Using “Decision Time” to Get Traction on a Project

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Sometimes it’s hard to get traction on a new project. There are too many if’s and maybe’s and I don’t know’s. There’s no obvious place to start. When that’s the case, I recommend using Alan Lakein‘s technique, called “Decision Time.” He says:

Take a piece of paper and head it ‘I have decided.’ You are now ready for five minutes of Decision Time.

Record on paper whatever decisions come to your mind about the [project]. For instance: when to start it; what to do first; what to do next; how much time you can devote to it all together; what information you need; what equipment is required; who else will be involved. The more concrete decisions you can make, the more likely you’ll fix on some simple but valuable ways to start on the [project] and get involved.

There are two reasons this is so helpful.

First, making these judgments shifts your relationship to the project. When you’re focusing on what you don’t know, you’re in a reactive mode. When you start making decisions, you become pro-active and purposeful. That puts you into an action mindset.

Second, because the decisions are concrete, they trigger additional information. If you decide you need a particular piece of equipment, that will trigger what you know that equipment, who has it, and how you can get it. That’s why the more concrete decisions you can make, the more likely you can find some simple ways to get started.

For this tactic to work, you need to make decisions that might be “wrong.” For example, I decided to devote 30 minutes to editing this piece. It took closer to 50. Your decisions are based on your best judgment, but they are made in the face of unknowns. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make them, or that they are “mistakes.” A decision that helps you identify a starting place and move into productive action is a good decision. As you take action, you learn what else you need to know to succeed on the project.

So, what project of yours needs 5 minutes of “Decision Time”?

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• The Unfounded Assumption that Can Stop Logical Thinking in Its Tracks
• Playing Two Thinking Roles Can Ignite Your Thinking
• Getting Out of the “I Don’t Know” Trap
• Using Analogies for Creative Problem Solving

Read all previous blog posts at:
http://www.thinkingdirections.com/blog/

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(c) Jean Moroney

Thinking Directions