Repairs Before Selling Return RewardsHome Repairs Boost Your Selling Profits
By Elizabeth Weintraub, About.com Guide
.See More About:resale repairspreparing home for salehome staginglisting agents
Installing bamboo flooring is just as easy to do as an oak floor install.
© Elizabeth Weintraub Sponsored Links
What's My House Worth?
Find your home's current market value online with HouseValues.com.
www.HouseValues.com
Additions & Remodeling
Looking For Remodeling Contractors? Connect to Pre-Screened Pros Today.
www.ServiceMagic.com
Wood Floor Refinishing
Is your contractor licensed, experienced and dust free?
www.PremierWoodFloors.net
Sponsored Links
DirectBuy® Grand Rapids
The #1 way to save money on home remodeling, furniture, decor & more
www.directbuyofwesternmi.com
Lumber Liquidators
Up to 71% Off Flooring! Great Low Prices Everyday. Full Price Match.
www.LumberLiquidators.com
Quick fixes before selling a home always pay off, but which repairs bring the biggest return? Specific answers to this often-asked question largely depend on a variety of factors such as:
•Time of year
•Location of the home
•Market temperature
•Competing inventory
There is no hard and fast rule. But there are general guidelines that apply to most homes. For example, the National Association of Realtors publishes each year the Cost vs. Value Report with Remodeling Magazine, which features various home project costs and returns in four regions, including a national average.
Flooring Fixes
In my neighborhood, most of the homes were built in the late 1940s, which means the floors are original, hardwood oak. Wood floors are a hot item today, but preferences over the years have changed. Carpeting became popular -- like with lots of consumer products -- after somebody figured out how to get the government to pay for it. When vets returned home from WWII, housing was at a shortage. Homes were sold with newly installed carpeting because the cost for the carpeting could be rolled into government-insured (VA) loans.
Then carpeting became vogue in the 1960s. Some homes today, sadly, still sport '60's shag carpeting. The final movement away from hardwood happened when installing hardwood floors became too expensive. Plywood was easier to obtain and faster to install. Plus choices in carpeting were plenty. It's still relatively inexpensive to install carpeting.
•Hardwood Floors
If your home has hardwood floors, that's what buyers want, and it would pay to have the carpeting removed and the floors refinished.
•Carpeting
If your sub-floor is plywood, then replace the carpeting with light tan. Neutral carpeting is your best bet for resale.
•Ceramic
Replace chipped or cracked tiles. Clean or replace the grout. But don't install ceramic (it's too expensive) unless it's for aesthetic reasons in an entry way.
Paint Ceilings & Walls
Buyers spend more time than you would think staring at ceilings. They are looking for signs of a leaky roof, but what you don't want them to see are stains from grease or smoke and ceiling cracks. Ditto for walls. Nothing says freshness like new paint, and it's the most cost effective improvement. Use fiberglass tape on large cracks, cover with joint compound and sand. Paint a neutral color such as light tan - think of coffee with cream.
•Wallpaper
It's not that all buyers hate wallpaper. They hate your wallpaper - because it's your personal choice, not theirs. And they hate all dated wallpaper. Get rid of it. The easiest way is to steam it off by using an inexpensive wallpaper remover steamer.
•Wood paneling
Even if your wood paneling is not real wood but composite, you can paint it. Dated paneling must go. Older wood paneling such as walnut, mahogany, cedar and pine, it's all gone out of style. Paint it a neutral and soft color after priming it.
•Textured ceilings
Older popcorn ceilings with the "sparkles" often contain asbestos and if disturbed are health hazards. Say goodbye to it. But even recently sprayed ceilings turn off buyers. It's not expensive but it is time consuming to remove. Lay down drop cloths and scrape it off. You will need to repaint.
Kitchen Improvements
Appliances and cabinets are typically the most expensive items to replace in a kitchen. If you don't have to replace them, you'll save a ton of money. However, if your cabinets are dated and beat-up, your house might not sell if the cabinets aren't replaced.
Kitchen remodels return nearly 100%. According to Remodeling Magazine, the high-end kitchens don't return as much as the mid-range or minor kitchen remodels. Most buyers won't pay extra for a built-in Sub Zero refrigerator, professional 8-burner stove, undermount sink or travertine floors. If you live in the Midwest, your return will be less than for those who live in other parts of the country.
