Is Right Now Right, Now?

Hello again! We are going to continue to talk about superpowers as we approach international “collect your bonus and quit your job” month. Today, I decided to talk about decision making.

One of the things I have learned is that it is very important to make decisions quickly—except when it isn’t. One of the most important executive skills you can learn is when not to make a decision.

There are often good reasons not to make a decision right away. You might not have all of the information you need to make a decision, or there might be events happening that will reveal new information within a well known time frame. You might also have more important decisions which you need to make right now. I learned the term “Eisenhower Box” fairly recently as a filter you can apply to work related decisions and tasks.

Knowing what is urgent and what is not urgent is a great first-pass filter on whether or not to make a decision. As clearly illustrated by this friendly, Google-sourced image and link, you can always schedule a decision that is not urgent in the future.

The next time you need to make a big decision you should ask yourself: “Do I need to make this decision right now?”

You might surprise yourself how often you do not need to make a decision immediately. You might also use that opportunity to construct a habit of scheduling when you need to make a decision.

That is it folks. That is the whole post.

Before you disappear, please contemplate doing something for future you. Buy some Clearly-Amazon-Affiliated wrist rests. If you are on your infernal thrice-damned computer nearly as much as I am, you run the risk of getting some of that RSI happening. I have ordered several of these to sprinkle around my house and travel luggage. Your wrists will thank you for it!