Should You Delay Decisions or Decide Quickly? Here’s What Actually Helps
„Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide“
Last week we explored how tools like ChatGPT influence the way we learn and process information. Today we return to a core topic: how we decide. A friend recently asked me whether it’s better to postpone decisions or to make them quickly. Here’s the perspective I shared with him.
Decision Avoidance in Everyday Life
Modern life gives us countless opportunities to delay choices. We can leave items in our online shopping basket, postpone insurance updates, delay provider changes or push retirement decisions to next month. It feels convenient, because it eases the pressure of deciding right now.
But this convenience has a price, one that grows the longer we postpone.
Each delayed decision becomes an open mental loop. These loops consume focus and cognitive energy, because they increase our cognitive load and continuously demand background attention. If we postpone choices habitually, the number of unresolved decisions grows into an intimidating pile that becomes harder to tackle with every additional delay.
Why We Prefer to Decide Later … or Never
Postponing a decision gives us immediate relief.
We avoid the risk of choosing wrong, we don’t have to change anything and we can preserve a comfortable status quo. Sometimes delaying a decision also means that responsibility subtly shifts to others.
This pattern is closely linked to the omission bias: we perceive harmful inaction as less problematic than an equally harmful action, even though the consequences can be the same.
But delays often reshape our decision landscape. Prices may rise, good options may disappear or we may forget important information that we would need to reacquire later. The result: deciding becomes even harder.
Most avoidance comes from two sources:
Rational reasons – wanting more information, comparing options, weighing costs and benefits.
Emotional reasons – anxiety, anticipated regret or fear of making a mistake.
If we delay a decision even when we know it’s harmful, we call it procrastination. And yes, all of us know exactly how that feels.
Long time windows are particularly dangerous. They create an illusion of having plenty of time, which lowers our sense of urgency and allows everyday distractions to take over. Every I’ll do this later slightly reduces the likelihood that we actually will.
We also systematically overvalue immediate costs and undervalue future benefits, because the future feels psychologically distant. But the longer you keep a decision in the category Later, the more often it will be reevaluated from this present-biased perspective that favours comfort and minimal effort.
At the same time, we assume that our future self will be basically the same person, just with more time and more clarity. This is called projection bias. But life changes: income, workload, responsibilities, energy levels, motivation. By the time the decision becomes relevant again, our conditions might be completely different.
And the longer you delay a decision and the more options you explore (and the internet and AI make it very easy to explore many of them) the more complex the decision becomes which makes it harder for us to grasp and fatigues the decision-making process. This means that I will think about this later often occurs at the point when you are already mentally tired. But the next time you revisit the decision, you may be equally or more depleted, making meaningful comparison even less likely.
So How Do We Handle It?
Delaying a decision is not inherently bad. It depends on whether we do it deliberately or simply as a way of avoiding discomfort.
A few practical strategies can help:
1. Reduce the complexity of the choice.
Instead of browsing dozens of possibilities, narrow it down to two or three realistic options. This lowers cognitive load and increases the likelihood that you will actually decide.
2. Use long time windows wisely.
Even if something is due next month, consider tackling it early. You are in control now and you cannot know how your circumstances will change. Turning sometime this year into a specific date keeps the decision from fading into the background of daily life.
3. Anticipate your own present bias.
Value beneficial outcomes in the future. Your future self will thank you for the decisions you make today. Treat your future self with generosity by reducing unnecessary tasks and open loops.
4. Forecast realistically.
If you want to delay a decision, ask yourself how your energy, time, responsibilities or priorities might realistically change instead of assuming stability.
5. Don’t over-identify with your decisions.
You are not the decisions you make. Being human means being imperfect. A wrong decision does not diminish your worth. The goal is to act wisely, not flawlessly.
The Core Message
More time does not automatically lead to better decisions.
If extended time is not paired with structures that counteract procrastination, present bias and misprediction, the outcome will often drift away from what you actually would have chosen under clear and stable conditions.
So let me give you a last reflective question to ask yourself when you want to postpone a decision:
Am I really gaining anything from postponing the decision or do I just want to evade the pressure of deciding?
All the best, and happy deciding.
L. A.
Reflection starts with dialogue.
If you’d like to share a thought or question, you can write to me at contact@lucalbrecht.com
Thinking from Scratch
by Luc Albrecht
Exploring how we think, decide and create clarity