Decision Making

I have just read an article.  One thing about retirement is it allows more time to read stuff.  Though probably in the past I did it but made better use of my time.  Still, I do like the title of that British comedy about people in a retirement village, “Waiting for God.”  To me, it is no wonder the government sees a problem looming with all the baby boomers reaching retirement age.
I just thought I would check my emails.  One that just came in was from the Mito Foundation advertising “Stay in Bed” day.  That is a sort of day that would get my support.  I would even be willing to be sponsored.
Still, I found the article interesting.  It was on decision making and how to improve it.  It listed five things that can improve decision making.  The first was called “Avoid Decision Fatigue.”  Decision fatigue referred to how our decisions get worse after we have made a sting of them.
The second heading was “Get Enough Sleep.”  They say seven hours is recommended but I do not think I have ever got that.  Might explain a lot really.  Anyway I do know what it is like to feel sleep deprived, and I know that is never the time for me to make important decisions.
The third heading was something I had never heard of.  It said, “Practice Metacognition.”  Metacognition is thinking about my thinking.  Apparently, the brain is five times more likely to think negatively then positively.  It is called negative bias.  The article encourages me to pause and think “what am I thinking now?” to help me avoid wasted mental energy.
The forth heading gives recognition to our emotions.  Once upon a time, emotions were seen as the enemy when it came to logical decision making.  Not any more apparently.  Considering how I feel about a decision may hep me make a better one.  I guess I have been doing a bit of that, as I always sleep on big decisions before going ahead if I still feel good about it.
The last heading was the longest “Recognise How Long Term Stress Diminishes Good Decision Making.”  It seems long term stress heightens our fight-flight centre which impairs our decision-making process.
Based on what I have experienced, and what I have seen, I think I would add another one to that list.  There is a good chance though, it is already encapsulated in one of those headings.  I would add “Never Make A Decision When You Are Down.”  That was advice I got ages ago and it has served me well.  Too often I have heard it said, “That’s It!”  “I’m giving up.”  “I’m walking away.”  I need to ask myself “how can a decision that was right, suddenly be seen to be wrong?”  It can be that fatigue, stress, a lack of sleep, or emotions are at play.  There comes a time too though, when it is right to move on.  It is important to me that I do not do something just because I am at an emotional low ebb.  Often the best thing I can do is defer deciding for 24 or 48 hours.  There is a good chance I will be thinking clearly by that stage.