Make Excellent Choices Quickly: 5 Tips to Improve Decision-Making

Whether you’re making decisions for yourself, a business, or an organization, it’s essential to make the right choice. Risks and problems could be involved, meaning you must take the initiative to focus on the correct outcomes. That’s why few people excel in decision-making.

But how can you improve your ability to make decisions, including split-second ones? Whether you’re a key part of a team or willing to improve choices in your life, the tips here will help you improve your decision-making abilities.

Figure out Your Interests

Many times, we make decisions that match our interests, and if we don’t manage those interests well, indecision can kick in. It’s like playing blackjack, where a good hand often means victory.

What’s in it for you? Figure that out and work with facts that give you a chance to achieve your goals, and even enlist partners that can help you make the best decision.

Apply the Rule of Ten

As popular as it sounds, many people ignore this rule, leaving their emotions to manage their decisions. But by applying the rule of ten, you can be more objective about your choices.

When faced with a decision, ask yourself how everything will pan out in 10 days, 10 months, or 10 years. Now, ask yourself how you’re likely to feel about the decision. This helps you check your emotions, remaining more objective about the decision.

Keep Biases in Check

Most biases come from the pressure to rely on your gut. Many leaders have fallen victim to such situations, relying too much on their gut or intuition for a shortcut to the correct decision. This may end up badly.

While your intuition plays a huge role, every decision depends on your personal biases. Do some self-reflection and weed out biases to help you make the best choice.

Perfection is a Mirage

Perfect is elusive. Even if we all want to make the right decision, good and bad ones will always occur. The best thing you can do is to stop focusing on making a perfect decision. In most cases, you can make adjustments later.

Your focus should be on the factors that help you make a good decision and the execution. Focusing entirely on the outcome can lead to more bad choices.

Set Short Deadlines

While some decisions need more time to help you ruminate over your choices and the potential outcomes, taking too long to decide can lead to poor choices and differing opinions. For these reasons, setting a short deadline based on time and date can help you make a good decision.

This isn’t only to help you reach a faster conclusion, but also to help you eliminate second guesses and build a habit of getting decisions right.

Conclusion

When faced with a difficult decision, it is easy to buckle under pressure. However, these tips can help you make the right call. Your interests and biases should take a back seat to help you reach an objective decision.

You can also set short deadlines and keep in mind that perfection is a mirage. With practice, the right choices will come to you naturally.