The Decision Loop

Over the last 15 years (yes really) working in online marketing, I’ve worked with hundreds of online business owners, and the same conversation comes up over and over again.

It starts when the client tells me……

“There’s this thing I want to try out / stop doing / achieve, but…

What if I break everything else that’s working well

What if I hate it

What if I fail

It’s not really how people are supposed to do this

I should be working on this other thing instead…..”

And once they’ve unburdened themselves of their many worries holding them back from taking action, I guide them through a conversation during which we:

• Explore what they want
• Why they want it
• And how to take meaningful yet manageable steps towards that

The Suit Yourself Decision Sprint is a DIY version of that conversation to help you choose your best next steps, and feel excited about taking them.

It includes 9 prompts to help guide your decision-making process without spiralling off into imaginary disasters, or getting stuck looping around the same worries over and over.

Before You Get Started

Things you need to know before you begin:

• It’s balanced. It’s not all fairytales and wishful thinking. The only way to silence the part of your brain screaming that this is about to end in disaster is to let it have a moment in the spotlight.

• You’re responsible for your decision – I’m asking questions, not telling you what to do.

• You can use these prompts for as many decisions as you want – but please don’t share them with others. Send them to the blog post go through the process themselves.

• The prompts are available in a Google Doc workbook, PDF, or Notion template. Leave your email address in the sign-up box at the bottom, and I’ll email them to you.

Suit Yourself Decision Sprint

1. What do you want to do / try / stop / change?

What’s the thing you’re ruminating on?

The problem you want to solve

The need you want filled

The goal you want to achieve

The experience you want to have

The thing you want to do

The experiment you want to try

The task/activity/work you want to stop

2. Why? What would this change?

For you

Your family and people you care about

Your work

Your clients

3. And what would stay the same?

It’s OK, you don’t need to list absolutely everything that stays the same – but feel free to write a sentence to reassure yourself that even though this thing you’re contemplating is a BIG DEAL, a lot (most, or maybe all) of the most important things in your life will be unaffected.

4. Where does this ‘want’ come from?

Is it truly yours or something you think you should be striving for?

Do you feel an inner drive or motivation to do this?

Or a pushing sense of obligation?

Or a striving towards external validation?

Would you still want it if nobody else knew you were working on/doing/achieving it?

5. Why not do it?

What are the objections, worries, and constraints?

Give your worries the opportunity to run rampant here. They often simmer down when they’ve been acknowledged.

Which of these feel highly unlikely?

And which of these do you feel confident you’d be able to deal with if the problem did come up?

6. Can you create a safety net?

What would be the warning signs that this change/adventure/experiment wasn’t working out for you?

How could you make a gracious exit?

If you look at all the things that could go wrong, is there a way to mitigate any of those? Make them less likely, or less impactful?

7. What does an experimental shuffle look like?

You don’t need to get started with big leaps, or heavy commitments.

List some small and reversible steps you can take to get started.

Try reframing this from a change you’re making forever, to an experiment you’re trying out for a few weeks.

8. Who (if anyone) do you tell – and when?

Some people find it helpful to declare their intentions, because they know once they’ve made a public commitment they will definitely Do The Thing.

Some people only want to tell one or two trusted friends, because that gives them enough accountability to take action.

Some people feel like they have to announce their plans before they can get started, but then making the announcement feels like a big overwhelming thing, and they can’t do that either. If that’s you – skip the announcement. Get started and tell nobody.

9. What 1–3 steps feel doable and slightly energising?

Imagine walking home on a very foggy day.

You can’t really see where you’re going.

You have no idea what lies on the path ahead.

But you do still need to complete your journey, so you shuffle along taking the steps you can see.

You just need to be able to see the next 1-3 shuffling steps forward.

So which shuffling steps can you see clearly, and feel excited to take?

Do This Now-Ish

What’s one thing that’s occupying your valuable headspace and burning energy as it runs laps inside your mind?

Try out the 9 steps, and let me know in the comments how you get on.

• Book an Unjumble for a 20-minute Voxer 1-1 where we can chew over one marketing idea, decision, problem, or worry (I won’t just go over the same 9 prompts with you – but it is helpful if you send me your answers in advance).
• Join Marketing On Purpose for 12 weeks mentoring from someone who gets, and respects, that you’re fitting your business in around an already full life.

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