•Cabinets
Resurfacing is your best option. This involves attaching a thin veneer to the surface of the cabinets and replacing the doors and hardware . If your cabinets are painted, add a fresh coat of paint and new hardware.
•Counter tops, sinks & faucets
Granite counters are not necessary. Simple laminates, newer faucets and sparkling sinks sell. Buyers don't want leaky faucets or stained sinks.
Bathrooms
The national average of recouped cost is more than 100% for bathrooms. New floors, fixtures and lights payoff.
Roofs & Exterior
If your home needs a new roof, bite the bullet and do it. Even though most roofing tear-off jobs take one to two days, buyers shy away from buying a home if the roof needs to be replaced.
•Patch cement cracks in sidewalks
•Resurface asphalt driveways
•Plant flowers
•Caulk windows and doors
•Replace doorknobs and locks
•Fix or paint fences
Conclusion
Overall, buyers want to buy a home that has no deferred maintenance, newer appliances, updated plumbing, electrical and heating (including a/c), modern conveniences and is ready to occupy.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Best time to do anything
The When-to-Do-Everything Guide partnerNews flash: You don’t have to spend your lunch break waiting in line at the DMV. No, you can’t add extra hours to your day (if only!) but you can use the hours you have more efficiently. In an effort to help you tackle that never-ending to-do list, we reached out to planning and productivity experts to get their take on the best time to visit the dentist, get a customer service rep on the phone and more. Follow their guidelines and you’ll breeze through your day—and maybe even find yourself with a few spare minutes to relax at night.
Before 8 a.m.: Exercise
The longer you put off exercising, the less likely you’ll be to actually do it, says registered dietitian and certified wellness coach Elizabeth Di Biase. Once other responsibilities get in the way, the best-laid plans to exercise often go out the window. And since most exercisers hit the gym later in the day, you're likely to score more space and available machines in the a.m. “Plus, research has shown that morning exercisers stick to their exercise plan more often than those who exercise later,” she says. Photo: Shutterstock
Before 9 a.m.: Place Online Orders
Get your Internet shopping done early in the day, suggests Paul Shrater, cofounder of e-commerce company Minimus.biz. “An order placed earlier in the day has a better chance of getting filled the same day and onto the shipping dock at the company’s warehouse,” he says. Photo: Thinkstock
After 9 a.m.: Call Customer Service
Give customer service reps a few minutes to have their coffee, too, urges professional organizer Sarah Long. If you call right at 8 a.m. (or whenever the business opens), they’ll be scrambling to answer your call while dealing with messages from the night before. Just make sure to get someone on the phone before noon, because everyone else will be calling during their lunch break. Also, try calling on a Tuesday or Wednesday, after the customer service reps have had a chance to put out fires from over the weekend. Photo: Thinkstock
Before 11 a.m.: Go to the DMV
Most people try to squeeze in a visit to the DMV (and post office and other state or government agencies) before work or on their lunch break, says time coach Elizabeth Grace Saunders. If you can sneak away from the office, beat the crowds by dropping in midmorning. Photo: Thinkstock
After 11 a.m.: Make Dinner Reservations
If you call your favorite restaurant first thing in the morning, you’ll probably speak with a waitress or busboy or someone who’s doing meal prep. To finagle a reservation, try calling just after 11 a.m., when maître d's generally arrive, suggests productivity expert Neen James. Generally, the person in charge of reservations is the only one who can rearrange the books to accommodate you, so don’t waste your time dealing with the rest of the staff. If you can’t get through at 11, try back around 4—after lunch is over, but before the dinner rush begins. Photo: Thinkstock
Before Noon: Meet for Lunch
Get your important lunch dates in early, suggests Saunders. If you meet clients between 11 and 12, before the lunch rush, the restaurant staff will be relaxed and more eager to serve you. You’ll also be able to land a choice table without waiting. Photo: Shutterstock
After 1 p.m.: Go to the Doctor or Dentist
Dentists generally reserve the earliest appointments for emergency patients, and lots of doctors spend their mornings doing rounds at a hospital, so it’s easy for either to already be behind schedule when they start officially seeing patients around 9 a.m. Instead of asking for the first appointment of the day, professional organizer Geralin Thomas suggests requesting the first slot after lunch, which is generally when doctors and dentists have “caught up” from their morning. Photo: Thinkstock
Discover other ways to reduce the amount of time you spend in the waiting room.
