analysis paralysis

•  What is analysis paralysis?

Analysis paralysis is an affliction people get when they overthink a problem or situation and can't make a decision

The affliction can affect individuals or groups of people as they encounter multiple options or solutions and need to choose the best one

If your options seem equally helpful to you, it can be a challenge to decide which option is best. For example, if one option increases a business's profit, but the other increases its customer outreach, it might be difficult to know which one is better. If your research parameters are too broad, narrowing your options down can also be a challenge. For example, it's more difficult to find an answer to the question, "Where should I run my advertisements?" versus "Where should I run my advertisements that will generate the most customer interest?"

8 tips for combating analysis paralysis

1. Recognize it

One way to recognize it is by comparing it to your other decision-making processes

Examine the last decision you made when someone gave you multiple options. Remember the steps you took to decide and how long the process took. 

If the current decision you need to make is taking a long time and if the steps you used previously aren't working, you might be overthinking the situation.

Once you recognize that you're overthinking it, try to determine why.

if you realize you're overthinking a decision because you're worried about the outcome affecting you negatively, then try to focus on the positive outcomes.

2. Prioritize the decisions

If you have to make a lot of decisions in one day, you might tire yourself and increase your chance of overthinking certain situations

For instance, if you notice you get more tired in the afternoon, try to schedule the tougher decisions for the morning

3. Take a break

When you give yourself a break, it's important to try to not think about the problem or situation. 

4. Ask someone for advice

For example, if you're trying to decide which car you should purchase, consider talking with a friend or family member who recently purchased a car or who has experience with 

5. Make quick decisions

This can help you feel confident in making decisions without overthinking them.

6. Set a deadline

When you set a deadline for a project or solution, it can help force you to make a decision. 

7. Understand your goals

For example, let's say a company is trying to decide on two options: One that will increase their revenue short term and one that will increase their customer outreach long term.

 If it's hoping to grow and develop the business, it might be better to increase its customer outreach. However, if its goal is to generate money more quickly to use it for research and development, it might be better to increase the company's revenue.

 

8. Limit your information intake

Sometimes, too much information can actually affect how much you overthink a situation or problem.

 It's important to know if any option comes with risks, but once you have the basic knowledge you need, try to make the decision right away.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/analysis-paralysis

• Analysis paralysis (or paralysis by analysis) describes an individual or group process when overanalyzing or overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become "paralyzed", meaning that no solution or course of action is decided upon within a natural time frame. A situation may be deemed too complicated and a decision is never made, or made much too late, due to anxiety that a potentially larger problem may arise. A person may desire a perfect solution, but may fear making a decision that could result in error, while on the way to a better solution. Equally, a person may hold that a superior solution is a short step away, and stall in its endless pursuit, with no concept of diminishing returns. On the opposite end of the time spectrum is the phrase extinct by instinct, which is making a fatal decision based on hasty judgment or a gut reaction.

In software development, analysis paralysis typically manifests itself through the waterfall model with exceedingly long phases of project planning, requirements gathering, program design, and data modeling, which can create little or no extra value by those steps and risk many revisions

Analysis paralysis can occur when there is a lack of experience on the part of workers such as systems analysts, project managers or software developers, and could be due to a rigid and formal organizational culture.

Analysis paralysis can also arise from extensive experience or expertise, which serves to increase the number of options and considerations that appear at every decision point.

Agile software development methodologies explicitly seek to prevent analysis paralysis, by promoting an iterative work cycle that emphasizes working products over product specifications, but requires buy-in from the full project team. In some instances, Agile software development ends up creating additional confusion in the project in the case where iterative plans are made with no intention on having the team following through.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis