How to Avoid Analysis Paralysis

Help in making decisions.

Data bombards you. We have more data than we ever did due to the internet and storage technologies such as the cloud. It is great to slice the data in many directions you can think of and create nice-looking reports that impress your managers. However, when it comes to decision making, you must get to the point of making the decision. You will need to stop your data gathering and analysis and use what you must decide.

Computers give you the ability to divide your data in a way that makes sense for you or your company. But some people will spend hours deriving report after report, and none of them will get them any further in coming to a decision. They believe they need to see ten years of data instead of five. They need to see the impact of sales on each region, even though they are responsible only for one or two.

Data is a key component in the decision-making process. It can let you know who your customers are, how much they have bought, and it can even tell you who your customers are not. Information is also important to make confident decisions. Without the information, you could be shooting in the dark, and that is as bad as having too much information.

To help you overcome the situation of analysis paralysis or paralysis by analysis as many will refer to it, speak to your boss or the people who are going to be impacted by the data and your decisions. Ask them what they need from the data, and structure the reports around that information. Do not include any other data in the report. If you cannot defend the position based on the data they asked for, it does not belong in the report.

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Do not be a hero when it comes to analysis. You may be tempted to show a different level of data to that required as it may show better insight. But, if it is not within the scope of your decision, save it for future analysis. It is okay to let managers know that further analysis is possible. They may even extend the deadline and the scope of the project due to this extra information. What is more likely to happen, however, is they will increase the scope while keeping the deadline the same. You have just given yourself more work to do by letting them know about this extra data.

Decision Trees Can Help You Make Decisions

I have always found it easy to make decisions. Sometimes I look back and wish I had made a different decision…

Decision trees are tools used by people to help them make confident decisions. It helps them layout several alternatives in a tree-like format. They can see most, if not all, the decisions available and can even set a rating on each choice.

The concept of a decision tree is an extension of a mind map. A mind map lets you create ideas and connections to those ideas. The decision tree is much like this concept except for a decision tree there is a score added to the branches of the tree. These scores often represent probabilities. If you have three choices, you may assign two branches with 40% probabilities, and the third branch would receive a 20% probability. The total of the branches should add up to 100%. However, it is your decision tree, so you are free to use whatever allocations you like if any. If your system makes sense to you, then it is correct.

Some project managers use decision trees to determine the costs of projects. When they assign probabilities to branches, they’ll multiply the total budget by that probability. For instance, if a branch has a probability of 35% and the total budget is $100,000, the branch will be estimated to cost $35,000 (35% x 100,000).

Decision trees don’t have to be this intricate to be useful. You can use them to list out the alternatives for a decision and end your efforts there. You can also choose to update the percentage of completion for the path that you select. Again, there are no right answers when using a decision tree for your purposes.

When others rely on your decision tree, and you are formally calling it a decision tree, you may need to follow the protocol of assigning probabilities and figuring out the percentage cost. However, if the group agrees to other conventions, then again, that is the right answer for the group. A decision tree is simply a way to convey information to yourself or a team, etc.

Decision trees will have a certain amount of subjectivity associated with them. In most cases, coming up with probabilities is quite subjective. It’s only through experience that you’ll be able to refine the probabilities. If the project you are working on is a one-time deal, you won’t get the benefit of refining those probabilities and will have to start over with a new set of subjective probabilities on the next project. However, some branches may carry over to the new project, and you’ll have a better feel for what to assign to those.

Another extract

One of the joys of writing a book is that you have in effect created a whole series of blogposts! Here is another extract from my latest book.

The original, which introduced the delightful Fairy Hanny, is also available on Amazon.

Enjoy!

“So, as we sip our cold beers, brewed to perfection in silly Suffolk, our eyes are cast upon this beautiful woodland glade.

(Don´t worry about the cast in your eye, you´ll grow out of it. Well, that’s what the doctor said to me.)

