Mull it over

Your first idea might not be your best idea

In general, I like to make decisions and move forward. I don’t like to waste time thinking about things over and over again. For some stuff that’s smart. No one needs to spend much time thinking about what to order for lunch.

But for other things, it can pay to devote a little more time to thinking things through. Your first idea might not be your best idea. It’s wise to mull it over.

I’ve been thinking about this lately as I’m trying to choose my next year-long project. For the past several years, I’ve tackled something big over (approximately) 365 days. In 2021 I read War and Peace at the rate of one chapter a day. In 2022, I read all the works of Shakespeare. In 2023, I read all the works of Jane Austen, and in 2024 I’ve been listening to all the works of Bach.

As we near the end of the year, this means I need to figure out what to read/listen to/watch/look at in 2025. Obviously it’s not a huge stakes decision in the grand scheme of things, but since I’ll devote a lot of effort to this project I’d like to choose well. I’ve gotten some ideas (all the works of Virginia Woolf? Agatha Christie? though she was so prolific that might take more than a year… or looking at all the paintings by a certain artist…). But I haven’t landed for sure on anything yet.

Get rid of the time pressure

But the good news is that the year isn’t over and so I’ll be able to devote some time to figuring it out. In general, by thinking through options before anything is urgent, it’s possible to mull over my instincts, think if they make sense, and wait for some new ideas to come to me. Making a decision without intense time pressure allows us to see possibilities.

In general, in life, I find this to be the case. Sometimes time pressure focuses us, but sometimes it limits us. One of the worst times to be job-hunting is when you really need a job. When you’re just passively looking — because you are already employed, for instance — you can really think about whether you like an offer, or if you might be able to flush out another offer by meeting with friends and colleagues at other organizations. When I talk with people who are re-entering the workforce after caring for children, I suggest that it be a family priority to give these job seekers the gift of time. If you’ve been out of the workforce for five years, its not a huge deal if you start a new job in April or October. But by taking the time pressure off, you increase the chances of finding something you’ll craft into a position that works well for your family and for you.

Make lists

So how do you build in space to mull it over? You don’t want to lose your life to decision-making, but there are also ways to structure life to leave space for decisions. It helps to survey upcoming life transitions and events that might necessitate choices. Talk with the people in your life who might be part of these decisions about their thoughts. Ask for ideas. Ask what other people have done in similar circumstances. Come up with your own ideas. Make lists.

And then? Step away. Stop thinking about it for a day or two. Or you might even take a vacation. Go somewhere for a long weekend. Do a more involved volunteer project. I promise that when you come back to your list of options, you’ll see it in a new light, or you’ll have more options to add. The odds are good that one of those options might be better than your first thoughts. You give yourself a huge gift by leaving space to mull it over.