Ask HN: What are your fav/goto decision making hacks/heuristics?
6 ottaborra 11 6/6/2025, 7:50:00 AM
I'm always curious to know other folks' heuristics for better decision making whether it be "ask questions after action" or top-10 ways this will fail list and throw out the last 5. It helps to understand people in general and general forecasting of decisions
- I see flowers at the store. Should I buy some for my $specialPerson ? Yes.
- What will happen if I make this same choice 1,000 days (or more) in a row?
- What I do now is what I always do. (This has two senses. First, it reminds me that I'm primed to act in a certain way now because I have been consistent in doing the same thing in the past — so it helps me remember that I'm a creature of habit, but I can also choose something else, which will take more effort because it's not a habit yet. And second, it reminds me of the foregoing in that making a certain choice now will make it easier to make the same choice later, and will build a habit too. In other words, every choice is part of the habit-building process, and I should strive to live consistently.)
Put the two rules into practice, starting now. What action am I taking now? (What am I choosing to do?) Keeping in mind that what I do now is what I always do, what will happen / where will I be if I do the same thing 1,000 times/days in a row? The answer leads to these questions: Should I keep doing this? Should I be consistently doing something else?
Today I went to CrossFit even though I have a pulled muscle in my hip. I didn't feel like it, but exercising every day is what I do. I skipped the usual workout (running and squat/hinge work) because of the injury, but I did challenging chest and shoulder work instead, and I stretched afterward. Tomorrow I will go to yoga because when I do that 1,000 Saturdays in a row, it will supercharge my CrossFit and I'll have fewer instances of this (for me) already-rare injury.
Tonight if I start to feel like reaching for cookies/snacks to eat on the couch while watching TV, I will notice and either stop and decide I've already eaten enough for the day, or else I'll grab an apple instead. I'll also grab a book and read a chapter instead of watching drivel. That's what I do, and after doing that 1,000 more days in a row, I will have a better physique, less disease, and more knowledge.
Action is what matters.
For example: should I go to gyms in the morning or afternoon? Why spend 30 minutes thinking about that, you can just change next week and see what works. I get into these mental traps.
Similarly, many times implementing both options (software) is cheap and you can just test instead of mentally elaborating on what would be better... once its done, its obvious. Also goes for undoing changes with git.
- Say yes (for activities with friends / colleagues; cf. "The Yes Man" with Jim Carrey)
I’ve started using what I call the ‘two strikes rule.’ If I make two attempts to invite someone out and they’re declined without reciprocative energy, I give up on maintaining the relationship. Same with conversations. I’m tired of dealing with social vampires.