Too Many Ideas! How Overthinking Can Damage Personal Productivity

One of the chief advantages of the human brain is the ability to think of a multitude of ideas. We call the process "brainstorming," and for good reason: when done right, an actual flood of ideas results. We can then grab the likely looking ones and start throwing them at the problem until something sticks.

But human intelligence also has its drawbacks, including a tendency to think too much. That may seem unlikely to those of us who have suffered from the occasional maverick's preference to operate purely on instinct, but believe me, overthinking can be nearly as deadly as a surprise tax audit.

Overthinking actually comes in two forms. One is the inability to stem the tide of ideas before virtually drowning in it. In this scenario, every idea seems equally valid, and making a choice becomes impossible. In championship chess, this failing goes by the term "Kotov Syndrome," after the Soviet grandmaster who defined it in the 1970s. The player has so many options they can't prune the decision tree that towers before them. They freeze up, unable to make a choice one way or another.

The other kind of overthinking stems from an obsessive focus on one specific idea or issue. You keep reviewing it, questioning your motives, and turning it over in your mind, until it practically drives you crazy. We've all lost sleep this way at one time or another. What if something goes wrong? What if another decision might produce a better result? What if hidden flaws in this decision hurt you in the future? What if, what if, what if? Again, you achieve nothing and end up piling on worry and stress in a vicious circle. It may even trigger a cycle of depression and certainly doesn't solve your original problem.

The Curse of Self-Paralysis

Both types of overthinking can result in a situation called "the paralysis of analysis." Either way, the sheer quantity of data overwhelms the decision-making process, causing it to break down. While the term stems from recent scientific studies, the problem itself has always been with us. You may have heard the Biblical story of the donkey that stood between two equally tempting mangers and starved to death, because it couldn't decide which to eat from. In one Aesop's Fable, the hounds caught a fox because it couldn't decide which of its hundred escape routes to use--whereas its buddy the cat survived because it used its one getaway method, scrambling up a tree. Then there are stories like "The Three Sillies," where people get so obsessed about one negative possibility they can't function logically. These stories prove that analysis paralysis has plagued humanity for thousands of years.

By this point in your career, you've surely learned the value of thinking a problem through before you jump in with both feet. But in the fast-paced world of modern business, you can't wait too long before you make your decision, either. To use another popular phrase, motion always beats meditation. So how can you push past the logjam of overthinking and get moving?

The Anchor of Obsession

Let's tackle the obsessive version of overthinking first, which locks you in on one thing and wastes precious workplace productivity by devouring your time and mental resources. If you find yourself nitpicking too much about an issue or idea, you can try several self-discipline tactics to get back on track:

Read the rest of the article here.

What To Do When There's Too Much To Do, my brand new handbook for maximizing workplace productivity without running yourself into the ground, is now available. Buy your copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or 800CEORead and email your receipt to WhatToDo@TheProductivityPro.com for special bonuses from authors Dianna Booher, Eric Chester, Mark Sanborn, Joe Calloway, and Terri Sjodin! Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com/WhatToDo for complete details.

Make it a productive day! ^(TM)

© Copyright 2012 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com

Time Tips and Tricks

To be featured in this section of our newsletter and get a free eBook with our thanks, send your productivity tip or trick to Becca@TheProductivityPro.com with "Tips and Tricks contribution" in the subject line.

Meetings

Let's face it: few of us really like meetings. They eat up your day, consume resources better used elsewhere, and generally shoot holes in your personal productivity. On the other hand, they do have some uses. If nothing else, they offer a good way to introduce new team members and launch working groups, and ideally represent an efficient method of imparting detailed information to a number of people at once.

But otherwise, they're a boring waste of time, often rehashing the same old things and going off on unproductive tangents because of poorly applied time management skills.

I advocate slashing most meetings from your schedule so you can find more constructive uses for the time. Many of the meetings people invite you to simply don't require your presence. Even if they do, once you reach a certain level of seniority you can usually delegate a subordinate to attend, take copious notes, and report anything of consequence.

If that doesn't appeal, or if you'd simply like to hear what Frank in Accounting had to say about your new productivity initiative in his own words, you can ask for permission to make an audio recording of the meeting. That way, you can get the whole story rather than an abridgment or minutes. You can acquire a top-quality digital audio recorder at an electronics store fairly cheaply nowadays, and many smartphones have apps that allow voice recording. Once you've got your recording, load it into an MP3 player or copy it onto a CD, and listen to it during your otherwise unstructured downtime.

This doesn't mean you can't still have someone sit in and prepare a summary for you, but wouldn't you rather they do something more useful? Have some other attendee record the meeting, if you can; you may have to swap a favor for it. Simple enough.

Incidentally: If you have questions about some of the points raised or comments of your own, you can always record them on another recorder, or go the old-school route and take notes. Later, you can fire off an email to clarify those issues.

You'll never be able to avoid all meetings, and you shouldn't--sometimes you need to attend so you can defend your positions or just show the flag. But avoiding unnecessary and unproductive meetings usually represents a much better use of your time. If you expect something important might arise but you can't or don't want to attend, or you're just curious, record it so you can listen to it later.

CONTEST!

We're looking for great ways to help our readers save 90 minutes a day! How do YOU save time and increase your results? Leave a comment below with your BEST personal productivity tip, trick, tool, or technique. Five lucky winners will receive a free registration to the next Productivity Academy and a library of MP3s, eBooks, and videos by Laura Stack!

Visit our Save 90 Minutes page online for details.

Thanks,

Laura