The 10/10/10 rule will help you make better decisions in your life.

Are you one of those people who struggle to make any decision, whether to choose the taste of ice cream, the travel destination of the holiday and whether or not to change careers?

If you ponder a thousand and one possibilities before making a decision, we can say that you seem to be a restrained person.

It really is necessary to evaluate all scenarios thoroughly before hitting the hammer over an important choice, such as resigning, locking up college, or moving in with your boyfriend.


However, when we are very indecisive and cannot reach a conclusion, do we lose opportunities? and we are left with none of the alternatives we could choose from.

With that in mind, we want to talk about the 10/10/10 rule, which helps the process of assessing the consequences of a choice and can facilitate your decision making.

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The 10/10/10 rule when deciding

The 10/10/10 rule was created by writer Suzy Welch and published in her book? 10-10-10: Today, Tomorrow and After ?. This rule is a technique to help us ponder the various scenarios that follow a decision considering what would happen in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years.

But, as the author herself points out, this rule is not strict: we must understand 10 minutes as the short or very short term, 10 months as the medium term and 10 years as the long term.

That way, instead of thinking about 10 minutes, you can think of an hour or tomorrow. As a medium term, you can think of six months or two years. Finally, instead of 10 years, consider a period of time that can be understood as long term.


So, thinking about the consequences in steps, you will realize that a seemingly arduous decision next week may actually be the best thing you could do for yourself in 15 years.

Using the 10/10/10 Rule

Let's suppose you need to lose a few pounds for health, but you're dying to eat a dripping piece of chocolate cake.

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If you resist, in 10 minutes you will feel proud of yourself and more willing to continue making good choices. In 10 months, you will surely be closer to your healthy weight. In 10 years, then, you would probably have a huge health gain, with less risk of developing obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and even some cancers.

This is all, of course, if the pattern of decision for? I will not eat bullshit? repeat over time and you always prefer healthy choices.

Now let's think about a decision about your working life: Let's suppose you have a steady job, but you're not happy with it and are wondering if you should go back to school and change careers.

If you decide to continue your job and your current career: in the short term, something like a month, for example, you will continue to receive your salary. In the medium term, at the end of a year, you may find that you are still dissatisfied, perhaps even more than before, which may cause your performance to decline. Finally, in the long run, after 10-15 years, you may feel that it is too late to quit a career and reenter the job market.

If you decide to resign and change careers: In the short term, you will be relieved to be out of your old company and eager to invest in a new path. In the medium term, around two or three years, you can already feel how your new career is going, whether there are opportunities for you or maybe you should rethink your choice.

Read also: Tips to help in choosing the profession

Finally, in the long run, can you be very well established in your new profession? or you may not be as well as you would like, but it is quite possible that you are sure that your previous career would not make you happy either.

In this case of career change, the indecisive person might realize that by choosing to pursue the profession they are in, the situation will not improve over time. By choosing to take a new direction in your professional life, there is a chance that things will be better.

This means that the 10/10/10 rule will not be able to give you an exact answer as to which path you should take, but it helps to assess the consequences of your choices by facilitating the decision making process. So, do you think it's worth giving this technique a try?

How to use the 10/10/10 Rule to make the best decisions #TheNomadCode (April 2024)


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