Don’t Rush It

Sometimes it is worthwhile pausing to reflect before acting to provide yourself time to consider options and be sure you have chosen wisely.

Functioning under time constraints is enjoyable for some and often many digital games and puzzles incorporate time as a constraint, to make the game challenging and because there is an audience for it.

Examinations and other tests often include completion time frames, many seem to come alive in these scenarios and embrace them.  They thrive on the excitement.

Not Me

I believe there is a proper balance between rushing to decision and letting it languish for a long time.  Time constraints make me nervous and I question whether the choices are well enough reasoned.

The pressure can help somewhat with the flow of ideas and building a sense of excitement however if given all the time needed you may well come up with better solutions, or at least enjoy the path to arriving at them more.

This is not to suggest taking a long time before acting is better.  Certainly, this can lead to analysis paralysis and has its own set of complications.

How Much Thought is Best?

Every situation is different and the context drives what is the appropriate time to spend on analysis to come up with the best solution.  As noted spending too long can be just as bad as spending too little time.

Considering all alternatives also might not be beneficial.  This can lead to brain capacity overload, followed by frustration and ultimately less than optimal solution.

My advice, when deciding how to proceed, give it time, not too much, not too little but just the right amount.  Often, you will just know intuitively when you have spent the optimal time on something (but you must take the time to do so).

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