Freedom of Choice is what you got.

Freedom from Choice is what you want.

Devo

I love Vietnamese food.  But when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant without an inkling of what I want to eat, I can get paralyzed by the options. 

There’s too much to choose from.  The menu has pages of variations of pho.  Pages of variations of bun.  Pages of variations of noodle dishes.  Pages of variations of rice dishes.

I can get lost in the options.  Eventually, I have to decide what I want.  Without looking at the menu and the onslaught of choices distracting me.  Then, I can find it on the menu to order it.

When I’m in Montreal and I go to Decarie Hot Dog, I don’t have to worry about options.  There’s no decisions to make.  I’m getting a couple of hot dogs and some fries. 

Can we get more done if we have less choice?  Almost certainly. 

What are you going to do tonight?  Let’s say these are your options:

• Work on that project of yours
• Watch TV
• Go out for dinner
• Go visit friends
• Go for a walk
• Read a book
• Do something else

What are you going to do?

I don’t know what you would choose.  But I can almost guarantee you aren’t going to work on your project. 

What if your option was to work on your project or do nothing?  Your odds of working on your project are significantly higher.

When you’re trying to work on a project, the best thing to do is remove all the distractions.  Remove anything that will prevent you from doing it.

© 2021 Peter Gruner