I Suck at...
I suck at making decisions, especially when giving a plethora of options. For me, it’s not usually about what I end up choosing but what was forgone during the process of that choice-making. A classic example is shopping for anything on Amazon or Target, I end up with several tabs opened, with the products being compared by price, features, and sorted reviews. By the time I am done with this expedition, which is a feat in itself, I am not only exhausted but now full of the carnal knowledge of all there is to know about not only the product itself but also about the company’s policies especially towards animals. While such expeditions can be quite money-saving, considering the amount of research I put into it, they can be quite enervating and anticlimactic. Offline, I am no different with deciding on what to have for dinner, especially at restaurants with a plethora of choices on their menu list. I quiz the maître-d on end, go on Yelp and look at the reviews of the restaurants and pictures associated with the menu. By the time I am done, my dinner companion is already almost done with their dessert.
After sitting with myself for a bit, I decided I needed to make some changes. While I had some bit of fun researching prospective purchases, it was getting exhausting and dining out invitations were no longer rolling in like before. And change did come. Or specifically, I found something that made decision-making a lot better and less bloody than rolling a die.
But first, a little bit of background. The book, The Dice Man, by Luke Rhinehart, tells of us a story of the protagonist who lets the rolling of the dice decide his fate. Like every decision he makes (and a lot are too horrid to be listed) here were determined by the dice. Now, while I don’t certainly recommend this book, one thing I got from it is how a little randomness can go a long way to help in making better decisions. And whatever random factor we introduce is only a placeholder for the decisions we were going to make by ourselves in the first place, anyways. And leaving the decision to a random factor also adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the whole process – which could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.
Now, because I didn’t want to go down the treacherous way of The Dice Man, rather than using the dice, I use the wheel instead. Really, unlike having to lug the dice with me, I can just go online and input my option in the wheel and let it roll. So convenience really is why I use this option. Also, to keep things clean and make my decision-making easier, I try to limit my options to two or three. Most days, I go with what the wheel suggests at the first roll and on other days, I go with the best of five rolls.
I do have another option which I use as the second line of defense when I need to call the big shots. The name of the app itself connotes the seriousness of the problem I have if you don’t mind the expletives. Between these two apps, I have been able to reduce the stress associated with making some decisions by a significant amount. Now, note that with very big decisions, I am a little better at working with, however, it’s the small decisions like what color of the dress to buy or which friend should I call first that leave me too tired and exhausted to make big decisions.
I began using these two apps this year and they have served me well and I think their utility will last a very long time. As a matter of fact, I consulted them before putting this essay together given the hiatus I have taken from writing for a few weeks. See the app works!
In any event, I hope you find some utility in any of the apps. If you do, please let me know.
Happy rolling!
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