It’s already 11:00 pm, yet I can’t help but force myself to jot down these thoughts before they slip away. Today is my first day of freedom, meaning I have all the time for myself to do whatever I like. No more being pushed around or getting swept away by “work.” No more lame excuses like “Oh, I’m too busy for that” (≧∇≦). And as I was sorting out my December plans, it hit me – I was indecisive AGAIN! I didn’t know when I should book my flight back to Hanoi. My former boss is cool enough to sponsor my trip one last time, but now it’s decision time, and it better be one that works in my favor. Why is it so tricky every time I have to choose? What if I pick a date that’s too early? What if it’s too late? Oh noooooooo – there I was, dwelling on a bottomless pit of thoughts and procrastinating, AGAIN.

Nuh-uh! I’m determined to lock in my decision today, no matter what. So, I came up with a little trick for myself. Here are the questions I asked myself to guide me out of the maze of thoughts jumbling inside my head:

Step 1: What are some other decisions that are linked to my flight date?
Step 2: What are the non-negotiable deadlines?
Step 3: Okay, now pick a range based on all the data I have so far – I call this the trial choice.
Step 4: What do I want to prioritize the most now?
Step 5: List down all the pros & cons of the trial choice. And review them, if there is any bullet point that is not so related to the answer I got at step 4, discard it.
Step 6: Okay, now, how does the trial choice seem to me now? Still not sure if I should go with it or not?
Step 7: Never mind, let’s say I go forward with my trial choice: What’s the worst-case scenario? Is it low impact or high impact to me and the goal I stated in step 4? What’s the likelihood of that worst case? If the worst case turns to reality, is there any way I could save the situation?

That’s the thought process I used today. Strangely enough, after envisioning the worst outcomes, I felt less hesitant (maybe less scared, too?). I then immediately finalized a final schedule and booked everything in under half an hour. Turns out, embracing the pre-mortem is a secret weapon against the maze of mental indecision. And please, “There are no solutions. There are only trade–offs.” So there will be a downside anyway. We can always come back and tweak things here and there to make it work ◔◡◔ Let’s goooo!

P.S. Oh, and don’t forget to trust your gut – it’s got its own wisdom too!