Studies have shown we make on average an astonishing 35,000 decisions each day. Every aspect of life from changing lanes while driving to what to put on the table for dinner tonight to how we prioritize opportunities at work. Constant decision making. So how do we handle being faced with nonstop decisions?

When we have more and more decisions to make, we often feel the need to speed up the decision-making process. I call this cognitive pressure to make quick decisions the fast-food decision-making effect. Instead of taking the time to prepare a well-thought-out meal for the night, we’re searching for the quickest way to grab food and rush to the next thing. It becomes a game of constantly sprinting forward from one decision to the next to try to keep pace with how fast our lives are moving. No mealtime prep needed for these decisions, let’s run through the drive thru and be on our way!

What happens when we rely mainly on fast food? We have heard mountains of information on the negative impact it can have on our health, body composition, life expectancy, and much more. It can satisfy a short-term need for our fast-paced lives, but long-term provides several risks. The same can go for our fast-food decision-making approach. This approach bypasses the importance of taking time to understand diverse perspectives and creating a holistic view on how to handle a situation. There can be some short-term benefits moving quickly, but the risk lies in our long-term and sustainable success.

We get it, long-term impact can be a risk with a fast-food approach to decision making but when I’m slammed with so many decisions, what are my alternative choices?

Below are some ideas to consider moving from the unhealthy fast-food approach to methods that focus on our best long-term success:

• Behaviors replace decisions: many believe choice is good. It can be in some scenarios, but for other scenarios, we want to instill behaviors that automatically make the right choice for us. If our behavior is to pack a healthy lunch each day, then no decision is needed on what to eat. When the alarm goes off at a consistent time, no decision is needed on when to wake up. When we block time on our calendar to exercise or work on your mental health, we’ve created the behavior to invest time in what we value. Focus on instilling behaviors that bypass the need for decisions to be made. Check out 2 Words Equal Success for ideas on creating the right behaviors.
• Delegate: invest time in surrounding yourself with diversity of thought and people that will be open and transparent with you. Lean on others for perspective and for those important decision-making opportunities, bring in diversity of thought to make a more effective long-term decision.
• Priorities matter: when we prioritize effectively, we understand where we need to invest our time and more importantly, where not to invest it. We don’t have to be everything to everyone. Invest more time in higher priority decision making opportunities and avoid spreading ourselves thin on non-priority decisions. See the blog Go Deep, Not Wide for more ideas on how to prioritize.
• Invent the wheel: we’ve all been through plenty of complex decision-making processes. Leverage these experiences and understand how you authentically work through the decision-making process. Yes, there will be variety in our decisions, but our approach and philosophy can be consistent. Once we build this authentic decision-making approach, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Leverage your experiences and approach that works most effectively for you. 

Fast-food decision making is quick, tempting, and may feel appealing in the short-term. For the right long-term approach for your success, bypass the fast-food decision approach and work on investing time in the most impactful decisions you face.

Take your step: assess how often you rely on the fast-food decision approach. Start with one area in your life (career, relationships, health, etc.) you want to evolve from this fast-food type of decision process. Once you’ve identified that part of your life, work through the 4 ideas listed above. Analyze behaviors you want to automatically bypass the need for decision. Identify who you can rely on for transparent insight. Prioritize where to invest time to make decisions. Analyze your best practices in decision-making to leverage for future decision opportunities. As you reflect on these 4 ideas, explore other ideas you may come across. Bottom line is to invest in the situations that will make the biggest impact to who you’re striving to become and quit speeding through all these other decisions that don’t warrant your time and attention.