How to Be Less Indecisive

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCharacteristicsCausesBenefits of Being Less IndecisiveTipsFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Characteristics

Causes

Benefits of Being Less Indecisive

Tips

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have trouble makingdecisions? Do you overanalyze your options for hours? Do you tend to second-guess the decisions you’ve made? These are some of the characteristics of indecisiveness.

Being indecisive means you struggle with making decisions and typically don’t have a lot of confidence in the decisions you’ve made, saysAngeleena Francis, LMHC, executive director for AMFM Healthcare.

However, it’s important to remember that being indecisive doesn’t have to define you as a person. Indecisiveness is fairly common and there are steps you can take to overcome it.

In this article, we explore the characteristics of indecisiveness as well as its potential causes and drawbacks. We also share some strategies that can help you be more decisive.

Characteristics of Indecisive People

Decisive peopleHave a clear vision of their goalsTrust their instincts and listen to their inner voiceHave confidence in their ability to make decisionsMake decisions in a timely mannerTake calculated risksTake ownership of their choicesIndecisive peopleGet caught up in the possibilitiesExperience analysis paralysisSeek external approval from othersProcrastinate during decision-makingFear making mistakesSecond-guess their decisions

Have a clear vision of their goals

Trust their instincts and listen to their inner voice

Have confidence in their ability to make decisions

Make decisions in a timely manner

Take calculated risks

Take ownership of their choices

Indecisive peopleGet caught up in the possibilitiesExperience analysis paralysisSeek external approval from othersProcrastinate during decision-makingFear making mistakesSecond-guess their decisions

Get caught up in the possibilities

Experience analysis paralysis

Seek external approval from others

Procrastinate during decision-making

Fear making mistakes

Second-guess their decisions

The Psychology of Decision-Making Strategies

Potential Causes of Being Indecisive

These are some of the potential causes of indecisiveness, according to Francis:

What Leads to Bad Decision-Making

These are some of the potential benefits of being less indecisive:

What Makes Highly-Sensitive People Different?

7 Ways to Be Less Indecisive

These are some strategies that can help you be less indecisive.

Understand Your Goals and Values

Having a clear idea of what’s important to you and what you want to achieve can help you make decisions accordingly. Decision-making is easier when you have a clear vision of your goals.

Spending some time inself-reflectionor writing your thoughts in ajournalcan help you identify your goals and values.

Develop a Decision-Making Process

Francis recommends developing a decision-making process, such as writing out a list of pros and cons.If you like, you can give each factor on the list a score, depending on how important it is to you. At the end, you can tally up the scores for each option and see which one comes out ahead.

This process can help you evaluate your options, gather any further information you need, and prioritize the factors that are most important to you. If any particular factor is a deal-breaker, you can eliminate that option immediately.

Practice Making Smaller Decisions

Set Time Limits

Indecision can sometimes cause you to experienceanalysis paralysis, which can make it hard for you to make timely decisions. Francis recommends assigning a deadline to each decision so that you don’t ruminate over your choices indefinitely. By giving yourself a deadline, you can mentally gear yourself toward making a decision in time.

Seek Advice Selectively

While seeking advice can be helpful, limit the number of people you consult. Choose only a few trusted friends, family members, colleagues, or mentors whose opinions you value. Too many conflicting opinions can contribute to indecision.

Commit to Your Decisions

An important part of the decision-making process is following through on your decisions.“Commit to your decisions and tell others to support you in accountability,” says Francis.

It can help to develop a plan for how you will execute your decision, set a timeline for each task, and loop in other stakeholders so that everyone is on the same page. It may also help to find an accountability partner who is working toward similar goals, so you can share progress updates, motivate each other, and stay on track toward yourgoals.

Reflect on Your Decisions

It can be helpful to periodically reflect upon your decisions and their outcomes.

You can choose to do this in many ways. It can simply be a mental exercise where you spend a little time thinking about what you decided, how you arrived at your decision, and how it turned out. Or, you can write down your thoughts in ajournal, if you prefer. On the other hand, if your decision was a work-related one, there may even be ways to quantify the results.

Reflecting upon your decisions can help you improve your decision-making process, sharpen your instincts, and make better decisions in future.

Frequently Asked QuestionsIndecisiveness is not “bad,” per se. However, it can cost you a lot of time and energy, and cause you to experience considerable confusion and anxiety.Indecisiveness can be a symptom of ADHD; however, it is not the defining characteristic of the neurotype.Yes, indecisiveness can be a symptom of anxiety.

Indecisiveness is not “bad,” per se. However, it can cost you a lot of time and energy, and cause you to experience considerable confusion and anxiety.

Indecisiveness can be a symptom of ADHD; however, it is not the defining characteristic of the neurotype.

Yes, indecisiveness can be a symptom of anxiety.

