Decision making—Are you running in circles?

A message from Sandy. We use our decision making skills to solve problems by selecting one course of action from several possible alternatives. Decision-making skills are also a key component of time management skills.

Decision-making is hard most times, because almost any decision involves some conflict,compromise or dissatisfaction. The difficult part is to pick one solution where the positive outcome will outweigh the negative. Making your own decisions is the only way to stay in control of your time, your success and your life.

A significant part of decision-making is knowing and practicing good decision-making techniques. Here are some decision-making tips to get you started:

1. Identify the purpose of your decision. What exactly is the problem to be solved? Why should it be solved?

2. Gather information. What factors does the problem involve?

3. Identify the principles to judge the alternatives. What  standards and judgement criteria should the solution meet?

4. Brainstorm and list different possible choices. Generating ideas for possible solutions. (see previous blog)

5. Evaluate each choice in terms of its consequences. Use your standards and judgment criteria to determine the pros and cons of each alternative.

6. Determine the best alternative. This will be easy after the above steps have been completed.

7. Put the decision into action. Now is the time to transform your decision into a specific plan of action steps and execute your plan.

8. Evaluate the outcome of your decision and action plan. What lessons can be learned? What might you do differently next time?

In everyday life we often have to make decisions fast, without enough time to systematically go through all these thinking steps. In those instances, the most effective decision-making strategy is to keep an eye on your goals and let your intuition guide you.