After 5 p.m.: Reach Senior-Level Executives
Lots of execs have “gatekeeper” assistants manning the phones from 9 to 5. If you feel your messages aren’t being relayed to the head honcho, such as a store’s manager or a business’s owner, try calling after the assistants have gone home for the day suggests Shrater. Many higher-ups get to work early and leave late, so if you call after-hours, you’ll have a shot at bypassing the assistant. Photo: Thinkstock
After 6 p.m.: Fuel Up Your Car
The worst possible time to buy gas is when you’re running late in the morning, when everyone else is fueling up, says James. (Even if you’re not running late in the morning, the long lines at the gas station will likely push you into running-late territory!) Make a habit of checking your gas gauge when you leave work at night. If it’s below a quarter-tank, swing by the gas station on your way home. Photo: Thinkstock
After 9 p.m.: Buy Groceries
If someone else can tend to the kids, head to a 24-hour supermarket late at night, suggests Teri Gault, founder of The Grocery Game, who shops for groceries even later—around 11 p.m. “It’s just me and the workers who stock the shelves,” she says. “They’re listening to music and having fun, and there’s someone to help me in every aisle.” If you can’t make it to the market at midnight, try a weekday afternoon. Just avoid the grocery store on the weekend, when people are shopping for the week, and right after work, when everyone’s picking up last-minute things for dinner. Photo: Shutterstock
After 10 p.m.: Get Tech Support
When your Internet router’s down or your computer’s on the fritz, consider calling tech support in the middle of the night, suggests Gault, who says she built The Grocery Game between the hours of 12 and 4 a.m. Lots of tech-minded companies offer 24-hour support—by catching the staff “when they’re bored,” Gault says you can get one-on-one attention for as long as you feel like talking. Photo: Thinkstock
Before 8 a.m.: Exercise
The longer you put off exercising, the less likely you’ll be to actually do it, says registered dietitian and certified wellness coach Elizabeth Di Biase. Once other responsibilities get in the way, the best-laid plans to exercise often go out the window. And since most exercisers hit the gym later in the day, you're likely to score more space and available machines in the a.m. “Plus, research has shown that morning exercisers stick to their exercise plan more often than those who exercise later,” she says. Photo: Shutterstock
Before 9 a.m.: Place Online Orders
Get your Internet shopping done early in the day, suggests Paul Shrater, cofounder of e-commerce company Minimus.biz. “An order placed earlier in the day has a better chance of getting filled the same day and onto the shipping dock at the company’s warehouse,” he says. Photo: Thinkstock
After 9 a.m.: Call Customer Service
Give customer service reps a few minutes to have their coffee, too, urges professional organizer Sarah Long. If you call right at 8 a.m. (or whenever the business opens), they’ll be scrambling to answer your call while dealing with messages from the night before. Just make sure to get someone on the phone before noon, because everyone else will be calling during their lunch break. Also, try calling on a Tuesday or Wednesday, after the customer service reps have had a chance to put out fires from over the weekend. Photo: Thinkstock
Before 11 a.m.: Go to the DMV
Most people try to squeeze in a visit to the DMV (and post office and other state or government agencies) before work or on their lunch break, says time coach Elizabeth Grace Saunders. If you can sneak away from the office, beat the crowds by dropping in midmorning. Photo: Thinkstock
After 11 a.m.: Make Dinner Reservations
If you call your favorite restaurant first thing in the morning, you’ll probably speak with a waitress or busboy or someone who’s doing meal prep. To finagle a reservation, try calling just after 11 a.m., when maître d's generally arrive, suggests productivity expert Neen James. Generally, the person in charge of reservations is the only one who can rearrange the books to accommodate you, so don’t waste your time dealing with the rest of the staff. If you can’t get through at 11, try back around 4—after lunch is over, but before the dinner rush begins. Photo: Thinkstock
Before Noon: Meet for Lunch
Get your important lunch dates in early, suggests Saunders. If you meet clients between 11 and 12, before the lunch rush, the restaurant staff will be relaxed and more eager to serve you. You’ll also be able to land a choice table without waiting. Photo: Shutterstock
After 1 p.m.: Go to the Doctor or Dentist
Dentists generally reserve the earliest appointments for emergency patients, and lots of doctors spend their mornings doing rounds at a hospital, so it’s easy for either to already be behind schedule when they start officially seeing patients around 9 a.m. Instead of asking for the first appointment of the day, professional organizer Geralin Thomas suggests requesting the first slot after lunch, which is generally when doctors and dentists have “caught up” from their morning. Photo: Thinkstock
Discover other ways to reduce the amount of time you spend in the waiting room.