At this very moment, in what we choose to call Time, we find ourselves watching a scene unfolding, not too far from the Magical City of Setebos, the seat of the Fairy Kings, where King Innocent the Foetid is the centre of all wisdom, on a planet largely devoid of common sense. It is also devoid of incense, ten cents and senescence.

Setebos!

City of expiring dreams and chocolate covered ice creams! Where poets die and crooner’s cry! Though it’s not unusual and you don’t have to be rich! A place for doves to cry and spies to spy! Where watching birds can catch your eye! A city for tourists and two men with four wrists! Where boozers booze and cruisers cruise! Where the Fairies are light and airy, and nothing is dreary! And if you want to go home just find a Gnome! If things get too tricksy just find a Pixy! Where Bigfoot sits Leery whilst eating a canary!

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

Was it a yellowy canary or just a parrot looking scary?

Cities all over the Multiverse and Yorkshire have their concentrations of rogues and villains and scum and scavengers and Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, and Thugs and Yobs and Yahoos and Bullingdon Bores and Lying Bigots dressed in Blue; wherever you go you can be sure they’re there! And if you don´t know where you are going then you will definitely end up on Uranus.

Setebos -Your streets are paved with a Golden Vision and there are golden showers everywhere; your bars are decorated with lasciviousness; there are pretty Fairies all over the place; but sometimes the sky is grey, and we wonder how tomorrow could ever follow today. City of perspiration and inspiration, of expiration and exploitation, of generation and a railway station! Oh Setebos, Mother of Invention and Zapper of negativity, even when it doesn’t pull you through. When the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness comes running through, that is when we see what is owed to Autumn, when the trees do a shimmy of golden-brown leaves falling all around.

Then we know it’s Time to be on our way.

Anyway, on this most auspicious of days, the Sun shines her long-lost rays into this comfortable clearing, dancing from leaf to leaf, roots to branches, catching diaphanous wings of Mayfly’s, who hunt the wilderness for their one day of fame, seeking insectile eroticism before death takes them prematurely to the great Entomologists Display Case in the sky.

A leaf falls silently from the highest branch of a Rowan tree, oscillating left and right as the drag competes with gravity to slow its descent. It caresses the ground like a kiss from a rose, delighting a woodlouse in its humdrum day of decay. A beautiful white rabbit pops into the scene, slowly rubbing shampoo from his eyes; he wasn’t going to worry about being late as this is not the tale of his tail. Soon those stinging eyes perceive a flickering ghostly image, which becomes a shimmer and a glimmer as the light gets dimmer. The rabbit scurries away to a hole in the ground, from which there will eventually emerge a Magnificent Mathematical Yarn – but that’s another story. As the rabbit disappears with his ears, from the twinkling manifestation, appears the delicately roguish Mad Tom of Bedlam; wild silver hair and deep blue eyes trying their best to regain focus.”

What Can You Do With This Program..?

Here’s just a very short list of some ways you could use the contents

Create your own ebook/Audiobook/Workbook product or course for sale
Merge this content with existing material of your own to build a unique course/product
Create a powerful lead magnet related to the overall theme of this package
Create a video series by making short videos based on the chapters and lessons in the main product
Create infographics for social sharing
Create Instagram/Pinterest posts about finding passion and drive traffic to your paid offers
Boost your Facebook/Twitter pages discussing the concepts related to this program
Extract key lessons from the program to share with coaching students or virtual classes
Create a webinar to pre-sell your training or coaching programs
Build a big bonus product to help you promote other Self Help based offers

Simply purchase a license today on our special offer page here…

Then download the content…
Make any edits you want…
And publish the material to meet your marketing needs!

Trans Uranic Elements

I am very happy to say I just published my second book on Amazon. So for the next week or so I will be promoting my work – just like I said I would on this blog!!

The story is the second in the series featuring my heroine, Fairy Hanny. She is a tough go-getter, and also stunningly beautiful. A sort of Amazonian with wings! The first book is also available on Amazon, and I am working on the third in this series.

