tasks, I feel a sense of progress that I use as motivation to continue forward.

Good luck in determining your goal priorities.

Kim
personal growth and inspiration
dishing 'common sense' and 'practical experience' for personal growth.

[Chill of Eons]

I find that I use easier and less important goals or "should do's" as a way of avoiding the more important, long term ones. As a result, my progress is ultra slow. I also try to, when I "have the energy", find ways to trick myself into taking action, but my problem I think is that I (choose unconsciously to) have so little patience that after a short while I don't notice any change in thinking or feeling, and I conclude that even though they may make a difference in the long run (which I usually am skeptical of anyway), there are ways of getting results much faster (i.e. just taking action regardless of my fears) which then appear more appealing to me than they did before. In that moment I feel that, since I now know that addressing the biggest problems directly is going to make the biggest difference, I feel more motivated to take action, which I then proceed to not do, for reasons unknown. Or maybe I do know them and just can't be arsed to think of any at this time. Oh well.