Decidophobia—Understanding the Fear of Making Decisions

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Tian X, Huang B, Li H, et al.How parenting styles affect career decision-making difficulties in Chinese college students. The mediating effects of core self-evaluation and career calling.Front Psychol. 2021;12:661600. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661600Miller VA.Optimizing children’s involvement in decision-making requires moving beyond the concept of ability.Am J Bioeth. 2018;18(3):20-22. doi:10.1080/15265161.2017.1418923Buch RS, Moitra M, Damor R, Chauhan N.Decision-making skills: An assessment among adolescents in Surat city.Indian J Community Med. 2021;46(2):195-200. doi:10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_512_19Sonuga-Barke EJ, Cortese S, Fairchild G, Stringaris A.Annual research review: Transdiagnostic neuroscience of child and adolescent mental disorders—differentiating decision making in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and anxiety.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2016;57(3):321-349. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12496Elwyn G, Vermunt NPCA.Goal-based shared decision-making: developing an integrated model.J Patient Exp. 2020;7(5):688-696. doi:10.1177/2374373519878604Bruch E, Feinberg F.Decision-making processes in social contexts.Annu Rev Sociol. 2017;43:207-227. doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053622McConnell CR.Deciding to decide: How decisions are made and how some forces affect the process.Health Care Manag (Frederick). 2016;35(1):80-89. doi:10.1097/HCM.0000000000000096

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Tian X, Huang B, Li H, et al.How parenting styles affect career decision-making difficulties in Chinese college students. The mediating effects of core self-evaluation and career calling.Front Psychol. 2021;12:661600. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661600Miller VA.Optimizing children’s involvement in decision-making requires moving beyond the concept of ability.Am J Bioeth. 2018;18(3):20-22. doi:10.1080/15265161.2017.1418923Buch RS, Moitra M, Damor R, Chauhan N.Decision-making skills: An assessment among adolescents in Surat city.Indian J Community Med. 2021;46(2):195-200. doi:10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_512_19Sonuga-Barke EJ, Cortese S, Fairchild G, Stringaris A.Annual research review: Transdiagnostic neuroscience of child and adolescent mental disorders—differentiating decision making in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and anxiety.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2016;57(3):321-349. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12496Elwyn G, Vermunt NPCA.Goal-based shared decision-making: developing an integrated model.J Patient Exp. 2020;7(5):688-696. doi:10.1177/2374373519878604Bruch E, Feinberg F.Decision-making processes in social contexts.Annu Rev Sociol. 2017;43:207-227. doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053622McConnell CR.Deciding to decide: How decisions are made and how some forces affect the process.Health Care Manag (Frederick). 2016;35(1):80-89. doi:10.1097/HCM.0000000000000096

Tian X, Huang B, Li H, et al.How parenting styles affect career decision-making difficulties in Chinese college students. The mediating effects of core self-evaluation and career calling.Front Psychol. 2021;12:661600. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661600Miller VA.Optimizing children’s involvement in decision-making requires moving beyond the concept of ability.Am J Bioeth. 2018;18(3):20-22. doi:10.1080/15265161.2017.1418923Buch RS, Moitra M, Damor R, Chauhan N.Decision-making skills: An assessment among adolescents in Surat city.Indian J Community Med. 2021;46(2):195-200. doi:10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_512_19Sonuga-Barke EJ, Cortese S, Fairchild G, Stringaris A.Annual research review: Transdiagnostic neuroscience of child and adolescent mental disorders—differentiating decision making in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and anxiety.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2016;57(3):321-349. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12496Elwyn G, Vermunt NPCA.Goal-based shared decision-making: developing an integrated model.J Patient Exp. 2020;7(5):688-696. doi:10.1177/2374373519878604Bruch E, Feinberg F.Decision-making processes in social contexts.Annu Rev Sociol. 2017;43:207-227. doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053622McConnell CR.Deciding to decide: How decisions are made and how some forces affect the process.Health Care Manag (Frederick). 2016;35(1):80-89. doi:10.1097/HCM.0000000000000096

Miller VA.Optimizing children’s involvement in decision-making requires moving beyond the concept of ability.Am J Bioeth. 2018;18(3):20-22. doi:10.1080/15265161.2017.1418923

Buch RS, Moitra M, Damor R, Chauhan N.Decision-making skills: An assessment among adolescents in Surat city.Indian J Community Med. 2021;46(2):195-200. doi:10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_512_19

Sonuga-Barke EJ, Cortese S, Fairchild G, Stringaris A.Annual research review: Transdiagnostic neuroscience of child and adolescent mental disorders—differentiating decision making in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and anxiety.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2016;57(3):321-349. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12496

Elwyn G, Vermunt NPCA.Goal-based shared decision-making: developing an integrated model.J Patient Exp. 2020;7(5):688-696. doi:10.1177/2374373519878604

Bruch E, Feinberg F.Decision-making processes in social contexts.Annu Rev Sociol. 2017;43:207-227. doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053622

McConnell CR.Deciding to decide: How decisions are made and how some forces affect the process.Health Care Manag (Frederick). 2016;35(1):80-89. doi:10.1097/HCM.0000000000000096

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Characteristics of Indecisive People#

Potential Causes of Being Indecisive#

7 Ways to Be Less Indecisive#

Understand Your Goals and Values#

Develop a Decision-Making Process#

Practice Making Smaller Decisions#

Set Time Limits#

Seek Advice Selectively#

Commit to Your Decisions#

Reflect on Your Decisions#