I heard an audio essay by Tim Ferriss last week called the Choice-Minimal Lifestyle and it really stirred up my thoughts. He spoke about how money is renewable while time and attention are non-renewable resources. You can’t get them back once the moment is gone.
He said one of the things that steals these non-renewable resources from us is decision-making. We have a number of energy or attention blocks in our head that get used up through the day. And the more blocks that are used up, the harder it is to be creative and get into the flow of our life. Decision-making uses up these blocks. So if we can cut down on our decisions, we have more energy and brain power left to really flourish in our life.
Some things Tim recommends doing are getting rid of simple decisions. Wear the same thing every day, a T-shirt and jeans or something dressier if you need to go into a formal office. Just switch up a few very simple components. Eat the same thing each day for breakfast… scrambled or boiled eggs for example. Or whatever suits your taste buds but don’t wait until the morning to decide.
Don’t start ruminating over a decision if you can’t make it yet because of timing or because you don’t have all the information you need. Leave it off the list for now. If a decision is not high risk or life-threatening, make it quickly. Don’t marinate dozens of choices in your head.
If someone asks you for a commitment and you know you can’t do it, don’t leave the decision hanging. Just reply that you’re already booked and can’t make that meeting, dinner or event. The hanging decision will steal your future attention.
Don’t regret decisions you have made because it just becomes a fresh decision on whether you made the right decision. Wastes more of your time and attention.
Tim says too much decision-making wears us down. Wears us out. Less choice means more happiness.
Don’t be bogged down with too many choices. Make decisions swiftly and ignore those that don’t need to be thought about at the moment. Which is a decision in itself. And watch how this opens up your time and attention for the things that make your life worthwhile.