Overthinking stalls progress. The goal is not perfect certainty but useful action followed by learning. Here is a practical playbook to move when your brain wants to spin.

1) Set a decision size and match the effort

• Reversible, low stakes decisions: make them fast.
• Irreversible or high stakes decisions: do a bit more research, then commit.
  Ask: What is the worst plausible outcome and can I recover from it?

2) Use a time box, not a finish line

Give yourself a fixed window to decide. Example: 20 minutes to gather options, 10 minutes to choose, 5 minutes to draft the first step. When the timer ends, you act.

3) Apply the 70 percent rule

Decide when you have about 70 percent of the information you wish you had. The last 30 percent usually costs more time than it saves in accuracy.

4) Shrink the first step

Define a minimum viable action that produces feedback. If choosing a tool, test two candidates for one day each. If starting a project, write the outline before you write the plan.

5) Limit options on purpose

Too many choices create drag. Cap yourself at three viable options, compare against the single most important criterion, and eliminate quickly.

6) Choose your one deciding metric

Pick the tie breaker that matters most right now: speed to result, cost, quality, or risk. Rate each option 1 to 5 on that metric and choose the highest.

7) Pre-commit with rules

Write simple policies that prevent loops:

• If two options are tied, choose the cheaper or the simpler.
• If I cannot decide after my time box, I pick the option that gets me feedback fastest.
• If an action takes less than two minutes, I do it immediately.

8) Run a quick pre-mortem

Spend three minutes imagining the decision failed. List the top two reasons, then add safeguards. This reduces fear and improves the plan without endless research.

9) Build small bets into your habits

Prefer pilots, prototypes, and trials. You learn more from one small experiment than from ten hours of speculation.

10) Make outcomes reviewable

Log big decisions in a one line format: Decision, why now, chosen metric, first action, review date. Review after one or two weeks. Adjust without guilt.

11) Guard your inputs

Indecision often comes from noisy information. Limit advice to two qualified sources. Stop searching after you find one option that meets your must-haves.

12) Set a default

When analysis stalls, your preset default fires. Examples:

• Default vendor list already ranked by reliability.
• Default workout when you cannot choose a plan.
• Default writing template when you cannot structure a piece.

13) Separate planning from doing

Planning brain asks what and why. Doing brain asks how and when. Schedule them apart so you do not edit while you brainstorm or rethink while you execute.

14) Use implementation intentions

If X happens, I will do Y. Example: If I get stuck comparing features for more than ten minutes, I will pick the simplest option and start a test.

15) Accept that some uncertainty is permanent

Clarity often follows action. Make the best call you can with what you have, move, observe, and update. Progress compounds faster than perfect decisions.

Quick template you can use today

• Decision: __________
• Stakes: Low or High
• Time box: ______ minutes
• One deciding metric: __________
• Options capped at: 3
• First action that creates feedback: __________
• Default if still stuck: __________
• Review on: __________

Choose, act, learn, adjust. That cycle beats overthinking every time.