Aside from luck and fate, a substantial portion of one’s life follows the decisions one makes. So while the internet is already littered with tips, tricks, and guidelines on better decision-making, I figured I’d add my own two – or three – cents to the mix. With that, here are three rules for good decision-making:

1. Trust your gut, but don’t always follow it. Intuition is a powerful thing, but it does not always trump pure thought and logic.
2. In general, a decision’s impact should be correlated with: a) the time to make the decision, and b) the thought that goes into making the decision. Prompt decisiveness is a valuable quality only when the decision (and the potential impact of such a decision) warrants it.
3. Consider competing alternatives, outside perspectives, and downstream effects. Decisions can be very complex, but there’s often a wealth of data available to support the decision-making process to include, but not limited to: a finite set of possible options, known effects on others, and expected secondary/tertiary outcomes.

Related Links/Articles

• Tips for Making Decisions and Sticking to Them (NY Times)
• 6 Tips for Making Better Decisions (Forbes)
• Tips on Decision Making (Harvard Business Review)
• Seven Tips for Better Decision Making (Psychology Today)
• Don’t Overthink It: 5 Tips for Daily Decision-Making (99U)
• Making Decisions (SBA.gov)
• Decision Making Techniques and Skills (MindTools.com)