Take a peek inside Mark Zuckerberg’s closet:
It's it weird that the person who is worth more than $40B has a wardrobe like this? There must be a reason for that. Fortunately, in 2014 the Facebook founder had his first-ever Q&A publicly, and some bright person asked him a question we are curious about:
“Why do you wear the same t-shirt every day?”
His answer intrigued me.
“I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community.”
Could this one decision improve our decision making or help our brains stay focused or maybe it's just a tip of the iceberg? According to some research, an adult makes about 35,000 “remotely” conscious choices per day. It's a bit overwhelming. I think Mark's answer shows us that billionaires take care of their minds and try to limit the decisions they take as much as they can.
How to make fewer decisions - become a decision minimalist.
A decision minimalist is a person who tries to make a decision only about the most essential things and automate the rest. The implementation of this concept breaks into three phrases – track, measure, and automate.
1. Phase 1: Track Every Decision
Try to observe the pattern. Try to find reliable and weak points of your decision-making process. Look for what requires the most and the least effort.
2. Phase 2: Measure Effectiveness
According to the 80/20 rule, 20 percent of your decisions generate 80 percent of the results. Try to filter these. It will help you to keep deciding only on most important things.
3. Phase 3: Automate Repeated Decisions
Evaluate the results from previous phrases and try to think of a way how to automate them or delegate them; the decisions you make that do not have any significant impact on your life should be eliminated.
I hope that being aware of these facts will have quite an impact on your life only in positive aspects. The fewer distractions we have, the more productive and happy we become.
Questions:
1. Would you be able to wear just one colour/type of clothes each day?
2. Do you think too many things bother you?
3. Have you ever tried to limit the number of decisions you make or improve your choices?
Sources:
- Mark Zuckerberg First Public Q&A (quotes)
Comments
Maybe, I 've never thought about it. I guess there are some things that annoy me.
Well, I usually try to simplify things in life to make fewer decisions overall. For sure I cannot do this all the time so I try to be more flexible in my decision making. I think everybody's decision making skill improves with time as they gain more experience based on their previous mistakes. Sooner or later you will find out the best life strategy that will fit your needs.
Hmm, good question but I think that I agree that too many things bother me. I think a lot. Maybe even too much but I'll always find things that are annoying me.
I've never tried to limit the number of decisions I make. It seems stupid to me. Any decisions I make are unavoidable. If there are any avoidable I will avoid them.
2. The opposite. I still don’t feel like responsible adult. There are too many things that I just put away in time or avoid completely.
3. I would rather put my efforts in automating mundane repetitive tasks. Decision making on its own isn’t time consuming unless it’s for example complex matter. In which case maybe, it’s important to pay its due attention.
I do not think I am anxious all the time. Of course it depends on the period, but usually I am a relaxed person.
All the time I try to change something in myself, so that people close to me would accept me. I think everyone wants to change for the better.
its depends what things we are talking about.
I have tried to improve my condition many times. I've tried to eliminate my life from anything that has brought down my performance in my life.
I have never payed attention to it. To my mind big amount of something makes our brain make lots of comparison with every single one of this set.
No, I didn’t. I guess I don’t have so much decision to make in my everyday life or I just don’t pay attention to it.
I think I would be able to wear just one type of clothes each day I already have subdued clothes.
Do you think too many things bother you?
I don’t think so, many but not too many.
Have you ever tried to limit the number of decisions you make or improve your choices?
No I never tried that.
No way, I like T-shirts, of course (mostly black of course), but I like all of them I have. They are different and shows what I like and with what I assimilate with.
2. Do you think too many things bother you?
Yes, there are those things, but they are not things I may not do, because they are my chores or things involved in productive work. Unfortunately - humans are not designed to be able to maintain single intellectual task for long period of time without any break.
3. Have you ever tried to limit the number of decisions you make or improve your choices?
Never thought about it. But I tried to make decisions faster and with more logical and less emotional if there was possibility. Support with applications on my smartphone is extraordinary helpful in cases of decisions without heist.
I like having to make multiple decisions during the day. It makes me pretty happy to make this small decisions which can't possibly have any consequences. The only possible result of them can be positive.
I didn't ever try to limit the number of choices I have to make, but I am trying to improve the quality of them. For most of people that also should be the case - we are lucky enough to be part of the species which has the ability to learn from its' own mistakes.
