The solution for working with our tendency for impulsiveness can be found in Daniel Kahnemann’s book Thinking Fast and Slow. He gives more than forty heuristics, where we take mental shortcuts to make a quicker decision. (Erik Johnson has a nice summary of each of them here). Kahnemann explains how each of these are by no means foolproof and suggests that we need to identify the times when we should slow down our thinking to check if the heuristic in play is valid in each case.

I take Kahnemann’s suggestion a step further. I suggest applying a simple decision model, called the MCI model, to check if you are heading down the right track with your decision.

My MCI Model checks if you have gone straight to Implementation mode without the Clarification that comes from developing and comparing a suite of options and confirms if your Motivation behind your decision is creating positive or negative blockers to your decision making.

Whether you are fussing over a decision like where to eat tonight or a bigger decision, my MCI Model will quickly test your thinking.