Don't Overthink It - Anne Bogel Page 0,35

these actions forever.

Limit Technology Creep

We can’t talk about limiting our options without talking about smartly managing our relationship with technology—because if we’re not careful, our handy little devices can take over our lives.

Technology has radically changed the way we live. It brings with it many benefits, yet it also astronomically increases the decisions available to us. When we’re choosing something like bedding, we can hop online and encounter far more options than our parents’ generation ever could have. The question is not just what kind of information we’ll find on our device but whether and how much we will use it. If we carry a device with us, we are constantly deciding (although we often don’t realize we’re doing this) whether to open our computer or check our phone or refresh our email. As Barry Schwartz writes in his excellent book The Paradox of Choice, in which he advocates for fewer options, “You now have the opportunity to choose whether to work every minute of every day, no matter where you are. Even if you turn all your machines off, you think about them! The pressure is always on.”

If we’re not careful, our devices will clamor for our attention, even if that’s exactly what we don’t want. And every time they do, we will need to decide to say yes—or no. Limit those constant recurring decisions by setting smart guidelines now.

Are you constantly asking yourself if now would be a good time to pull out your device? Consider implementing device-free zones in your life—a physical space and/or a set time when you put your device away. When we went camping in the Smokies last summer, we didn’t have a whisper of cell service, so I put my phone in the glove compartment. I didn’t realize how often I thought about checking my phone until checking it wasn’t an option.

When we notice the decisions technology thrusts on us, we can choose to limit them. Take the open tabs on your computer, which often represent unmade decisions. Are they open because you’re deciding what to do about them? Take the too-common retailer sales emails. J.Crew is hoping you’ll open the email and decide to shop. If you don’t want to shop, you must decide to delete (or save for later, which might be worse!). Want to skip those decisions altogether? Unsubscribe from those emails.

Our digital devices can do us a world of good, but they can also encourage decision fatigue. Be smart about how you engage, lest your device become the boss of you instead of the other way around.

Not a Checklist

Many of us resist routines because we fear they will feel confining, but when smartly deployed, they create freedom. You can make only so many decisions in a day, so look for ways to clear away your mental clutter, remembering that “clutter” is relative. If you love clothes, then please enjoy the creative act of getting dressed each morning. If you love to unwind by making elaborate weeknight dinners, go ahead.

The strategies in this chapter are not intended to be a checklist. You don’t need to implement them all to reap the benefits. But you can make only so many decisions in one day, and you need mental energy available for the important ones. Think about where you can save by streamlining.

When you take control of recurring decisions, you take control of your headspace. Choose well.

Next Steps

1. On a scale of 1 (a little) to 10 (a lot), how much do you currently struggle with decision fatigue?

2. What routines do you currently rely on? What do you appreciate most about them?

3. What new routine would you like to implement?

4. Name one area of your life where you feel you would benefit from consciously limiting your choices. How might you do so?

5. Do you feel technology is currently spurring you to overthink? What steps can you take to limit technology creep?

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Get Someone Else to Do It

We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving.

Alexander McCall Smith

When I began the process of launching my literary podcast What Should I Read Next?, I realized that podcasting required technical skills I didn’t have. I faced a choice: I could learn how to set up hosting, install equipment, edit audio, and compress files myself, or I could hire someone else to do the technical work so I could focus on the creative, nontechnical aspects of making a great show. And if I