Introduction Sun Wu, the ancient Chinese military strategist, once said: "Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles." This sentence applies not only to the military, but also to the decision-making process. There are many reasons for procrastination, and indecision is the key to changing it. If you know the reasons for hesitation, make effective decisions and consistently implement them, you will be like a general on the battlefield and defeat procrastination completely.

There is no rehearsal in life, every moment is live broadcast, so decision-making always runs through a person's life. Whether we encounter opportunities or challenges, a wise decision is likely to make a big difference in your life. But for people with procrastination, decision-making is often extremely tangled, and this process also causes them to miss many opportunities. Today we will have an in-depth discussion on how to improve the quality and timeliness of your decision-making when you are troubled by procrastination, and teach you how to get rid of decision-making procrastination and make and implement firm and effective decisions.

Hello everyone who listens to reading, what we are going to read together today is pages 107 to 126 of "Ending Procrastination". Please complete today’s ***reading with the following questions:

What impact does emotion have on procrastination?

01

The root of Decision is the Latin decido, which contains two meanings: decision and failure. When the future is full of uncertainties and unknowns, we may hesitate or avoid to avoid failure. Therefore, uncertainty also becomes one of the factors causing hesitation.

Many people procrastinate because they cannot tolerate uncertainty, which amplifies their emotions and procrastination takes advantage of the situation and takes over. According to scientific analysis, we divide the situations of procrastination due to intolerance of uncertainty into four types:

1. Decisions that give illusions

Psychic illusions are the result of a mixture of intuition and errors . Many of the things we believe are actually our own wishful thinking. Perhaps it is precisely this illusion that is related to your procrastination. Many times, the more uncertain people are, the easier it is to make arbitrary decisions.

Errors in judgment, the illusion of emotional insight, the illusion of superiority and the illusion of inferiority are the four factors that affect decision-making. If you want to change these, you can think about the matter comprehensively before making a decision and try to refute it. Psychological illusions produced at the conscious level. Through such active coping exercises, you can deal with psychological illusions, make practical decisions, and avoid decision-making mistakes.

2. Over-reliance on intuitive inspiration

In situations that are unfamiliar to them, most people will use intuition to make their own decisions. The method of "tossing a coin" is An intuitive inspiration.

In the last episode of the third season of "Love Apartment", Zeng Xiaoxian said something that touched many people deeply: when faced with two choices, flipping a coin always works. Not because it always gives the right answer, but the second you throw it in the air, you suddenly know what the result you want is.

This is a typical intuitive inspiration. Often, when negative emotions trigger thoughts about procrastination, intuitive heuristics are often more effective than cognitive, automatic responses.

The key to intuitive enlightenment is to distinguish sensory reactions, intuitive inspiration and preparation when encountering problems. Only in this way can you know where you are when making decisions. Similarly, when making decisions, you must also decide which decision-making response is appropriate based on the situation at that time.

3. Depression and procrastination

There is a certain sexual nature to depression and procrastination. They will bring some sense of reward, especially when the worst possibilities do not materialize. You will feel more relaxed. And this sense of relief is the reward for worry, which can easily lead people into a vicious cycle.

The solution to the problem is that if you are deeply concerned about making the wrong choice, then the false beliefs you hold will make the worry worse. Approach something with a positive attitude, think about the worst and best things that can happen, and some results in between, and then think about what you can gain by achieving these ends, and what are the most likely consequences. What are the controllable consequences of .

4. Perfection and Ambiguity

A state of ambiguity can brew into a perfect storm of cognition, emotion, and behavior that ultimately leads you to make impulsive decisions.

If you continue to hesitate and keep raising your conditions and requirements, you will feel like you have entered a vicious cycle. This indecision reflects a desire for certainty. But this situation only needs to be addressed when it matters most.

Most decisions involving uncertain factors may be suitable but not perfect, and the simplest explanation is often the best.

02

Automatic procrastination is actually a primitive emotional perception suggestion and a strong demand for difference. It may originate from the subconscious mind, that is, when something can be started now, but you commit Doing it later will create advanced automatic procrastination and trigger a series of procrastination thoughts.

Think about your thinking itself and see the relationship between procrastinating thinking and its consequences. This puts you in a good position when you decide to start taking productive action, which is the first step in taking back control of the procrastination process.

Decision-making procrastination:

Decision-making procrastination is the unnecessary postponement of important decisions that need to be made in a timely manner to another time and date. If you want to overcome decision-making procrastination, you can divide it into four steps: (1) distinguish priorities; (2) practice immediate action; (3) carry out the reasonable decision-making process to the end; (4) strategic planning and problem solving.

When faced with many choices, it is also effective to pick the most important one for direct decision-making.

The above priority identification matrix can help everyone sort their activities according to urgency and importance.

The anxiety that leads to decision-making delays and uncertainty is caused by the actual situation and understanding of things that affect judgment. Attitudes toward the execution of a decision that has been made, as well as the expected outcomes, also influence decision-making.

In most cases, hesitation and the resulting inaction is itself a wrong choice. When hesitation and procrastination are combined, they form a complex form of procrastination. The above table gives examples of delayed decision-making and corresponding immediate action guides to help everyone overcome the difficulties.

03

What if you are unaware of the problem of procrastination in decision-making and suffer the consequences of indecision?

Solution to the problem of decision-making procrastination lies largely in realizing the existence of the problem. If you are not aware of the problem, nothing can be done. It gets really tricky when different types of procrastination coexist.

Decision-making procrastination may be inseparable from other forms of procrastination. When different types of procrastination are intertwined, you usually have to face two problems at the same time: both to implement the procrastination action to the end and to To resolve emergencies.

Faced with this form of challenge, we can solve it from the following aspects:

(1) Problems often exist in the gap between reality and ideals, and there are hidden things inside. unknown factors. To solve a problem, you usually evaluate the problem, find a solution, and test it.

(2) How to define the problem situation is very important. A well-expressed question can help you point out the answer to the problem and the direction of solving the problem, which is often hidden in the question.

(3) The next step is to list the qualifications for the problem. New questions stimulate people to search for answers, and in the process expand and clarify knowledge about the area surrounding the question. What, where, when, how and why are questions that can make your identification more substantial when you are trying to identify a problem.

(4) Reconstructing the problem may bring different choices and results. The purpose of reframing the problem situation is to guide you from the track of procrastination to the track of immediate action.

Use questions to reframe the process. Go to three people who often disagree with you and gather three alternative perspectives from them.

The above table provides us with a comparison between failed decisions and rational decisions. Through comparison, we can find out the key to the problem, change our own ideas, and take the first step bravely.

In the 19th century, Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz published the book "On War", which caused a sensation. He shared many results from a strategic perspective to improve decision-making and enjoy high efficiency.

DECIDE Principle in Decision-making

Decisions: Making decisions is always inevitable, so in making a decision itself, you also need to be determined to do it. Take the first step (enter): bravely step into the territory of uncertainty, learn to distinguish among uncertainties, and find the right direction. Consider: Taking into account replacement options and their consequences. Of course, this also includes the consequences of "inaction". Implement: Execute actions that will solve the problem. Determine effective solutions (determine): Determine what works, what does not work, and what will be effective after modification. Continuous improvement (engage): devote yourself to the next challenge and actively and continuously develop your talents.

The table provides some principles for fighting procrastination. By learning these, everyone can face uncertainty in a planned way. By implementing your plan, you will feel more and more clear and free from the worries you once had. Likewise, this table can be used for other procrastination battles as well.