One decision to rule them all

Written by Jim Chaput
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After a 19-year career in financial services, Jim left a leadership position to focus on health and fitness. Jim is a Master Practitioner of Applied Movement Neurology and holds Certificates in Applied Functional Science and 3DMAPS from the Gray Institute. His passion is empowering people to help resolve the pain, tension and insomnia that prevents them from living well.

Dealing with unwanted email helped me have a decision-making insight. Some decisions are so powerful that they eliminate the need for subsequent decisions.

I kept getting “Nat Geo Kids” emails and was wondering why. I went to my account and realized there are many email categories that you can opt into or out of. I turned off a few that don’t apply to me and kept the ones I enjoy. Now I know emails from Nat Geo are worth reading, no need to decide.

This win prompted to me to consider other email sources. After getting irrelevant emails from Amazon nearly daily, I realized that there must be a way to change my email preferences. I was shocked when I saw the dozens of categories checked as yes and decided to shut email offers completely. Thanks, but I know I can search when I decide to buy something.

Although these actions might seem small, reducing the number of emails that I need to review and decide on feels good. We have limited ability to make decisions each day. Best to save that capacity for when we really need it.

What decision can you make today to eliminate decisions in the days to come?

2 Comments

  1. Pat

    Ask yourself, do I need it? Will it improve my life?

    Hey, that could be useful in deciding what junk I should keep when I’m clearing out my drawers and closets !!

    πŸ‘πŸ˜Š

    • Jim Chaput

      Agree! If it doesn’t give you joy, let it go.