It's important to simplify our life as much as it is possible.
2. There are some things that bother me and they shouldn’t as they are not that important. I am constantly striving to prioritize things properly in order to minimize number of things which consume my time and don't bring added value in my life.
3. I have tried it couple of times in my life but only in regard to decisions concerning unimportant things, when it comes to serious decisions I try to make them in a conscious and reasonable way e.g.: decision matrix.
Sometimes yes, sometimes not. Depends on the day. Rather, I can deal with everything. But sometimes it makes me angry everything.
I try to improve my choices every day. But it comes out differently.
I am really easy to distract so definitely too many things bother me. When I work I like to put on headphones with loud music on and have almost empty desk (and computer desktop as well!). I such a way I have less things to catch my attentions and I can focus on my work.
I always try to plan my day ahead so that I don't constantly have to make decisions. It's especially helpful in the morning - I like to prepare my breakfast the night before, because in the morning I cannot decide what I want to eat.
I think i'm a quiet person, I do something or I do not, and nervousness does not really help me.
I think that was the way it was before, as I mentioned above, if there is something to decide, there are two ways, yes or no, others like “may” or “maybe” are unnecessary
2. No, I do not consider this "too", I am concerned only with what matters at the moment.
3. I think that the reason - a bad mood, just limits my choice, but this happens rarely. To reduce the number of decisions? No, I do not take responsibility for decisions that I would not like to think about.
To be honest i don’t feel like too many things bother me, but I think it will change in the future.
In my opinion every choice brings you closer to the perfect decison making process and I don’t think you can practise it at home or from tutorials. You just have to have them in real situations to draw conclusions and improve yourself
Sure, in fact it seems pretty comfortable to have only one type of clothes, so I wouldn't mind wearing it each and every day.
2. Do you think too many things bother you?
I am sometimes disturbed by too many things around me. There is a lot of things going on these days, we are constantly "under attack" from a lot of sources, especially mass media. It is good to be around, but we always should keep in mind that no matter how loud it is outside, there should be always same amount of silence inside.
3. Have you ever tried to limit the number of decisions you make or improve your choices?
Nah, I am not a fan of focusing on improvement each second of life. I think that improving your choices is a life-span process, which bases on our mistakes and constantly improves itself.
I do in fact i think i get bothered by too many things that i should be ignoring. Eliminating that part of you is a process.
Yes but unfortunately its not always possible. Does not matter is it your coworkers, family or even a shopkeeper each person you meet/interact with every day is a opportunity to make decisions. While being anti social is a bad thing (as seen by the community) a rational amount of it might be actually a way to go. We all just need to find balance.
In case of decisions think that count of decisions must stay in fixed measures because some time better to have a little bit more chances to do something and sometimes less because its hard to decide.
Hmmm, it depends. I'm always trying to do my best and sometimes I have no problem with too many things and I can deal with it. On the other hand, if I have a bad day (e.x. headache, bad mood) it can be stressful for me.
I have never tried because my life is very simply. I think that it will change in the future because I'm planning to make a family and I know that is combine with new duties for me.
Have you ever tried to limit the number of decisions you make or improve your choices?
2. No. I'm a kind of calm person, so it does not bother me.
3. I've never thought about it. It's a curious think to think about it and make a change. Interesting
I think no, because from practical side it's amazing, but from emotional side, you cannot express your mood wearing with clothes.
2. Do you think too many things bother you?
Yes, I do.
3. Have you ever tried to limit the number of decisions you make or improve your choices?
I will try when I become a billioner, now I don't have enough time to waste it this way.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I try to keep a lot of things in head and solve everything in the best way. Clothes don't distract me. I think I can manage with everything, even with choosing clothes for myself)
I sometimes do that if I'm under the big pressure or stress. Then i try to solve everything one by one, not thinking or choosing more than one thing at time. And that helps!
1. Totally NO! It will be terrible for me. I like to express myself in that way.
2. Yes, i have many things to consider but i think that's good to know that we can choose and the effects of the decision depend on us.
3. I haven't try to do things like that. To be honest, i like make decisions. It help me to control my live. I don't think that it will help me make decisions better.
2. I don’t think so. I’m always trying to plan ahead and ignore bothering at all.
3. Interesting question. I haven’t tried to limi the number of decisions, but it sounds like a good idea. Of course I’m trying to improve my choices, every day ;).