Aid Decision Fatigue For Low Stakes
A random technique that can help randomly.
Not all decisions need the same level of high-quality deliberation.
I’m in the local supermarket looking for non-alcoholic beer. But there are too many to choose from — at least twelve and all at similar prices. It’s a low-stakes decision, but I’m still overthinking it. What kind of decision criteria should I use? Which mental model could I apply?
In situations like this, I turn into a super-slow-tortoise version of myself and use up way too many of my cognitive resources. I’m often overwhelmed by choices, especially when the options are so similar.
Here is one useful method that can be easily used for reversible and low-stakes decisions.
Go Random
Draw a card, toss a coin, or use an app (I use Randomix).
When choices are similar it’s not worth wasting your mental capacity to try and pick the perfect one. Random can be good enough. The card, the coin or the app instantly decides for you.
Ask Your Intuition
Intuition is a tricky thing that is difficult to put your finger on. You can feel it, but you can’t express it. When randomness decides for you, the result might feel disappointing. This is your intuition telling you not to go with this option.
When I’m stuck with two similar options, I flip the coin, but I don’t look at the result right away. I pause and notice how I feel in the moment. Then I reveal the coin. Feeling relief means I wanted this, but when I feel disappointment, I ignore what the coin says and pick the opposite.
Feelings of disappointment or relief aren’t always there. I don’t have any when picking non-alcoholic beers, so I just go with the result from a random number generated by the app.
Final Thoughts
A recent study suggested that we are making 122 “informed decisions” per day, but nobody really knows the exact number, as it’s difficult to calculate. However, each decision requires some energy, and you spend it while deciding on each one. Using energy on trivial things might not leave you enough energy for the important ones.
Go random if needed — it helps free up capacity for other issues. Randomix helps me with picking similar products, but also choosing restaurants, or deciding whether to buy something.
Thanks for reading,
— Michał
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