How good are you at making decisions?
What's the first decision you make each day?
For me it’s while I am still in bed. Should I hit the snooze button or turn off the alarm and get up to do my exercise. For those of us with a morning routine, it isn’t too hard to make a quick decision. We can save our brain power for later.
We make decisions constantly throughout the day. Avoiding a few early on may reduce stress but soon we are in full swing of our day and need our brain to be functioning effectively to help us perform at our best. Many decisions are easy, others not so much, depending on the impact or consequence of our decision. How we make decisions is important.
How do you make a good decision, what do you take into consideration to get there?
Most of the time we take a systematic process, with defined elements in each sequential step.
We attempt to understand the problem/opportunity.
We gather information to investigate options - using fact-based evidence.
We determine the best course of action by consider others involved - using empathy.
We then evaluate the effectiveness of our decision and take any lessons for next time.
If we look at decision making from a neuroscience point of view, we only have a few peak hours when we perform at our best. The rational part of our brain called the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) which is responsible for most of the decision making, planning, analysing type of tasks, fatigues easily. It needs just the right amount of chemicals to perform – often why it is referred to as ‘Goldilocks’. Without regular brain breaks we can find it hard to stay focused and concentrate.
Brain breaks involve you to be in the present moment, here is one way:
Put your phone down and walk away from your desk. I know such simple instruction yet it can be very difficult to do when you are in back-to-back meetings and have deadlines. Trust me, you will thank me later (you should be building time in your calendar for 5-minute rest breaks, maybe another blog for another day!). I encourage people to walk away from their desk only because it removes the distraction of the email notification or Microsoft teams call coming in. As you walk away you can begin coming into the present moment by simply becoming aware of your environment, the sounds, the smells, what your body feels, what you can see, the textures around you.
That is one way we can practice having a brain break. It provides us with space, space to feel more refreshed and can lead to having insights that will ultimately help with our decision-making process. There are also the intuitive and emotional aspects of decision making. The ‘gut’ feel we often get when making decisions, this should not be ignored. Lean into your gut feel, often it will guide you the right way. By taking a holistic view, using both sides of our brain (logical and creative) we can make smart and fulfilling decisions.
“Unless a decision has degenerated into work, it is not a decision; it is at best a good intention” - Peter Drucker.
Importantly, take regular brain breaks to help you stay on top of your decision-making game, always follow up your decision with action and create space to reflect, learn and improve.