Three techniques that help me to make decisions…

If you know me you’ll know that I’m coming to the end of my PhD, and with that I have some big decisions to make. I went into my PhD believing that I’d be fighting to rise through the ranks of academia, but it’s probably not a surprise to many of you that academia has made me change my mind! I have many thoughts about what I don’t want to do next but I still don’t know what I do want to do. I am of course trawling the internet, chatting to colleagues, seeing a careers advisor and keeping my mind open. But times like these always have me coming back to my three favourite ways to make decisions.

Write a ‘pros and cons’ list

I LOVE writing lists. Lists of things to do, lists of places I want to go, lists of places I’ve been, lists containing my innermost hopes and dreams…lists of pros and cons! For decisions as nebulous as the one I’m making now about which paths I might follow post-PhD, I’m focusing on lists of wants and dreams (life and career-wise) and lists of potential avenues or employers to investigate. As I start honing in on a couple of opportunities though you can bet that I’ll be writing out lists of pros and cons to sift through my thoughts and see the reality in ink. Sometimes I’ve wanted to want something so badly that I didn’t even realise that the cons far outweigh the pros.

Meditate

Now, I’m not super proficient at meditation so I’m not going to proclaim that I can easily clear my mind and sink into a personal pocket of zen, but I can do enough to achieve ‘some’ clarity! I’m sure it’s not just me that finds that when I have big decisions to make my mind gets BUSY. There are so many expectations to deal with (real or imagined!) and sometimes I find they start to smother the little voice that deep down knows what I really want. Meditation just gives me an uninterrupted moment with myself where that little voice has an opportunity to become a bit louder. I’m not saying that I have an epiphany every time I sit cross-legged on my yoga mat but I do always feel a little calmer and a little more centred afterwards.

Flip a coin

Flipping a coin only really works when you have a yes/no or one/the other decision to make. I won’t be using this tactic until I’ve majorly narrowed down my options or maybe even have an offer (or two) on the table. Basically you flip a coin and allow the coin to make your decision. That gut feeling you have when you see how the coin has landed tells you a lot about what you really think and feel about a decision. I like to think I know myself but my gut feeling over a coin toss has really surprised me in the past!

So, these are my top three ways to make a decision. I know they’re not groundbreaking but sometimes I think the simplest solutions are the best. Let me know what you think of them and if you have any others that you find helpful. Good luck if you’re in the middle of making any big decisions yourself.