How to quit analysis paralysis and make decisions faster

Very few things in life are as valuable as time, yet we waste so much of it endlessly scrolling, arguing, and overthinking.

My recent experience at a train station drove this point home for me and I thought it was worth sharing.

I arrived at the platform only to miss my train to London, by 30 seconds. The next one was at 11.53 and the current time was 11.23.

The wait seemed painfully long and I stood there in frustration. …

Luckily I realised there was a Costa Coffee right outside the station so I made my way there.

As the hunger pangs kicked in, I went through the food rack wondering what to have (since am off gluten) but avoiding bread on that side of the world is as good as trying to avoid traffic in Delhi.

I finally resigned to having some bread after all and as silly as this may sound, I found myself conflicted between a ham and cheese toastie and an egg mayo sandwich.

This back-and-forth between the two choices went on for a few minutes and before I knew it, it was 11.49. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Had I really spent this much time agonizing over a damn sandwich?

They say decision fatigue is real. They aren’t lying.

Barry Schwartz author of ‘The Paradox of Choice’ has spent years studying this problem.

Ironically the more options we have, the less satisfied we feel.

One way to counteract this dilemma is to recognize that every option come with it’s own benefits.

The reason we get trapped in analysis paralysis is because decision-making is an emotional process.

We fear making bad choices and feeling regret. Just like I probably anticipated regretting an unhealthy ham and cheese toastie over an egg sandwich (totally worth it btw!)

Of course, life presents far bigger decisions than choosing sandwiches like choosing between different universities, jobs, and even partners. In such situations, experts suggest confronting the fears tied to each option.

Once those fears are identified, oddly enough, they recommend visualizing the negative outcomes of the decision and reflecting on how they would be managed. If one did choose the wrong job, for example, could it be possible to find an alternate one?

Treating decisions as experiments rather than irreversible commitments can help break the cycle of overthinking.

Our usual tendency is to put a lot of effort into never making the wrong decision, not realizing that not making any decision is also a decision. Freedom lies in accepting that there are no perfect decisions because ruminating over the what if’s is a recipe for being miserable.

So I guess the message here, for myself included, is to get comfortable with making imperfect decisions and move the heck on.

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