Per Wikipedia:
Analysis paralysis (or paralysis by analysis) describes an individual or group process where overanalyzing or overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become “paralyzed”, meaning that no solution or course of action is decided upon within a natural time frame.
I, as many others suppose, have many things I’d like to do in my lifetime. Nonetheless, even though I’ve gotten better at it over the years, I still feel easily overwhelmed by all the things I want to do, the things I feel like I’m supposed to do, and the things I must do. What have been your best ways to tackle this? How do you prioritize and find time for different interests, exercise while still combining it with work and other stuff?
I just assign a number between one and six to each choice. And then I roll a dice.
If the dice lands on something and my immediate reaction is “God dammit” I roll again until I get a choice I like.
Sometimes you don’t even know a choice isn’t one you want on the table until you pick it out of a lineup of other choices.
i default to the whatever can be finished early with what i currently have thinking. this is not the fastest per se but in my head, it strikes a nice balance.
and if that is not the right way to do it, i have less regrets because the move was cheap.
Accept the fact that no matter what choice you make there will always be times when you’ll look back and think “what if?”.
I I’m faced with 2 or more choices I used to overanalize them. Thinking logically through pros and cons and choosing what looked best on paper. But more often then not I came to regret my decision at the end.
I came to realize that often when faced with choices I had my mind already made up but I still felt obligated to look at things objectively - not just listing to my gut feeling". But this hindered me to actually do what I wanted to do in the end.
“You” know what “you” want - logic sometimes gets in the way of that.
I didn’t just blindly started to trust my gut on everything. But now, when I’m faced with choices I take note of the first impression I get when they are first presented to me. I use my gut feeling as a “weighting factor”.
Often times when it comes to “This looks better on paper, but this stuck out to me more when I first heard it.” I go with the latter, not the former.
>In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. - Theodore Roosevelt
or like Eminem said just do it lalalala, go crazy lalalala
You’ll have to get the “must do” category contained. Define it, trim off anything not strictly a must.
Then, sort through the “should do.” How much of it actually should be done? How exactly do these tasks or activities improve your life? How much of it was recommended by someone who doesn’t understand your life or your social circles?
Once those two are managed, then space opens up for the “want to” category.
Or maybe not? Maybe you’re just at a place in life where maintaining a healthy life, healthy relationships, and paying the bills is all you have time for.
Zen coin flip.
Assign the faces to whichever choice at the time. Flip the coin. If you don’t like the result and would rather do the other, then do the other. If you really don’t care between them, then do the one it lands on.
Of course with equal weight items, not like “heads, I get to sleep and jerk off all day, tails I go to work”.
Don’t let the unattainable perfect solution get in the way of the implementable good solution
I’ve heard this phrased as “don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”
Perfection is impossible.
Is it something actually meaningful or is it just general choices through your day?
I’ve turned the meaningless stuff into a game with people I know. If it’s just a decision effecting me, I’ll text someone and say “pick a number 1-10”. I’ll assign even or odd to “do x” or “don’t do x” and depending on what they pick, my choice is made. If it’s a group decision (go to bar, stay in, where to eat, what movie, etc) then I have an app on my phone for “Spin the Wheel” and we spin it to see what choice is made. We “leave it up to fate” now lol.
Also, if you feel really strongly about something but don’t want to commit, it can help push you. If I really want to eat somewhere but don’t wanna force it, I either have to accept a different choice or make myself do it. Anyone is “allowed” to intervene before the wheel has done to make their choice known.
We also don’t do best 2 of 3, or respins. It’s ond and done; fate is never wrong.
We also don’t do best 2 of 3, or respins. It’s ond and done; fate is never wrong.
Although, sometimes, spinning the wheel and regretting the result is a good way of learning that you actually didn’t want that option to begin with.
For sure, it really helps, as dumb as it sounds. If you truly don’t care, you get your choice made for you. If you do care, you find out pretty quick you should be up front about it
I can’t decide the best way.
Randomization. Simply impulsively make a decision at the last second.
This is very common and the solution is simple:
- Put the choices in a list.
- Compare item 1 with item 2, and pick the best option for whatever reason and ignore all the other choices.
- Remove the losing option from the list.
- Go to step 2 until there is only one choice left.
This works because every item you eliminated was worse than at least one other item in the list.
Until you have a Rock-Paper-Scissors problem.
Nope.
Try it.
Rock Paper Scissors
First two, Paper beats Rock.
Eliminate Rock.
New First two, Scissors beats Paper.
Eliminate Paper.
Scissors wins.
Go vegan. Or at least vegetarian or flexitarian. Not even joking. Life becomes so much simpler.
Lol what? The OP didn’t ask what diet he should go with
Kind of fits as a general philosophy though. Exclude items based on some criteria, limiting the choices you have to make. This makes your life simpler, and your actions align with your beliefs.
Calendar them.
It helps to understand that all that uncertainty disappears once you’re committed and the choice is behind you. If I realize i’m getting stuck, I’ll just go and pick something so I can get over the doubt, because I know I’ll be content afterwards.