  {"id":236269,"date":"2023-06-29T18:27:41","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T16:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwalks.com\/blog\/?post_type=columnist&#038;p=236269"},"modified":"2023-06-29T18:27:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T16:27:41","slug":"decisions-part-one-when-to-think","status":"publish","type":"columnist","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverwalks.com\/blog\/columnist\/jay-knight\/decisions-part-one-when-to-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Decisions Part One &#8211; When to Think"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Decisions \u2013 When to think:<\/h3>\n<p>Making decisions can be one of the hardest things humans do. They fret, they worry, and they make themselves unhappy all during the process and even afterward by second-guessing their decision.<\/p>\n<p>I break decisions into two discussions \u2013 first is when to think (the second is how to deal with major decisions &#8211; will be the next article in this series).<\/p>\n<p>I am a \u2018problem solver\u2019 both by personality type and in my career. People bring me problems, and I try to solve them. (Sometimes, this is to the dismay of my wife, who can just be looking to talk about the problem and really not looking for me as a \u2018problem solver\u2019. It is a work-in-process to get me to turn it off.)<\/p>\n<p>In any event, I am used to making lots of decisions. To make my life (and jobs) better, I needed to figure out how to deal with all these decisions that confronted me. Here is the method I ended up figuring out:<\/p>\n<p>Decisions can be easily sorted into three types &#8212; large important decisions, small repetitive decisions, and everything else. And yes, \u2018everything else\u2019 seems to be about 98% of the decisions I make each day.<\/p>\n<p>Big decisions are worth spending some time thinking about. (As noted above, I have some help on this one &#8211; in the next article.)<\/p>\n<p>Small repetitive decisions are worth figuring out a good answer to, like finding the quickest way to work and back, since it happens a couple hundred times a year. These are normally easy to research and solve because they are small.<\/p>\n<p>All other decisions, \u2018everything else\u2019, should not cause you much concern or thinking time. Just pick one choice quickly and move on.<\/p>\n<p>This philosophy makes most decisions unthreatening, like which lane of the freeway to be in\u2026 Really, I have watched people get frustrated, put themselves and others in danger, just trying to get a better lane, which in and of itself often slows down around the next curve. And even if it does save two minutes, is the stress, high blood pressure, danger, etc. really worth it? Better to focus on the things that really matter.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t get me started on how some people can make figuring out what to order at a restaurant a decision that seems as tough for them as figuring out what beaches to land on for D-Day in World War II. Just pick something and enjoy the people at the table with you.<\/p>\n<p>This method has saved me thousands of hours of wasted time and agonization. And if I sometimes don\u2019t pick the perfect thing at a restaurant to eat, at least I feel good that I didn\u2019t waste a lot of time picking something bad\u2026<\/p>\n<div id=\"disco-3474421966\" class=\"disco-amazon-box-2024 disco-entity-placement\"><div style=\"width: 100%; border: 2px solid lightgray; padding: 3% 6% 3% 3%; border-radius: 5px;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Planning a trip to Âé¶¹APP ? Get ready !<\/p>\n<hr style=\"border: 1px solid #c4336e; width: 100%; margin: 5px auto 25px auto;\" \/>\n<p>These are\u00a0<strong>Amazon&#8217;s\u00a0best-selling<\/strong>\u00a0travel products that you may need for coming to Âé¶¹APP.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><strong>Bookstore<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The best travel book : Rick Steves &#8211; Âé¶¹APP 2023<\/strong> <strong>&#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"ricksteves1\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3rEUV7n\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Fodor&#8217;s Âé¶¹APP 2024 &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"lonelyplanet1\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3RVYQqV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><strong>Travel Gear<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Venture Pal Lightweight Backpack &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"venturebackpack1\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Fg15xU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Samsonite Winfield 2 28&#8243; Luggage &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"samsnonite1\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3PTNRM1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Swig Savvy&#8217;s Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"waterbottle1\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/46GvhhP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><a class=\"ourtravellist1\" title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2uIsJ55\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Check Amazon\u2019s best-seller list for the most popular travel accessories. <\/a>We sometimes read this list just to find out what new travel products people are buying.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1608,"featured_media":236270,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[4126,4735,4073],"topic":[4071,4036],"class_list":["post-236269","columnist","type-columnist","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-decisions","tag-problem-solving","tag-the-happy-class","topic-health","topic-wellness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Decisions Part One - When to Think - Discover Walks Columnist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Making decisions can be one of the hardest things humans do. 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