10 ways to stop overthinking and start doing
Overthinking isn't intelligence - it's avoidance with a better outfit on. Ten ways to break the loop and ship.
Overthinking feels productive. You're 'considering'. You're 'being careful'. You're actually just stalling. Ten moves to shorten the loop and put something into the world.
The 10 moves
- 01Set a decision deadline
Most decisions don't need a week. Give yourself 24 hours and a coin if needed.
- 02Reduce the inputs
Three opinions is research; thirty is paralysis. Close the tabs.
- 03Lower the stakes of the first move
Don't 'launch a business'. Sell one thing to one person. The smaller the first rep, the faster you start.
- 04Ask: what would I do if I weren't afraid?
Then do the smallest version of that today. Fear and overthinking are the same animal in different clothes.
- 05Ship publicly
Public commitment shortens overthinking because the cost of stalling becomes higher than the cost of starting.
- 06Time-box the worry
Give it 15 minutes on the calendar. After the timer, the topic is closed until tomorrow.
- 07Move your body
Most 'thinking' loops break under a 20-minute walk faster than under any journaling prompt.
- 08Use the 10-10-10 test
Will this matter in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years? Most of what we agonise over fails all three.
- 09Pick reversible over perfect
If you can undo it cheaply, just do it. Save the deliberation for things you can't take back.
- 10Talk it out loud (to a person)
5 minutes with a friend often beats 5 hours in your head. Your brain lies to you in silence.
How to implement
- Pick the one decision you've been chewing on for over a week.
- Give it a 24-hour deadline. Tell one person the deadline.
- When the deadline hits, choose. If it's wrong, you'll learn faster than the version of you still 'thinking about it' in March.
What I learned
Every time I look back at a season I felt 'stuck', I wasn't stuck - I was over-considering. The action was always available. I just preferred the comfort of thinking about it.
Clarity comes from action, not the other way around.