One of the goals of my year-long sabbatical is to learn how to make better life decisions. All too often, when making a big decision (e.g., a new job, a move, a big life purchase, a new relationship), I resort to a pro/con list to help.

Sound familiar?

The problem is that a pro/con list often hurts more than it helps

• Pro/con lists can spiral into an endless list of considerations that make decision making harder. Once when making a big purchase, I created a pro/con list with 25 pros and 23 cons. Clearly, I should make the purchase, right? Except that I still wasn't sure.

• Too many considerations cloud the decision making process and result in less satisfaction. For me, even though I had 25 reasons to say "Yes", I also had 23 reasons to say "No". Any decision I made would result in some buyer's remorse.

Focus on fewer decision making criteria

Instead, I've learned to focus on fewer decision making criteria.

• Simplify into what really matters. A few days ago, I received an enticing job offer to leave my sabbatical and go back to work. Not taking my own advice, I tried to analyze my way into a decision by creating a long pro/con list that made me more confused. Instead, I simplified my decision down to the 3 criteria I considered most important and my decision was clear: I'm staying on sabbatical.

Were there other elements I could have considered? Yes. Would they have contributed to a better decision? No.

We resort to long pro/con lists because we believe we can analyze ourselves into a better decision. Except that often a better decision (and one that will make you most happy) means less thinking.