I thought some extracts might amuse people. So here we go.

“Things are not as they should be on Uranus (I´m sure you know the feeling); someone is fiddling with Time; jiggling about with the quantization of wormholes (how many would you like Madam?); disturbing the elasticated fabric of the raggedy arsed eternal soldier as he wends his way through the Political Battles of Carpathian Princes pretending to be Vlad reincarnated. Maybe it was God playing dice with the Universe, though Albert said there was no chance of that happening. Maybe God was spinning a roulette wheel with a few Russians and they were betting on red all the Time. Yet still Wolfgang said no chance my good man.

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!

Turn and turn and turn and turn…

Another turn around the wheel!”

Done-For-You Content…

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eBook

Do you have problems making decisions? Do you always doubt yourself? So much so that you sometimes can’t even act? If so, then we have the guide for you. Inevitable is a 29 page (6000 word) guide that teaches people how to believe in themselves, so they can make decisions and take action with unwavering faith.

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Do You Believe In Yourself?
- What Is Self-Belief?
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A Quick Self-Test
The Power Of Self-Belief
What If We Believed In Ourselves
- The Benefits Of Unwavering Belief In Our Decisions
- The Benefits Of Unwavering Belief In Our Actions
Inevitable: Developing Unwavering Belief
Conclusion

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Discover what happens when you believe in yourself and how this affects your decision-making process and the following actions. We show you how you can develop certainty in your decisions and actions. Certainty means you can enjoy decisions that will inevitably be good, which in turn leads to the right action time and time again.

Trouble Taking Action?

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It’s a big problem that so many people face. If we don’t honestly believe in ourselves, we won’t fully commit to any decision we make. The result… Failure!

Most people doubt themselves too much and so never take action. They’re constantly second-guessing their decisions and so never give themselves a chance.

Do You Believe in Yourself?

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To believe in yourself, you need to have confidence in your abilities, and most people would say they have that confidence and so do believe in themselves. However, the reality is often different; their actions often don’t demonstrate that belief.

Here’s an example.

How often are you required to make a decision and constantly doubt that you made the right decision?

Making decisions is hard, but it makes things even harder when you doubt yourself!

How To Start Meditating

Final ideas for now on meditation.

Getting started with meditation is a lot easier than you may think. There is not any special equipment you need to buy or classes you should be taking. While buying a book, a guided meditation audio recording or an app for your smartphone are certainly options, you do not even have to do that to get started. I will share everything you need to know to get started meditating right here in this post.

Start by getting comfortable in a spot that is as free of distractions as possible. You want to sit down either on a chair with your feet firmly planted on the ground or sitting cross-legged on the floor. If you sit on the floor, you will be more comfortable if you sit on a cushion. It is important that you can sit in whatever position you choose comfortably and that you are keeping your back straight. Slumping may make you sleepy while you meditate, and bad posture may cause you discomfort after a while.

Before we start with the actual meditation, let us get back to distractions. In the beginning, you want to cut as many of them out as possible. Choose a quiet spot where no one will interrupt you. Turn off the ringer on your phone, close the blinds if you think it will help to create a calm and soothing space. You will not always have to go through all this trouble to meditate because, after a little practice, you will be able to do the little meditation exercise I am about to share with you anytime, anywhere. But like any new skill, meditating can be a little hard in the beginning. It sounds simple enough, but it is easy to get distracted. That is why it is important to set yourself up for success by cutting out any distractions you can.

Here is how to meditate. Sit down, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Notice how the air flows in and out of your nose and mouth. Try to think of nothing else. This is the hard part and something that takes practice. Start meditating for a few minutes here and there and increase the time as you move along. Do not judge yourself when your thoughts stray. Keep bringing yourself back to the sensation of the breath anytime you notice that you are thinking of something else.

That is all there is to it. Getting started with meditation is simple, but like any new skill, it takes practice. Be patient with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Stick with it and keep practicing these new meditation skills. You will be glad you did.