When I sat down to being writing this morning, I didn’t know what it would be about. It wasn’t that I had no idea what to write about. My challenge was choosing from a number of ideas – ideas I collect and file for consideration. If I just had one idea the choice would be simple. When you’ve no choice it’s easy to decide isn’t it? Actually, that’s inaccurate. When you’ve no choice there is no decision to make. Choices can be marvellous. But they bring with them the danger of corrosive indecision. Note the word corrosive. Indecision in itself is not always bad. There are decisions you need to make but you don’t need to make them now. What will you get your spouse as a Christmas present this year? Yes, you do need to decide that. But you don’t need to decide it now. But, with your business hat on, things are different. In your business you are presented every day with decisions to make. And, if you delay, that can be corrosive. At best you spend time trying to decide. (And that uses up your most valuable resource – your time.) At worst you might allow a big problem to fester or a large opportunity to be missed. So here’s a tip. Nothing revolutionary. Nothing you haven’t heard before. But damn useful: – Look at the choices you’re faced with. – If the best option doesn’t pop out at you, decide what you will not do. This might not get you all the way to your decision, but it will get you closer. And once you get the choice down to a small number of options you’ve other options, e.g., toss a coin. Action counts. Thinking, planning, analysis, weighing pros and cons – they’re all necessary. But nothing changes without action. Without action you get no results. No feedback. So do something. And, if need be, use elimination to help you get you there! PS: This same idea applies to what task to do next – something I speak about in my latest productivity video. |