[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of success in mind today, we're tackling something. That might be eating away at your energy right now. And you might not even be aware of it. Decision fatigue. You know that feeling when it's 4:00 PM and someone asks you. What do you want for dinner? And your brain just shuts down. Now, multiply that by about a thousand and that's what we entrepreneurs are facing every single day.
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Now, I don't know about you, but I hate making decisions. I'm probably the worst when it comes to deciding on something. And the more options I have to consider the worst it gets. I like two options. Show me [00:01:00] option a show me option B. I'll tolerate a third one. But if we go beyond three, I get overwhelmed by choice and I can't decide.
Sometimes people, especially in sales, salespeople, like to think that the more options they can show the better.
And that's not the case for many of us.
If you show me more than three things, I'm probably going to walk away. My husband, however, he's exactly the opposite. He needs lots of options to consider. Like 6, 7, 8 different choices, and he needs to see each one in every single color. And he needs all the facts and criteria. He needs to research. So it takes him a long time to decide something. I can decide fairly quickly unless you give me too much choice and then I can not decide because there's just too much and I get overwhelmed and then I don't even want to think about it anymore.
I remember a few years ago I was buying [00:02:00] pens for my business, branded pens. And the person I was ordering from, she sent me. So many, and I replied back and I said, please, don't send me this many options. Pick the two best ones you think I would like and only send me to. And I'll either pick one or I'll say no to both, and then you can send me another two.
And what happened?
She sent me to, I said that one and that was it. Decision made. But when you think about how many decisions we make every day, they say the average person makes about 35,000 decisions each day.
And now. Consider how many more a business owner has to make. It's just too much. So let's talk about how we can simplify this and eliminate some of these decisions that we have to make every day. To free up our brains for more creative pursuits and for the big things that really do [00:03:00] matter in our businesses.
Some of the things that we need to be able to decide on marketing strategies, hiring choices, price adjustments, customer issues. Product development and hundreds of other small decisions in between. What color should the checkout button be? Should the form be on the top of the page or the bottom.
How many testimonials do I need on this page? We are making micro decisions. All day long, and we might not even be aware of how many decisions we have to make. But here's the kicker. Our brains have a finite amount of decision-making energy. It's like a muscle that gets tired. Imagine doing squats. All day, every single day.
And you can't stop because if you stop your business stops running. So imagine if you had to stand at your desk squatting constantly, how quickly would you tire out and just be done?
This is what we're expecting of our [00:04:00] brains every day. This is why Steve jobs or the same outfit every single day. Why mark Zuckerberg does the same. Barack Obama wore the same suit every day. They're not weird. They're smart. They're eliminating decisions that don't directly impact their business goals.
So what decisions can you delete? How can we tackle this as entrepreneurs? I'm going to share with you a framework that's transformed how I make decisions. And it's the four D decision matrix. So if we have four DS, our first D is delete. Start by asking yourself which decisions can I completely eliminate? Now, this might sound counterintuitive, but hang in there with me. I look at your typical day and identify the decisions that you can automate or standardize. For example. Maybe you create a standard operating procedure for your common [00:05:00] tasks.
I have to admit, I am terrible at this one.
It's something I keep meaning to do, and I never seem to get there, but I am promising you. I will get it done. I will start with the podcast because I do the same things over and over again. My brain has to think of it and decide. What color is the promo going to be for this episode?
What layout am I going to use for the graphics I don't want to decide anymore. I don't want to think about it. Create a standard operating procedure for the things that you do over and over again. Then you don't have to think about it. You just have to follow the process.
Set up automatic responses for frequent customer quarries. If you are always answering the same questions, come up with a system that can easily respond to people. You don't have to write the same message over and over maybe you can automate them depending on what systems you're using. If you can't easily automate it, maybe [00:06:00] have the answers to your most frequently asked questions? Stored in the note app on your phone? I love the note app. I use it for pretty much everything.
I've tried. Fancy productivity and time-saving tools. And I ended up going back to my notebook. Every single time. On my iPhone.
So in there you could have your standard responses. And then you just have to go to the notebook copy and paste it into the message. And send.