After 5 p.m.: Reach Senior-Level Executives
Lots of execs have “gatekeeper” assistants manning the phones from 9 to 5. If you feel your messages aren’t being relayed to the head honcho, such as a store’s manager or a business’s owner, try calling after the assistants have gone home for the day suggests Shrater. Many higher-ups get to work early and leave late, so if you call after-hours, you’ll have a shot at bypassing the assistant. Photo: Thinkstock
After 6 p.m.: Fuel Up Your Car
The worst possible time to buy gas is when you’re running late in the morning, when everyone else is fueling up, says James. (Even if you’re not running late in the morning, the long lines at the gas station will likely push you into running-late territory!) Make a habit of checking your gas gauge when you leave work at night. If it’s below a quarter-tank, swing by the gas station on your way home. Photo: Thinkstock
After 9 p.m.: Buy Groceries
If someone else can tend to the kids, head to a 24-hour supermarket late at night, suggests Teri Gault, founder of The Grocery Game, who shops for groceries even later—around 11 p.m. “It’s just me and the workers who stock the shelves,” she says. “They’re listening to music and having fun, and there’s someone to help me in every aisle.” If you can’t make it to the market at midnight, try a weekday afternoon. Just avoid the grocery store on the weekend, when people are shopping for the week, and right after work, when everyone’s picking up last-minute things for dinner. Photo: Shutterstock
After 10 p.m.: Get Tech Support
When your Internet router’s down or your computer’s on the fritz, consider calling tech support in the middle of the night, suggests Gault, who says she built The Grocery Game between the hours of 12 and 4 a.m. Lots of tech-minded companies offer 24-hour support—by catching the staff “when they’re bored,” Gault says you can get one-on-one attention for as long as you feel like talking. Photo: Thinkstock
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Advice
So who do you take advice from? The most successful? The biggest failer? Me, I am learning to take it from both. Why? Sometimes those that have failed can give us as good as advice as those that have succeeded. Often, of course the most successful have failed. But what about those average that have not or not yet made a splash???? I seek out the average, and often find that they indeed have a lot to offer. Mistakes in life can become learning lessons if we learn and not repeat. My friend has made so many mistakes in his life, that if I had taken his advice, well I may be better off than today. But, I am starting to understand.........My biggest mitakes also had a lot of goodness to them as well. So I should have listed but glad today that i did not, I would have missed the most important pieces of life....................
How to make a decision
How do you make a decision? And how will you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is the right one? Decision paralysis by over-analysis Some things in life are black or white, and so are easy to make decisions about. A juggernaut is speeding towards you. You want to live. You jump out of the way and you know unequivocally you have made the right decision. But should you buy a car in silver or blue? Should you buy this house or that house? Should you go to the party? Marry or not? And if so, who? So much of life is ambiguous. Sometimes both decisions would have been right or wrong… to some extent. If we wait for absolute certainty before acting then we may never act. Sometimes there are no 'right' decisions, only different or alternate decisions. Trying to make the 'right' decision assumes that life is always simple or even simplistic. But some people respond to decision making time like a rabbit snared in the headlights of a fast approaching car. How to mess up your life (or how not to make decisions) People wreak havoc with their mental health by worrying about what to do. The four most common traps are:
1. Wanting too much certainty before acting. Perfectionist types with simplistic ideas of right and wrong go for this one. They don't feel it is reasonable to act on a decision while still having doubts about it. They want a certificate to come through the letterbox telling them the right decision has been reached and officially approved. As this doesn't happen, their minds go round and round in circles and they actually think too much.
2. Making emotional decisions based on a whim. Although such decisions are often easily recognised as mistaken, the emotional decider will rarely admit this and instead seeks to 'back up' their dodgy decision with emotional rationalisations – kidding themselves and sometimes other people. For example, 'I have taken up with this violent psychopath because he is so good at helping my child with his history homework' or 'I won't stop smoking just yet, because so and so is still smoking and if I stopped now it would upset her.'
