I love heuristics. Rules of thumb. One of mine is never lower the excess on a hire car. Another is always pay in the local currency and not in Australian dollars when I’m shopping overseas with my credit card.

I’ve done the maths on both, and you’re welcome to adopt them yourself.

What I love about heuristics like these are that they allow me to make a decision once, not a hundred times, or a thousand times. I don’t have to think about it every time. I’ve thought about it properly, and now I’m done.

I think this principle can extend into lots of areas. What exercise you do. When you do it. The time you start work. The time you finish. The time you go to bed. How much you meditate every day. How many sales calls you make on a Monday. How long it takes you to respond to an enquiry. How much you charge.

I’m all for spontaneity. But there are a lot of domains where it doesn’t serve.

Heuristics are great where it makes sense to just make the decision once. And also where you’re going to be better having already made the decision and not just leaving it up to how you feel in the moment.

What are some decisions you could make just once?