{"id":84733,"date":"2022-11-24T19:51:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T23:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=84733"},"modified":"2022-11-29T16:37:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T20:37:21","slug":"efficient-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 Steps to Efficient Decision-Making"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you take forever to make a decision<\/a>? How do you stop overthinking and learn to make decisions more efficiently? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making the best decision is pointless if it takes an impractical amount of time. In their book Super Thinking<\/em>: The Big Book<\/a> of Mental Models<\/a><\/em>, Weinberg and McCann recommend three strategies for efficient decision-making<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, we’ll examine each one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1.<\/strong> Identify Your North Star<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first step in efficient decision-making is to orient yourself. Before approaching specific decisions, identify your north star<\/em><\/strong>, your overarching goal or vision. <\/strong>When you orient decisions toward your north star, your abilities compound and you become more efficient at pursuing your goals<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Weinberg and McCann don\u2019t offer actionable advice for finding your north star. However, Simon Sinek\u2019s Start With Why<\/em><\/a> provides a strategy: Step back and reflect on your motivations for your actions<\/a>. This might involve asking, \u201cWhat do I particularly enjoy about my job?\u201d For example, if you own a bakery, you reflect and realize that baking serves your larger goal\u2014bringing your community together in a warm environment.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.<\/strong> Perform Deep Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After identifying your north star, perform deep work<\/em><\/strong>, a concept from Cal Newport\u2019s book, Deep Work<\/em>.<\/a> This involves spending extended periods of time dedicated to one important task, free of distractions and interruptions. In the long run, performing deep work will yield greater returns than juggling various tasks at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Weinberg and McCann discuss deep work as an alternative to multitasking<\/em>, which diffuses your concentration across various activities. However, Newport clarifies that deep work is also an alternative to <\/em>task-switching<\/em>, where you frequently shift gears from one task to another<\/a>. Because mental residue from the previous task takes several minutes to overcome, Newport argues that task-switching also inhibits efficiency.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/strong> Perform High-Leverage Activities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, perform high-leverage activities <\/em>to get more out of your decisions. In physics, a lever allows you to lift heavier objects than you could on your own.<\/strong> Similarly, high-leverage decisions create oversized results from less effort<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In certain contexts, the term \u201cleverage\u201d has a negative connotation, as it involves exploiting an advantage to get what you want. For example, a corrupt politician might leverage their influence to get unpopular bills passed. Alternatively, in The Great Mental Models Volume 2<\/em>, Shane Parrish and Rhiannon Beaubien argue that leverage can be an extension of reciprocity.<\/a> In other words, leverage allows you to offer others the best exchange for your services, which benefits all parties.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you take forever to make a decision? How do you stop overthinking and learn to make decisions more efficiently? Making the best decision is pointless if it takes an impractical amount of time. In their book Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models, Weinberg and McCann recommend three strategies for efficient decision-making. Below, we’ll examine each one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":33286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[813],"class_list":["post-84733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-psychology","tag-super-thinking","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nThe 3 Steps to Efficient Decision-Making - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Making the best decision is pointless if it takes an impractical amount of time.\u00a0Here is how to make good decisions more efficiently.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 3 Steps to Efficient Decision-Making\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Making the best decision is pointless if it takes an impractical amount of time.\u00a0Here is how to make good decisions more efficiently.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-24T23:51:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-29T20:37:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/decision-making.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1275\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"796\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"The 3 Steps to Efficient Decision-Making\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-24T23:51:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-29T20:37:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/\"},\"wordCount\":417,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/decision-making.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Super Thinking\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\",\"Psychology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/efficient-decision-making\/\",\"name\":\"The 3 Steps to Efficient Decision-Making - 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