3. Believing a decision can only be valid if ratified by other people. This approach often comes out of fear of making an entirely independent decision. It may be a sign of reluctance to become fully adult and take responsibility for one's own life.
4. Constantly making the same mistakes because of failure to learn from the past. Of course, people rarely admit that they have 'failed to learn'. Instead they blame lack of decent 'karma', 'fate', conjoined star signs, ley lines, lack of support from family and friends, and any number of other 'reasons' for their problems.
But what about Jason's marriage? Not making a decision is a decision Jason fitted into the first category. He wasn't sleeping properly and was constantly obsessing about what he should do for the best. Should he stay and make a go of his marriage (which was by no means bad) or should he leave and 'enjoy being single'; a touch of mid-life crisis. He had asked friends for advice. He wanted his wife to make the decision for him. He just couldn't find the answer. The trouble was that the 'problem' he was trying to solve wasn't maths. He was treating the problem of what to do in his life as if it were algebra. If X is the joy of the single life, and Y is the guilt I feel for leaving my innocent wife, what is the product of X x Y? And hey presto, he would come up with a magic number, and a kindly teacher would come and tell him he was correct, and then he'd know without doubt that he'd found the solution. I had to do something about this. Sweating the small stuff I asked him if decision making was something he struggled with generally. "You bet", he said, "and it's getting worse. I can't even decide what drink to have in the pub, what to eat, where to take a walk. There are pros and cons to everything." This gave me a clue. When someone is panicking, it's essential to take pressure off. Jason was putting all the pressure on himself. I suggested he 'decide not to decide' anything at all about his marriage for a period of three months. During that time we would work on improving his decision making skills around the small things. He visibly relaxed. He'd half wanted me to make the decision for him; to tell him what to do. Now I had told him that he needn't – in fact shouldn't – make any decision for a while. He was let off the hook for a bit longer. With some decisions you'll never know for sure it was the right one. When people do make life decisions, they don't necessarily ever know they've made the right decision but they can still be happy with that. You might stop pursuing one career to pursue another. You may never really know whether it was the absolute right decision as it may have been just fine if you'd stuck with the first one. Unless the old one was awful and the new one is fantastic, the situation is ambiguous. Bad decision makers aren't good with ambiguity. They want certainty where they have no right to expect it. But get this – some research tells us that for many decisions you are better off not thinking about it.Don't dither; trust your gut instincts When decision making gets tough – trust your gut instincts. Research published in 'Current Biology' shows that in some instances snap decisions are better than endless pedantic pondering and logical weighing up. Test subjects (what we non-scientists know as 'people') were asked to pick the odd one out on a screen covered with more than 650 identical symbols, including one rotated version of the same symbol. They performed better when they were given no time to linger and were forced to rely on their subconscious to select the correct answer. Dr Li Zhaoping of University College London said: "You'd expect people to make better decisions when given time to look properly, but this was not so." He explained: "The conscious or top level function of the brain, when active, vetoes our initial subconscious decision – even when it is correct – leaving us unaware or distrustful of our instincts." So thinking too much about a decision can leave us worse off. This is what happens with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, when the subconscious knows very well that you have turned the gas off, but the conscious brain gets too involved and throws the whole thing into doubt, forcing you to check fifty times! So the famous Milton Erickson's injunction to 'trust your unconscious' is now backed up by research. Your conscious logical brain doesn't always make the best decisions. Upside down artists pick better cars Another study (quoted in The Independent on 9 January 2007) showed that artists drew better portraits when their subjects were shown upside down. This prevented the artists from being distracted by whose face it is, or other 'higher level' information, and allowed them to focus on details instead. But does this 'not thinking' apply to real decision making, like buying a house or car, or even buying a shampoo? Researchers at the University of Amsterdam found that thinking hard about what car to buy leads you to make a poor choice, or not the best choice. People identified the best car of four, each with 12 desirable attributes, around 25% of the time. This is no better than chance. The surprise came when the researchers distracted the participants with puzzles before asking them to make their choices. More than half of them managed to pick the best car. Instinctively they picked the better one when they had less time to think. Clearly logical thought has its place in decision making, but logic is a tool and not the only one in the box! Which leads to the question: are some people just well too sensible when it comes to decision making? On being too sensible Being 'too sensible' doesn't seem like much of a drawback. Sensible people will inherit the earth, I'm sure. But sometimes the most sensible seeming decision just isn't the best one. Being 'sensible' doesn't allow for the unexpected. It may be more 'sensible' not to go on holiday with friends of friends whom you don't know that well, but at the same time you don't know what opportunities for new friendships you might gain by going. It may be more 'sensible' and safe to always work for someone else – but who knows what you might achieve working for yourself? So if being sensible could be expanded to allow for spontaneity and sometimes just going for it, that would be truly… sensible. Sometimes we can 'sensible' ourselves out of having a life. Finally – how to make a decision So to make good decisions you need to:
1. Learn to trust your instincts. Don't always insist on 'logical' reasons for everything, such as why to get the silver rather than blue car. Learn to say: 'Because it feels right.'
