Analysis Paralysis

Every so often, I come to the point where I take a look at the loose ends that I have left lying around while I analyze how to deal with them. I have never been good at throwing things away. My usual excuse is that if I do, I will need it tomorrow wish I had kept it. The result is that I have clutter in my life. That clutter can come in the form of papers and “Things”, and it can come in the form of unfinished thoughts or spurious data with no good file to fit into.

The alarm went off this morning and I feel refreshed again for another day of thinking. I like a quote I read from Andrew Jackson:

“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”

Some people act before thinking, some think before acting and some think and never act.
I have heard that called “paralysis by analysis.” It is a dysfunctional element of organizational behavior. Analysis paralysis involves the over-analysis of a specific issue to the point where the issue can no longer be recognized, and the subject of the conversation is lost. Counting the cost of a decision is a sound idea. Actually making the decision after counting the cost is gratifying. I am looking in my life for areas that are left open because I have failed to decide. It’s much like leaving computer programs open while working on others. They can tend to slow down the whole computer. I have always liked efficiency and I think today would be a good time to actually make at least one decision, however small, and be set free from the looming problem. As I write this, I do not know which decision I will choose to finish, I’m just going to pick one. I hope I don’t analyze myself out of this decision.