🔄 Don't create a task, create a rule

We spend our lives making decisions. What to wear, what to have for dinner, how to complete a task… the list goes on.

Psychologists have documented that large numbers of decision cause “decision fatigue”, which causes of irrational trade-offs in decision making - it causes us to make mistakes.

This effect is exacerbated by having to make decisions from a ‘blank slate’. If we have to evaluate our options from stage 1 every time, it takes more energy to make the decision. More energy means more fatigue. More fatigue means lower-quality decisions.

A simple fix to avoid decision fatigue, and make your life easier in numerous other ways, is to try to create a rule rather than a task.

For example:

❔Do you give money to individuals experiencing homelessness? Or do you buy them food? Or something else?

❔Do you accept every PR or podcast interview request?

❔Do you offer discounts?

For each of these situations, people often evaluate the situation anew each time. While there are some advantages to evaluating each time, the research (and my anecdotal experience from myself and my clients) suggests that the advantages of thinking anew each time are far outweighed by the negatives.

Humans are emotional creatures, we make low-quality decisions when we are tired and when we have limited frameworks to support our decisions. Rules provide frameworks. You may choose not to give to charity because you were agitated from traffic, then regret your decision. You may give a discount because you feel under financial pressure, and then get lumbered with a bad client or find it difficult to say no to discounts in future.

Instead of evaluating the decisions from scratch each time, becoming fatigued in the process, create rules. For example, I always create a list before going shopping. I never offer discounts for my services. If my clients or their family are ill, I always offer to reschedule sessions without charge. If my friends or family say they need me, I always shift my schedule to accommodate them. I always tell job applicants the outcome of their application, if they make it to the interview stage then I always provide some personalised feedback.

Creating rules provides structure and reduces the mental load of making repetitive decisions. Your rules don’t have to be arbitrary. Exceptions do happen. You can leave room within rulesets for exceptional circumstances, just make sure you define what constitutes an exception first. You can also always update your rules and exceptions as you continue to learn throughout life - it is unlikely you will get it perfect the first time. That is okay. Rules can be adjusted over time based on experience and evolving circumstances, ensuring that your decision-making remains efficient and effective.

In your day-to-day life and business operations, identify repetitive decisions and turn them into rules.

What are the best tasks or decisions that you have replaced with a rule?

Let me know in the comments.

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I shared this in my Work Smart Wednesday newsletter. Want the full set of related insights? You can read them here: https://worksmartwednesday.substack.com/p/work-smart-wednesday-september-13

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