One Way to Make Better Decisions: Rely on Your Imagination More Than Your Willpower
New York Magazine:
Maybe you can relate to this particular struggle: When the alarm goes off in the morning, some people use the snooze button for five more sweet, sweet minutes of sleep. I use it for 30 of them, give or take. I gorge on the snooze button. It’s gotten so bad that I now set my first alarm for much earlier than I actually need to be awake, just so I can keep on snoozing a little while longer. Yes, I know I really should be getting up and starting the day and all that, but it’s so hard when you’re just so cozy.
Which might actually be the root of the problem: I’m thinking about the trade-offs all wrong. According to a study recently published in the journal Psychological Science, the key to making better decisions may be to think of your life as a series of chain reactions, with each choice setting a new sequence in motion: Hitting snooze just one more time means ten more minutes of sleep means not having enough time for breakfast before running out the door means spending the morning cranky and hungry.
Read the whole story: New York Magazine
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