Decision-making should not be complex. I am sharing my preferred three easy-to-implement frameworks with examples that can make your daily decisions both simple and effective. Curious? Read on.
The Pros vs. Cons List:
- Application: Ideal for personal and professional decisions.
- Process: Create two columns – Pros and Cons. Write down all the positives and negatives of the decision.
- Outcome: Choose the option where the pros outweigh the cons.
The Eisenhower Matrix:
- Application: Best for prioritizing tasks.
- Process: Draw a two-by-two matrix. Label the columns as ‘Urgent’ and ‘Not Urgent’ and the rows as ‘Important’ and ‘Not Important’. Place your tasks in the appropriate quadrant.
- Outcome: Focus on ‘Important and Urgent’ tasks first, schedule ‘Important but Not Urgent’, delegate ‘Urgent but Not Important’, and eliminate ‘Not Important and Not Urgent’.
The 5 Whys Technique:
- Application: Effective for problem-solving and root cause analysis.
- Process: Start with a problem and ask ‘Why’ it’s happening. Repeat the ‘Why’ for the answer given up to five times.
- Outcome: You will often find the root cause by the 5th ‘Why’, leading to a clear solution.
Which one do you think you will use most? Or do you have a go-to method already?