For starters, if your reading this...Please please PLEASE like the facebook page. It'd be nice to know that someone is actually reading this other than my friends. Strangers are always welcome.
Everyone has had one of those days. “I’m going to have so much fun at the movies tonight!” Two hours later: “Oh God….I’m not going. No. No no no no no…I can’t go. It’ll be horrible!”
And then you end up going. Sometimes yes, it was really fun. Other times…You wish you would have stayed home and painted that rendition of Monet’s “Waterlilies”.
Those days happen to everyone. What seems like a good idea at 2 in the morning on a Saturday may not seem like such a hot idea when it comes down to it. (Moral of this story, do NOT express your feelings past 9:30 p.m.)
When I was little, I rarely ever did things that would result in me getting into trouble. I was too scared of the consequences: What my parents would take away from me or ground me from, or even worse…
The timeout chair.
So, I tried to steer clear of activities that would result in The Chair.
Now that I’m older, I know not to do those horrible things that will result in punishment (I outgrew The Chair, but now they can take away The Car Keys, so its just as terrifying). I’m home by curfew, I don’t lie, I don’t do THINGS with boys that I’m not supposed to. All in all, I’m a really okay teenager, considering whats out there.
Why am I telling you all this?
I’m telling you this, because it isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to turn down things that you really want to do (like go see the midnight opening of Pirates of the Caribbean 4, but you cant because, well, its after 11 o’clock curfew). It isn’t easy to maintain a 4.2 GPA. And it REALLY isn’t easy to maintain it with volleyball practice 3 days a week, a job, and ACT studying. But I do it, because if I don’t…
What I’m trying to say here is, I go back and forth everyday, much like Miss Repunzel up there, making my choices. How to manage my time, what I can fit into the maybe-if-I’m-really-lucky 2 hours of free time that I sometimes have. Hanging out with a friend, going to a party or a movie, or catching up on Glee. Managing my money. Clothes are a must, since I don’t have anything other than uniforms from private schools past. Birthday gifts, graduation money, lunch while at work, etc.
Now I know I sound like I’m whistling Dixie here, and that there are far more important things in life that my problems. I’m not saying mine are worse, or more important than yours. These are just my ‘for example’s’.
The time we spend, everyday, deciding. When I Googled to try to find the amount of time people spend in their lifetime, I got nada. So instead, I'll post this wonderful little article I found.
"Come on, pull the trigger, already!
One of the things that consumes time and bogs people down is being slow to make decisions.
Things You Don’t Have Time NOT to Do: Make a Decision
We make hundreds of decisions every day. It starts with the decision to get out of bed each morning and what to wear each day. It continues with what we’re going to do each day, what to buy at the store, how we’re going to respond to that email, what direction to go on the big project at work, who we ask to fill a critical role, and on and on.
I think if we actually added them up, we’d be amazed by the number of decisions and the amount of time we spend making decisions each day. We all want to make the best decisions possible, but improving the speed of our decision-making is an area where most of us have an opportunity to save time, reduce stress, and create momentum.
Here are 7 tips that can help you make decisions more quickly.
1) Consider the Value of Your Time.
Everyone likes a great deal, but sometimes we spend more times than it’s worth comparing prices. It really worth driving to 3 different stores to get the best price on a $15 coffee maker? Do you really want to spend an hour online researching new earbuds for your MP3 player? On a larger scale, do you really need to do 3 months of market research or conduct 5 focus groups before making that change to your product or service? Maybe, but not if the cost of the research is more than the cost of making the “wrong” decision.
2) Get the Right Information.
Sometimes we get stuck on a decision because we don’t have all the information we need. Maybe you need the latest sales figures. Maybe you’ve got second-hand information and you need to talk with someone who has first-hand experience. Maybe you need to see a specialist instead of diagnosing your condition using online medical websites. Instead of fretting over unknowns, figure out the information you need to make a good decision and get it.
3) Organize Your Thoughts.
Sometimes we just can’t seem to figure out the best decision because we haven’t spent focused time thinking about the decision in a logical way. A simple way to move towards a decision might be to write out a pros and cons list. Then you can weigh which pros and cons are most important or most likely to occur. On more complex problems, some degree of risk analysis may be needed.
4) Recognize the cost of inaction.
We often drag out decisions because we’re afraid of the consequences of a bad decision, but it’s important to consider the cost of inaction as well. Sometimes it’s good to take a little extra time to think about, discuss, or sleep on a decision. But sometimes every day a decision isn’t made the cancer spreads a little more, a competitor gains an edge, or employee moral gets worse. It may be the kick in the pants we need to make an imperfect decision sooner rather than later.
5) Realize the Momentum that Comes from Decisions
Indecision creates uncertainty and frustration, but the flip side decisions lead to action. Action moves you forward. Moving forward creates momentum. Momentum is positive energy. Which of us doesn’t want more momentum and energy in our lives and organizations.
6) Don’t Try to Be Perfect.
A lot of us drag out decisions because we don’t want to be wrong. First of all, remember that nobody is perfect; even the best leaders make mistakes. Second, rarely does one bad decision destroy a person or organization. Most of the time you can correct for one bad decision. It’s usually a series of bad decisions compounding each other that causes a person or organization to implode.
7) Move Forward with Tough Decisions.
Sometimes we know the decision we need to make, but we’re afraid of the consequences, so we continue to hem and haw over it. You know it’s going to be hard to fire that underperforming employee or break off that dead end relationship or cut back on personal expenses to get out of debt, so you continue to revisit the decision even though you already know what you’ve got to do.
Are there any areas in your life where you’re struggling to make timely decisions?
Do you have any additional advice that can help speed up the decision-making process?"
I hope it helped you as much as it helped me.
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