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I do it like everyone else. I open up my email and battle with the 50 or more messages I don’t need to or want to see. If I open up a browser, I am confronted with the same thing. I am now getting texts with all this junk. No matter how much I try to dodge them, these irritating nuisance messages appear before my eyes forcing me to delete, click away, move to junk or try to block the sender. You probably face the same thing.

Those who research these kinds of things will tell you that we make about 35,000 decisions during our waking hours every day. That’s a lot more than even five years ago. In today’s world, there are now two types of decisions — proactive and reactive. Proactive decisions are those we choose to make. These include everything from the selecting your route home and the sandwich to eat to how to work through a project and which car to buy.

Reactive decisions are all the ones we are compelled to make. These include all the opt-ins, opt-outs, pop-ups, two-factor authentications, cookie notices, and how-are-we-doing surveys we are forced to navigate. Chances are, you’ve dealt with hundreds of these since you woke up this morning. Frustrating, isn’t it?

But if you notice, the best decision makers around you don’t seem to be bothered by all this. They coast through the day unhindered by all these nuisances. And on top of this, they accomplish more of the important stuff than you do. That’s frustrating as well, isn’t it?

So, what are they doing that you’re not to manage this onslaught of compelled decision making? Here are three of the things, based on my interviews and research, they do that will get you off to a good start.

First, They Compartmentalize

The best decision makers know that working sequentially is more productive than trying to multi-task. They’ve read all the stories about how multi-tasking gets more done in a shorter period of time. But that’s not been their experience. So, they block out time to work on projects, take meetings, and make important decisions to the exclusion of everything else. Do they do this eight hours a day? No. But when they choose to be focused, they focus.

Second, They Close Unneeded Apps

On any given day, most of us have half a dozen apps open all the time. We think this saves time. We worry we might miss a message from the boss. We just don’t really think about it. As a result, we spend a good deal of time clicking out of distractions that continually pop up in the corner of our screen. While clicking out of them really doesn’t take any time, each one breaks our concentration and many of them plant a seed of curiosity in our minds that interferes with our focus. “I wonder if that deal is really as good as the subject line? I wonder what Drew needs me for?” You get the idea.

Finally, They Ignore Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

If you notice, the best decision makers around you have little fear of missing out. They generally engage with a cadre of friends and colleagues who feed their energy. As a result, they don’t check social media all that often and rarely post unless it is for a business reason. The 10 or 15 minutes they save every day by not doing so adds up to several hours a week for fun, reflection, and connecting with others in real time.

There are other strategies I could name as well. But I have taken up enough of your time with this article. So, try these first. Once you’ve mastered them, check the Beat My Burnout YouTube channel if you’d like to know more.

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