Analysis Paralysis – that’s a fun thing to say! Not so fun to experience, however. If you want to learn how to get past Analysis Paralysis, read on.
When you’ve got a lot on your mind and have a lot of goals you’d like to accomplish, it’s easy to slip into the Analysis Paralysis trap.
Analysis Paralysis occurs whenever you have too many options and you find yourself frozen and unable to make a decision. You could catch up on The Mandalorian, but you also want to catch up on the latest season of Rick and Morty. You love both so much, you just can’t choose! So, you get stuck in trying to decide which one to watch…and end up watching nothing.
While this is a very distilled example of what Analysis Paralysis can do, it serves to give you an idea of what we’re talking about when we throw that phrase around.
Personally, I get Analysis Paralysis about a million things at once. I’ve got my hands in tons of projects and personal endeavors – I’m often torn between working on the next post for The Gentleman’s Playbook and whether I should work on making some sales for my other side hustle. Then I think, “Well, maybe I should do something just for me, like practice piano…or meditate…but I could also make a really cool snack board…” and I end up doing none of these things and instead sit and ruminate on what I should be doing with my time.
Even once you decide what you’re going to do, you may get further Analysis Paralysis.
“What topic should I write about? Let’s break them all down into a million steps and sections and decide once we do that!”
Spends the next 13 hours writing content outlines for 50 articles, but actually doesn’t write anything.
You get the idea…
At the end of the day, Analysis Paralysis is what happens when you have so much information that you get caught up in deciding which information to actually utilize because you’re stuck in a loop of overthinking and overanalyzing. Progress becomes paralyzed.
Writing this article was actually my way to break out of Analysis Paralysis today (ironic, I know)!
Here are some ways you can get out of Analysis Paralysis right now:
Close Your Eyes and Pick Something
When you find yourself stuck between a million things you can do, just close your eyes, jam your finger into your list of things you need or want to do (if it’s a screen, use your cursor), and whatever you land on is what you do.
As soon as you open your eyes and see where you landed, don’t hesitate. IMMEDIATELY begin doing what you need to do to make that thing happen.
Doing this can force you into action and take away any of the “decision making” or “consideration” you feel you need to make in order to start.
Prioritize Everything
Some things just don’t need to take a top priority. Break out of Analysis Paralysis by organizing your options and decisions.
A great way to do this on a consistent basis is to practice daily journaling. Daily journaling is a great way to get all the filler thoughts out of your brain and provide a clear and structured way to prioritize the many different decisions you need to make and tasks you need to complete. Plus, it comes with many benefits.
Another excellent way to start prioritizing the things you’re caught up in Analysis Paralysis on is by simply making a list.
If you find yourself thinking everything is a priority, go ahead and go back to the section of this post called “Close Your Eyes and Pick Something,” and do just that.
Don’t Research Anything
Often times, we get caught up in Analysis Paralysis when we gather too much information. We do a bunch of research, opening up more questions. So, we find the answers to those questions, but those answers create even more questions.
One way of learning how to get over Analysis Paralysis is to simply stop all the research. Just pick one thing, start it, and do the research as needed until completion.
By ceasing all researching activities, you are able to keep your mind free to focus on what’s directly in front of it without all of the information overload that can come when you try to get all the answers before even starting.
Step Away
To learn how to get past Analysis Paralysis means that you need to learn the art of stepping away. This means two things: stepping away physically and stepping away mentally.
By doing this, you can remove yourself from the decision you’re trying to make and take time to work on other things or achieve a sense of mindfulness.
Once you come back to the problem you’re facing, you can possibly view it from a different perspective and approach it with more confidence, making it easier to just make a decision and go with it.
Also, some ways to help mentally step away (as physically stepping away is quite simple) is to take some time to meditate or write in your journal. This will help declutter your mind and reconnect you to yourself, removing the anxiety and emotions you may be feeling behind the decision.
Start Something Small
Analysis Paralysis can occur when we face a lot of big decisions or tasks. Try doing something small and easy to give yourself a quick win. This helps your brain’s reward centers fire off and gets the momentum you need going to make a higher volume and difficulty of decisions.
This can be related to the task at hand or not. By doing something small related to your larger decision, you get a little closer to your end goal, making it easier to press on and stop overanalyzing. On the flipside, by doing something not related, you give yourself a reward center hit that helps you start confidently making decisions again.
Getting Past Analysis Paralysis
Hopefully some of these tips have helped you learn how to get over Analysis Paralysis! It can be a tricky thing to break out of, but the main idea is to do something that breaks the cycle of overanalyzing everything you need to make a decision on.
If this helped, please share the love by telling your friends about The Gentleman’s Playbook! You can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
Let us know what methods you use to get past Analysis Paralysis! We may share it on this article and credit you and nothing is more satisfying than helping other people overcome the problems you yourself once faced!