01: I’ve been thinking about the cost of decisions we don’t make.
Recently, I had to decide whether to move into larger premises for eteaket and The Tea Mind.
More space meant more events, more wholesale opportunities and the chance to welcome more people.
It also meant taking a leap.
So I kept revisiting the decision.
While I was thinking, there were events we couldn’t host and sales we didn’t make. There was also the time I spent reopening the same question.
That reminded me of something James Watt said when I met him years ago at the Edinburgh Book Festival:
“Shoot first, aim later.”
I’ve never taken that as permission to make careless decisions.
I take it as a reminder that there comes a point when thinking stops producing useful information.
Action gives you real information.
You make the call. You see what happens. Then you adjust based on reality rather than another imagined scenario.
So if there’s a decision you keep reopening, try asking:
What could I learn by acting that I can’t learn by thinking about this again?
You might still need more information.
Or you might realise you’ve thought about it long enough.
p.s. Your pause for tea this week is brought to you by Ginger Gut Balance - discover more teas here.
© eteaket
02: Thinking, Fast and Slow
In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explores how we move between fast, intuitive judgements and slower, more deliberate thinking. Both have their place, and both can lead us astray. What I find useful is the reminder to notice how we’re thinking about a decision, rather than simply thinking about it for longer. Sometimes a choice deserves more scrutiny. Sometimes we’ve already done the thinking and another round won’t tell us anything new. Has more thinking stopped adding useful information?
Read now: Thinking Fast & Slow Book
03: Jeff Bezos's “one-way door / two-way door” decision framework
A one-way-door decision is difficult to reverse, so deserves careful deliberation. A two-way-door decision is reversible, so can usually be made much faster and adjusted afterwards. Read more about it at this blog…
Read now: fs.blog
Thanks for pausing for tea with me today.
If this helped, I’d love a quick comment, a heart, or a share. It genuinely helps this post reach more people who need a calmer next step.
Erica x
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