You can also establish default vendors for regular supplies, put things on auto ship. If you know that you're going to need to order. Envelopes every two months, then see if you can just have it on default where they automatically ship them every two months. Or whatever it is that you're constantly ordering for your business.
Okay. So our first D is delete our secondee differ. [00:07:00] Not every decision needs to be made right now. So ask yourself, does this need my attention today? What's the cost of waiting. Well, I have better information later.
So sometimes you might not be in the position to decide and it's best to defer that decision to a different day. You don't need to spend time thinking about it and dwelling on it today. I tend to defer. If I find that I keep spinning on the same decision and not deciding. Then I know that maybe I don't have enough information.
If it's not something that has to be decided right now, And if it's not going to cost me money by waiting. Then I would rather wait. You can also batch similar decisions together and handle them during specific time blocks. For instance, I review all potential podcast guests on Mondays because my energy is fresh.
I feel focused. And I'm ready to sit down and read [00:08:00] through a whole bunch of pitches and decide who belongs on the podcast and who doesn't.
The third D. Delegate. This is where many of us stumble. We like control. I get it. Many of us became entrepreneurs because we want to control our time and our days. But here's the truth. If you are making every single decision in your business. You're not really in control and you're the bottleneck so start by identifying decisions that others can make.
Is there someone on your team you can empower to make those decisions? And if you're a solo preneur and you don't have a team yet, maybe it's time to start considering if you should be building a team.
Give your team clear guidelines. Accept that. Good enough. Is good enough.
A good enough decision from your team is better than a perfect decision that never happens because they're stuck, waiting for you to make a decision and your overwhelmed, overloaded doing other things. And you're not [00:09:00] deciding. Delegate it to someone who can make the decision and trust them to make the right decision. Because making a decision is still going to move the needle forward. Instead of it getting stuck with you
Our fourth D.
Do. Now, these are the decisions that truly need your attention. They're the ones that affect your business strategy. They impact your longterm growth. They involve significant resources and they can't easily be reversed. So these, you can't delegate them. You can't defer them. You can't delete them. These are the ones that need your attention.
This is why it's so important. That we delete, defer and delegate the other decisions because this is where we really need to put our focus. On the decisions that matter the most.
Quick recap. The four D decision matrix. Delete defer. Delegate and do.
Alright, practical implementation. So let's [00:10:00] talk about how you can put this all together. Here is your action plan because remember nothing happens without action. Track your energy levels throughout the day. I've been using a really great app
called rise, sleep this app. Is changing my life right now. It tracks your sleep.
And we'll tell you when you're going to have your energy peaks throughout the day. It also tracks your sleep deficit. If you are not getting the amount of sleep that you need every night, Those hours start to add up and it shows you how much sleep you are missing and what it's costing you.
But when you look at the day and you see, these are my peak energy times.
Oh. And by the way, you can sync it with your calendar. So it will fill into your calendar. Where those peak times are. And then any important decisions that you need to make? These are the times you want to do them. I mean, it's also good for looking at. When are you most creative [00:11:00] or when should you be seeing your clients?
When are they going to get the best version of you? When should you be deciding things?
Create decision free zones in your day.
These are times when you're not deciding anything, you're going to defer everything. I'm not going to decide anything after five o'clock. Actually let's be real after four o'clock I'd probably not deciding anything because I'm mentally done by 4:00 PM. I'm not going to make any decisions. I'm not going to decide anything that's going to impact my business. So create those zones in your day where, you are not deciding anything.
You can use the 10, 10, 10 rule.
And ask yourself, how will this decision affect me in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years. If it's only going to affect you for the next 10 minutes. It's probably not that big of a deal and you can decide. Pretty quickly, but if it's going to impact you in [00:12:00] 10 years that's a decision that needs careful consideration.
For the big decisions, a trusted. Pros and cons list never fails. I love making a good pros and cons list and weighing out what happens if I do this, what happens if I don't do this? Make a detailed list of the outcomes that you would expect if you do it, if you don't do it, or if you buy this, if you don't buy it, whatever it is.