2. But don't be tempted to automatically go with greed driven decisions because of strong emotion and then try to flatter yourself with after-the-event justification and rationalisations. Intuitive decision making works best when the distorting effects of emotion are kept to a minimum.
3. When you do base decision making on weighing up the pros and cons, use your imagination. Really sit down and envisage living with the decision. How does that feel?
4. Remember, some decisions won't make sense to other people – and that may be OK. Most medical advances (open heart surgery, for one) were instigated by people who decided to follow what seemed like crazy ideas to others at the time.
5. Don't beat yourself up if you do make a 'wrong' decision. You can learn from it and hey – you are human!
And the upshot with Jason? Well, after three months of learning to go with spontaneous decision making over small stuff, I finally asked him about his marriage. He looked confused and then laughed. "You know, I haven't really been thinking about that lately. But we've been getting along great – so I guess my decision is I'm going to make a go of it!"
1. Wanting too much certainty before acting. Perfectionist types with simplistic ideas of right and wrong go for this one. They don't feel it is reasonable to act on a decision while still having doubts about it. They want a certificate to come through the letterbox telling them the right decision has been reached and officially approved. As this doesn't happen, their minds go round and round in circles and they actually think too much.
2. Making emotional decisions based on a whim. Although such decisions are often easily recognised as mistaken, the emotional decider will rarely admit this and instead seeks to 'back up' their dodgy decision with emotional rationalisations – kidding themselves and sometimes other people. For example, 'I have taken up with this violent psychopath because he is so good at helping my child with his history homework' or 'I won't stop smoking just yet, because so and so is still smoking and if I stopped now it would upset her.'
3. Believing a decision can only be valid if ratified by other people. This approach often comes out of fear of making an entirely independent decision. It may be a sign of reluctance to become fully adult and take responsibility for one's own life.
4. Constantly making the same mistakes because of failure to learn from the past. Of course, people rarely admit that they have 'failed to learn'. Instead they blame lack of decent 'karma', 'fate', conjoined star signs, ley lines, lack of support from family and friends, and any number of other 'reasons' for their problems.
