How To Stop Overthinking Everything (With an iPad)
I constantly overthink decisions. This week, I attempted to solve this problem by using my iPad. Here's how it went.
I am no stranger to decision anxiety.
I constantly have sleepless nights from the stress of making a bad decision.
With every big decision I make (and even some of the smaller ones), I always face at least some fear - the fear of failure, embarrassment, rejection, etc.
To address my problems with overthinking, I realized that I need just two things: a new mindset and a new way to make decisions. Here’s how I’m working on both.
Mindset
As I looked back in the past, I realized that a major component of my stress was my fear of failing:
What if it’s a complete waste of time?
What if this missed opportunity turns out to be a major success?
What if the class is super hard?
What if they think I’m weird?
Like most people, I hate being wrong. Recently, however, that’s started to change.
Over the past 5ish weeks, I’ve had to make many important decisions. Some turned out fantastic. Others didn’t.
I’ve learnt that this is ok.
And that’s been a major reason why I’ve become more confident when making decisions: even if I fail, it’s not the end of the world. Each decision is a way to either succeed or learn from my mistakes.
I’m still working on this confidence, but I’ve definitely noticed an improvement.
As somebody probably once said, “perfection is the enemy of productivity.”
Decision-Making Framework
With this new mindset, I decided to create my own decision-making framework.
Research
First, I had to do some research.
I turned to these articles:
https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-make-better-decisions
Key Takeaway: Look at your past experiences when making a decision. See if there is a similar decision you previously took, and think about how it turned out.
Key Takeaway: Think about the long-term effect instead of focusing too much on the present.
https://au.reachout.com/articles/decision-making-101
Key Takeaway: Consider insight from others if you feel stuck on a decision.
https://www.vox.com/2022/2/12/22927820/how-to-get-better-at-making-decisions
Key Takeaway: Don’t waste your decision-making energy on small decisions.
I also watched this video from Thomas Frank:
Key Takeaway: Use the regret exercise - will I regret a certain choice more than other?
Building The Framework
Now that I’ve done a little research, my next step is to synthesize what I’ve learned into a single decision-making framework.
We shouldn’t waste too much time on small decisions, so I think the best option here is to go with your gut instinct.
For larger decisions, a more extensive solution is needed.
For my framework, I want to incorporate the following ideas:
Past experiences
Long-term and short-term impact
Insight from others
The regret exercise
A notable exception is a pros vs. cons list. I’ve used these lists in the past, and while they might work for some, they don’t work for me. Whenever I use them, I tend to procrastinate instead of making a decision.
Using The iPad
And this is where the iPad comes in. With my iPad, I can use an app like GoodNotes to create a base template to use for any major decision I’m facing.
To connect the factors I listed above, I think a grid works best. Here’s what I came up with as a rough sketch:
Here’s an example of a decision I made around a year ago, but with this new framework:
With GoodNotes, I can save this structure as a template. First, I save the grid as a pdf.
Then, I click the gear button in the top right corner of the home screen and go to Notebook Templates.
From there, I scroll to the right until I see the import button and I upload my saved pdf here.
Now, the decision framework is saved as a template, and I can create a GoodNotes notebook where each page is a copy of this template.
If you don’t have GoodNotes, you can also perform a similar function with Apple Pages.
Add the pdf/image of your decision grid to a document. Then, tap the sidebar button and turn on page thumbnails.
From there, you can duplicate pages to use for future decisions, and you can annotate these pages with an Apple Pencil.
Conclusion
And that’s how I created my own framework for making decisions. Let me know if you have any other suggestions to stop overthinking decisions.
Thanks!
Adi