How to get better at making decisions.

One of the most common traits I see in the most successful entrepreneurs is their ability to make a decision.

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As humans we make around 35000 decisions each and every day.

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Some of which are lower-level decisions like what to wear or what to have for dinner but for you as business owner or entrepreneur there are a multitude of choices you have to make every single day.

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In its simplest form decision making is a process of choosing between two or more different outcomes or possibilities and of course each decision, of course, carries certain consequences whether they be positive or negative consequences.

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Making decisions often comes into play when you’re trying to problem solve a. particular issue or challenge. The more complex the decision, the more factors you'll need to consider before deciding on a course of action.

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Slow decision-making impacts your business.

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When you're unable to make a decision quickly, you start to second guess yourself. You go over and over the options and you start to lose confidence in your ability to make the decision in the first instance.

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When you start to lose your confidence you tend to start looking elsewhere to help you make the decision…..

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You look for a book to read about the problem you’re trying to overcome.

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You ask well-meaning friends and family what decision they think you should make.

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If you have employees or you lead a team your inability to make a decision and take the lead can often lead to frustration and a lack of motivation within the team.

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And when you’re procrastinating over making a decision or taking too long to consider your decision things don’t move forward and you stay stuck where you are. The cost of inaction can often be more than the cost of making a “bad” decision!

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Decision Fatigue

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Decision-making works like a muscle: as you use it over the course of the day, it gets too exhausted to function effectively.

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When you are responsible for making so many decisions for you, the business and on behalf of others it’s really common to get to the point where making a decision feels really difficult.

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So, when you are in a position of responsibility as many successful people are there’s huge benefit into creating routines for those smaller often less consequential decisions that you make every day.

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Deciding what to eat can be made easier through meal prep or planning your meals each week.

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Deciding what to do at the gym can be eliminated by having a workout routine that you follow.

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Deciding what to wear can be eliminated by wearing a certain type of outfit on workdays (think of Steve Jobs and his black poloneck!)

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Barak Obama once said, "You'll see I wear only grey or blue suits. I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing, because I have too many other decisions to make."

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So the first thing to do is to reduce the amount of decisions you have to make each day by creating a routine!

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What decisions are you regularly making that you could create a routine for?

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The Process Of Making A Decision

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As a business owner your ability to make quick and informed decisions is essential skill to develop. It will keep you moving forward.

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By working on my own mindset, beliefs and self confidence I have now trust in my own ability to make decisions in life and business. I’m still often asked by clients “what would you do?” when they’re finding it challenging to make a decision.

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There are many different types of decisions we have to make in life and business but regardless of the decision these 5 steps have helped me come to a decision at a time I’ve had to make one quickly!

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1. Identify the end goal.
2. Gather all your information needed to inform your decision.
3. Evaluate all the risks and consequences.
4. Make the decision and execute it.
5. Evaluate the decision after the fact.

It really is quite straightforward.

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The challenge when it comes to decision making is tackling our own cognitive bias.

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Our unconscious desires to maintain the status quo and our tendencies to stick to what we know rather than choosing something new and different are often really strong.

Make Better Decisions, Faster.

In business and in life your ability to make decisions with accelerate the growth and scaling of your business.

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So having the confidence, trust and belief in your own ability to make great decisions is key to you achieving your goals.

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What decisions are you putting off in business?

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What’s the real reason you’re putting them off?

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If you’ve read this blog and can make a mental note of the decisions you need to make I’d challenge you to use the process above to make those decisions.

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What decisions are you putting off?

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Let me know what decisions you’ve made and keep me posted on how you get on!

Lots of love.

Del x