Set clear deadlines.
If you don't have a deadline, that decision can go on into infinity. Give yourself a clear deadline that you must decide by this time. Some decisions will naturally have a deadline. And you just have to know whether it's a yes or no by X date. But if it doesn't have a built-in deadline, make one.
Create some systems. You can create a decision log and log all of your decisions so you can track the outcomes. This isn't something I have done, but I like the idea of doing it. And think I might [00:13:00] start. You can develop standard operating procedures. Like we talked about earlier. That helps give you some guidance on all of your decisions.
Build decision templates for recurring choices.
So decide how are you going to make these decisions? That's also effective for your team. If you have a template for them to follow, that will help guide them to make decisions, which helps you to delegate more decisions.
Now let's talk about some common pitfalls in decision-making. Watch out for these. One analysis paralysis. More information. Isn't always better. Give yourself time limits for research.
I have fallen into this before where I analyze and analyze, and I get stuck in the details and then I can't get myself out of it.
So give yourself a limit. I can research this for one hour and then I'm cut off.
Our second pitfall is perfectionism, and this [00:14:00] is one I have struggled with for much of my life. Remember a good decision now is better than a perfect decision. That's too late because you might miss the opportunity by deciding to late.
Three fear-based decisions. Are you deciding based on growth or on fear?
Now. I have never decided on fear and had it go well in my favor. Usually those are the decisions that I regret later on.
So just check in with yourself. Am I deciding this on growth or on fear?
Here's what I want you to do now, after listening to this episode,
Download the decision framework template. It's going to be in the show notes. You can use it, share it with your teams. The second thing I want you to do is spend 15 minutes identifying three decisions that you can eliminate completely.
I have a very streamlined wardrobe now.
I hate thinking about what to wear every day.
And I wouldn't say that I'm quite at Steve jobs level yet. [00:15:00] But I love my black turtleneck and jeans, and that is what you will see me in. 90% of the time. Don't worry. It's not the same black turtleneck. I have a whole pile of them. I found one. I like, I order them.
They're on Amazon. I love them. And they were well, they wash, well, I can throw them in the dryer, which is perfect. And.
I liked the way they look. What I making videos and I make a lot of videos. So do I wear a turtleneck every day? No. I also wear black t-shirts. I have black sleeveless turtlenecks. I have other options. I have sweatshirts. I have things that aren't even black.
But I know that I can always grab a block turtleneck, a pair of jeans and that I'm going to feel good in it. It looks good. I'm comfortable. That works for me. So what I say I'm quite at Steve jobs level? No, because he wore the same thing every day. I'm not there. I like some variety in my wardrobe, but I have streamlined [00:16:00] it.
So I don't have to think about it. And that's the key.
Choose. One recurring decision to automate this week.
I spent some time just this morning, automating some of the things that I do every day to simplify the decisions. Things like sending out the guest agreement for guests on this show.
I've automated my workflow for the podcast to make. A lot easier for me to manage.
And start tracking your energy levels to find your optimal decision making time. I suggest the rise sleep app, but maybe you find another way to track your energy levels that works best for you.
So remember the goal here is not to be perfect and it's not to make perfect decisions. It's to make better decisions. Well, preserving your mental energy for what matters the most in your business.
If this episode helped you, if you got some value out of it, please share it with a fellow business owner who might be struggling with decision fatigue. Don't forget to join my online [00:17:00] community. That I've just rebranded. It was the level of club which never quite sat with me. It finally occurred to me. It should just be the success in mind community. So that community is now going to be focused a lot more on this podcast.
So if you want to extend the conversation.
If you want to ask questions about the show or questions about topics that we've covered, that's the place to do it. I'm setting up challenges. The episodes that have action steps will definitely have a challenge. If you complete the challenge, you get points on the leaderboard.
And I don't know what I'm going to do with the monthly winner each month, but there will be something in it for you. I promise. Thank you for being here today. I will link the community in the show notes. I will link up that PDF document for you to download. Thanks for being here today.
My friends. Until next week. Bye. For now.
