Decision Making

“Honestly, most of running something (team, business, etc). Is locking yourself in a room with a blank spreadsheet and making a simple matrix that simplifies your challenges and objectives, assigning someone as an owner, and setting a few metrics that define success.” - Private tweet from Davis Bell

Productivity systems are procrastination tools for slow decision-makers.

“I think about decisions in three ways: hats, haircuts, and tattoos.

Most decisions are like hats. Try one and if you don’t like it, put it back and try another. The cost of a mistake is low, so move quickly and try a bunch of hats.

Some decisions are like haircuts. You can fix a bad one, but it won’t be quick and you might feel foolish for awhile. T... See more

A very small subset of your decisions are one-way doors. Non-reversible portals into bad realities. These ones should take you more time. They require more information.

So practice making fast decisions. Accept the risk and emotional labour involved in doing so. Course correct when you make mistakes and don’t get pregnant unless you really want to.

A way to prop up this kind of humility is to keep score. Use a decision journal. Write in your own words what you think will happen and why before a decision. Refer back to it later. See if you were right, and for the right reasons (think Bill Belichick’s famous 4th down decision against Indianapolis in 2009 which summarizes to: good decision, didn... See more

Fourth, your decisions will change you. For example, sometimes a taking up a lifestyle renders you incapable of enjoying it any longer…it is literally impossible for you to understand the meaning of a decision until you directly experience its consequences.

This is arguably the most foundational principle of productivity. Make fast decisions with limited certainty.