But what about Jason's marriage? Not making a decision is a decision Jason fitted into the first category. He wasn't sleeping properly and was constantly obsessing about what he should do for the best. Should he stay and make a go of his marriage (which was by no means bad) or should he leave and 'enjoy being single'; a touch of mid-life crisis. He had asked friends for advice. He wanted his wife to make the decision for him. He just couldn't find the answer. The trouble was that the 'problem' he was trying to solve wasn't maths. He was treating the problem of what to do in his life as if it were algebra. If X is the joy of the single life, and Y is the guilt I feel for leaving my innocent wife, what is the product of X x Y? And hey presto, he would come up with a magic number, and a kindly teacher would come and tell him he was correct, and then he'd know without doubt that he'd found the solution. I had to do something about this. Sweating the small stuff I asked him if decision making was something he struggled with generally. "You bet", he said, "and it's getting worse. I can't even decide what drink to have in the pub, what to eat, where to take a walk. There are pros and cons to everything." This gave me a clue. When someone is panicking, it's essential to take pressure off. Jason was putting all the pressure on himself. I suggested he 'decide not to decide' anything at all about his marriage for a period of three months. During that time we would work on improving his decision making skills around the small things. He visibly relaxed. He'd half wanted me to make the decision for him; to tell him what to do. Now I had told him that he needn't – in fact shouldn't – make any decision for a while. He was let off the hook for a bit longer. With some decisions you'll never know for sure it was the right one. When people do make life decisions, they don't necessarily ever know they've made the right decision but they can still be happy with that. You might stop pursuing one career to pursue another. You may never really know whether it was the absolute right decision as it may have been just fine if you'd stuck with the first one. Unless the old one was awful and the new one is fantastic, the situation is ambiguous. Bad decision makers aren't good with ambiguity. They want certainty where they have no right to expect it. But get this – some research tells us that for many decisions you are better off not thinking about it.Don't dither; trust your gut instincts When decision making gets tough – trust your gut instincts. Research published in 'Current Biology' shows that in some instances snap decisions are better than endless pedantic pondering and logical weighing up. Test subjects (what we non-scientists know as 'people') were asked to pick the odd one out on a screen covered with more than 650 identical symbols, including one rotated version of the same symbol. They performed better when they were given no time to linger and were forced to rely on their subconscious to select the correct answer. Dr Li Zhaoping of University College London said: "You'd expect people to make better decisions when given time to look properly, but this was not so." He explained: "The conscious or top level function of the brain, when active, vetoes our initial subconscious decision – even when it is correct – leaving us unaware or distrustful of our instincts." So thinking too much about a decision can leave us worse off. This is what happens with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, when the subconscious knows very well that you have turned the gas off, but the conscious brain gets too involved and throws the whole thing into doubt, forcing you to check fifty times! So the famous Milton Erickson's injunction to 'trust your unconscious' is now backed up by research. Your conscious logical brain doesn't always make the best decisions. Upside down artists pick better cars Another study (quoted in The Independent on 9 January 2007) showed that artists drew better portraits when their subjects were shown upside down. This prevented the artists from being distracted by whose face it is, or other 'higher level' information, and allowed them to focus on details instead. But does this 'not thinking' apply to real decision making, like buying a house or car, or even buying a shampoo? Researchers at the University of Amsterdam found that thinking hard about what car to buy leads you to make a poor choice, or not the best choice. People identified the best car of four, each with 12 desirable attributes, around 25% of the time. This is no better than chance. The surprise came when the researchers distracted the participants with puzzles before asking them to make their choices. More than half of them managed to pick the best car. Instinctively they picked the better one when they had less time to think. Clearly logical thought has its place in decision making, but logic is a tool and not the only one in the box! Which leads to the question: are some people just well too sensible when it comes to decision making? On being too sensible Being 'too sensible' doesn't seem like much of a drawback. Sensible people will inherit the earth, I'm sure. But sometimes the most sensible seeming decision just isn't the best one. Being 'sensible' doesn't allow for the unexpected. It may be more 'sensible' not to go on holiday with friends of friends whom you don't know that well, but at the same time you don't know what opportunities for new friendships you might gain by going. It may be more 'sensible' and safe to always work for someone else – but who knows what you might achieve working for yourself? So if being sensible could be expanded to allow for spontaneity and sometimes just going for it, that would be truly… sensible. Sometimes we can 'sensible' ourselves out of having a life. Finally – how to make a decision So to make good decisions you need to:
1. Learn to trust your instincts. Don't always insist on 'logical' reasons for everything, such as why to get the silver rather than blue car. Learn to say: 'Because it feels right.'
2. But don't be tempted to automatically go with greed driven decisions because of strong emotion and then try to flatter yourself with after-the-event justification and rationalisations. Intuitive decision making works best when the distorting effects of emotion are kept to a minimum.
3. When you do base decision making on weighing up the pros and cons, use your imagination. Really sit down and envisage living with the decision. How does that feel?
4. Remember, some decisions won't make sense to other people – and that may be OK. Most medical advances (open heart surgery, for one) were instigated by people who decided to follow what seemed like crazy ideas to others at the time.
5. Don't beat yourself up if you do make a 'wrong' decision. You can learn from it and hey – you are human!
And the upshot with Jason? Well, after three months of learning to go with spontaneous decision making over small stuff, I finally asked him about his marriage. He looked confused and then laughed. "You know, I haven't really been thinking about that lately. But we've been getting along great – so I guess my decision is I'm going to make a go of it!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)