So smart ... but making silly decisions

As we try to cope with the overwhelm of daily information, our brains work to protect us ... from ‘over-arousal’. 

When it’s all too much, we create oversimplified ways of thinking. It’s easier. But this means we can slip up in our decision making. 

WATCH OUT for ways of thinking that are: 
1. Binary (yes/no)
2. Intuitive (based on the past)
3. Confirmative (aligned to our biases)
4. Primary Effect (we overlook the ripple effect). 

If we can ‘overwrite’ these easy, existing pathways in our brains, we’ll make better choices and smarter decisions. 

How to ‘overwrite’ the brain? 
🏃‍♀️ Exercise. 
💤 Sleep. 

And this has huge implications for when you’re trying to learn new things

Read more in this great article from Worth Media and work on overwriting those simple pathways to progress towards better thinking and decision making. 

Now, when can I take a nap? 💤 

Deciding what to do ... next

I’ve been thinking, reading, researching and writing about overwhelm and overload. 

A big something that can lead us to greater overwhelm and overload is getting stuck with what to do next. 

There’s often no shortage of options of what to do ... but it’s the what to do NEXT that can make us grind to a halt under a flood of possibilities. 

Hesitation at the wall of unmade decisions is not reserved for individuals in their own business!

It’s in teams in companies too. 

➡️ Are we waiting for someone to tell us what to do? This was the challenge faced by a former full time employee in the first few weeks of running their own business. 

➡️ Are we wondering which to choose from a list of alternatives - like the overwhelm of a menu?

➡️ Are we wondering which is the ‘right’ or the ‘best’ decision to make?

We can lose time, confidence and opportunities while we’re waiting in the overwhelm of hesitation. 

Decisiveness helps us get more things into action, to see some return on our effort, and to see how things turn out. 

Of course, not every decision can be made quicker or sooner. 

But a swift decision can often lead us to greater insight, confidence and of course... the magic of momentum. 

The struggle of decision making

In the times of uncertainty we’ve been experiencing, it can feel too hard or overwhelming to make decisions. 

There are so many options, scenarios and what ifs that are possible

Try this 1-2-3 mantra I use with mentoring clients:


1. Find the path
A path helps give us more certainty of where we’re heading - even if we don’t know all the details or what’s ahead yet. It’s a direction marker. 

It may be a new path for you, or a path another has taken. 


2. Make a decision. 
What are you going to do? 

Our attention, energy and motivation is stolen by unmade decisions. To reduce overwhelm and pressure and move out of inertia, we can make decisions now we have a path. 

There’s less to fear about this because many decisions can be adjusted later (or reversed) if they’re not right for you. 

But make a decision. Making no decision on a path when a decision is needed saps our time, energy and attention. 


3. Take action. 
We can’t think our way through decisions. Action is the best way to work out if what you’ve decided and where you’re going is a good fit. 


You can step out along a safer, less uncertain path:

1. Find the path. 
2. Make decisions. 
3. Take action. 

A little more creativity please

You can see I’m a fan of regularly applying the skills of creativity: in thinking, writing and idea generation. 

The World Economic Forum said the top 3 skills we’d need by 2020 would be
- Complex Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Creativity.

In their updated skills list for 2025, creativity features in half of the top 10 skills, in one form or another. 

And here we are… in a world where we’ve been adapting to a global pandemic, working from home, leading remotely, changing business practices, generating new products, serving customers in new ways and ... keeping it together!

Sir Ken Robinson said “...we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out if it.”

It’s worth putting some of that creativity back in, and learning to be even just a little more creative! 

We need creativity now and for our future and it's worth asking for a little more creativity please, and being able to deliver a little more creativity. 

When everything is important

‘What do I do first - everything is priority one!’, said Wendy. 

‘Have you visualized your work?’, I asked. 

‘I’ve got a to do list. Is that visual enough?’, she said. 

‘Does it include everything... everything you have on your mind?’

Wendy said, ‘Well, no. It’s just got the things I need to do today.’



And there it is ... the thing that makes us feel like everything is important. 

The partial to do list. The list for today only. 

When we only capture some of what we need to do, we capture the immediate and pressing, and it’s all important. 

But if we capture everything we need to do - yes, everything - we create a more realistic collection. 

Looking at everything, it’s clear some of them aren’t as important or don’t need to be done today. 

If we haven’t visualised the work to be done, we are going by what’s in our head or our inbox and that can feel like everything is important. 

Until you truly capture everything, you won’t know. 

We get distracted by the noise of so many tasks bumping into each other, gathering importance and urgency from each other - even when they don’t deserve it! 

Get it all out. 
Visualize it all. 
And then pick a top 3, 5 or 10. They’re the priority.