Decision Making 101: A Simple Guide

Make decisions quickly and effectively by investigating your options and weighing the outcomes

Co-authored by Erin Conlon, PCC, JD and Dev Murphy, MA

Last Updated: August 18, 2024 Fact Checked

Having to make a decision can be nerve-wracking, especially if the stakes are high—but even low-stakes situations may stop you in your tracks as you carefully weigh every option. There’s no simple formula for making the “right” decision every time, but there are a number of steps you can take to ensure you’re making the most informed, confident choice. Keep reading to learn more—or not! The choice is yours!

Things You Should Know

To make an informed decision, make sure you understand the choice you need to make: why does a decision need to be made? What are your options?
Identify the worst-case scenario of each choice so that you’re prepared for whatever comes, and try to have a backup plan in place if possible.
Weigh all your alternatives carefully to understand the possible outcomes of each choice. Who will be affected by your decision?

1

Investigate the situation thoroughly.

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Knowing the situation well can help you make a clear-headed decision. Decision-making anxiety can spawn from not having a clear understanding of the beast you’re facing—that is, the choice you have to make. Consider the decision you have to make and be sure you understand why the decision needs to be made: what will happen if you don’t make a choice? What goal are you trying to achieve?
- Establishing a clear goal can help you determine the best path to take to reach that goal. What is your ideal outcome?
- Ask yourself if the problem will be solved by making a decision, or if it’s just a symptom of a larger issue. Will making a choice now be like putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound?
- Consider journaling about the situation, or talking it through to someone you trust (or aloud to yourself!). Clearly expressing the scenario in words can make your task less vague and therefore less daunting.

2

Make a list of your options.

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Get as much information as you can about your choices. To make the best decision, make sure you have enough information about each possible outcome. Do some research to find out as much as you can about your decision. Even if you think you know all your options, consider them carefully—you might even realize there are options on the table you hadn’t considered.
- Find a quiet, safe environment to brainstorm in. Consider inviting others to join you in listing your alternatives, like trusted friends or family, or people who have experience with the sort of decision making you’re doing and can offer insight.

3

Narrow down your list of choices.

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Identify your top 5 choices to make the decision easier. While carefully considering every option will help you make the best choice, research also suggests that having too many options can lead to confusion and make it harder to make a decision.^{[1]
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Research source} Once you have thought through all of your options, evaluate each decision and eliminate any choice that you know you don’t want. Try to keep your list of options to about 5 items.
- Try journaling about your possible choices, or making a pros and cons list to organize the outcomes of your potential decisions.
- For example, if you were trying to decide between 2 (or more) jobs, make sure you understand the implications of picking one job over another. Which job will be more satisfying? Less stressful? Higher-paying? There are lots of factors that go into a single decision, so make sure you know what they are.^{[2]
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4

Identify the worst-case scenario of each choice.

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Knowing the worst possible outcome can help you prepare for it. Try to identify the worst-case scenario for each and every possible choice. Pushing your decision to the limits of what could go wrong may make the decision making process less frightening. Then, decide whether that scenario is actually likely to happen. It’s easy to catastrophize without taking the time to really think. Examine the worst scenario you’ve proposed: is this likely to happen?
- For example, if you need to decide between a full-time job or taking a part-time job in order to spend more time with your kids, think about what the worst-case scenario of each decision would be.
  - If you chose the full-time job, you may miss out on important moments in your children’s development. If you choose the part-time job, you might not be able to pay your bills.

5

Consider who will be affected by your decision.

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Understanding who will be impacted may help you make the right choice. Most decisions don’t happen in a vacuum: your choice may not just affect you, but the people around you as well. If you’re unsure what decision to make, consider how your various options will impact the people close to you, whether it’s your friends or family, your coworkers, or your community. And don’t discount the effect your choice will have on yourself!
- Will any of the possible outcomes negatively affect people you care about? Take others into account throughout your decision making process—maybe even consult them directly to see what they think.
- But don’t go against your own values and goals. Making decisions that are not “value-congruent” (i.e., they don’t align with the core beliefs that drive you) can leave you feeling unhappy and dissatisfied.^{[3]
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6

Have a backup plan.

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Thinking ahead may help you to feel more confident in your decision. Make a backup plan to deal with your worst-case scenario. Even if you are unlikely to need this plan, simply having a backup plan will help you to feel better equipped to deal with the worst-case scenario. People who are in leadership positions are expected to always have a backup plan because there is always a chance that something might go wrong. This strategy may be helpful for making minor decisions as well.^{[4]
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- Having a backup plan will also allow you to respond to unforeseen challenges or setbacks with flexibility. Your ability to adapt to unexpected circumstances can directly affect your ability to succeed with your decisions.
- Consider whether the decision you make will be permanent. Maybe your “backup plan” is to renege on the decision you’ve made. Figure out if the decision you’re considering is permanent, in case you regret making it.^{[5]
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7

Trust your instincts.

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Do your research, but don’t ignore what your gut is telling you. Make your decision based on what feels right, even if the pros-and-cons list says otherwise. Research has shown that people who make decisions based on how they feel tend to be more satisfied with their decisions than people who carefully weigh them out.^{[6]
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Timothy D. Wilson et al., “Introspecting about Reasons Can Reduce Post-Choice Satisfaction,”Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19 (1993): 331–339.}^{[7]
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- Ask yourself what you want to do. Chances are you have a good sense of which decision will make you feel the happiest and you should lean towards that decision. It’s the change and the discomfort with the unknown that’s making the decision difficult.
- Taking some moments for quiet reflection can help you get in touch with your intuition.
- The more decisions you practice making, the more you can refine and hone your intuition.^{[8]
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Malcolm Gladwell, Writer

Trust your intuition. "Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking."

8

Make a choice.

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Be prepared to accept responsibility for every outcome. If things don't work out, it's always better to have made a conscious decision than to have been careless. At least you can say that you did the best you could. Make your decision and be ready to stand by it.^{[9]
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- Don’t be afraid to take your time making your decision. Mulling over your options can help you make a more considerate choice, but even taking space from the decision to not mull over it can allow you to return and review your options with fresh eyes.

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Tips

Avoid getting too hung up on keeping your options open. Researchers have found that our aversion to letting doors close, so to speak, results in poor decisions.^{[10]
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Give yourself a time limit if you have to make the decision soon or if the decision is relatively unimportant. The risk of "paralysis by analysis" is real. If you are trying to decide what movie to rent this weekend, don't spend an hour writing down titles.

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Remember that at some point, indecision becomes a decision to do nothing, which might be the worst decision of all.

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