Coaching practices for Iia Decision Theory
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Iia Decision Theory, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’d settled on A over B, and then a third option showed up and somehow flipped me back to B
- I’m weighing a dozen factors on the same choice I face over and over, and they all blur together
- I made a call that turned out badly and now I feel like an idiot for it
- I’ve been sitting on something easy for two weeks telling myself I need one more data point, and the truth is I already know enough
- I agonize for days over tiny choices I could undo in a second, then rush the big ones I can’t take back
Practices that may help
- Check whether a third option is changing your view of the original two
If a new option makes you change your preference between existing options, ask whether the new option should have that power.
The Decoy Effect — How an Irrelevant Option Changes Your Choice - Use "take the best": choose on your single most informative cue
When choosing between options, identify the most diagnostic cue and use it — stop searching for more.
Simple Heuristics: Gerd Gigerenzer’s Case for Fast and Frugal Thinking - Judge decisions by the process, not the result
A good decision that produces a bad outcome is still a good decision.
Expected Value Thinking: Deciding Under Uncertainty - Thinking in Bets
Annie Duke's thinking in bets framework treats decisions as bets with uncertain outcomes, separating the quality of the decision from the quality of the outcome. Most real decisions involve incomplete information, so good decision-making is about process and probability, not about being right every time. The core skill is evaluating decisions on the information available at the time, not on how they turned out. - Move fast on two-way doors
On reversible decisions, decide with 70% of the information you wish you had — then adjust.
The Two-Way Door - Classify decisions by reversibility and stakes
Sort decisions into low-stakes/high-stakes and reversible/irreversible before deciding.
Decision Journaling: Learning to Decide Better Over Time - Slow down on one-way doors
For irreversible decisions, invest in deliberation proportional to the downside — not to your confidence.
The Two-Way Door - Restudy decision protocol
Use a defined decision rule — not a feeling — to determine which items get additional study.
Judgments of Learning: Why You Misjudge What You’ve Learned - Check reversibility before you fear the downside
Most decisions are reversible; reserve maximum caution for the few that aren’t.
The Regret-Minimization Framework - Recognize which decisions to defer or delegate
Not every choice deserves your cognitive best — identify which ones merit serious deliberation.
Choice Overload, Made Practical
Related concerns
- Cost Of Error Decisions
For irreversible decisions, invest in deliberation proportional to the downside — not to your confidence.
Slow down on one-way doors
- How To Slow Down Decisions
Match deliberation to the cost of being wrong: spend System 2 where reversal is hard.
Slow down for high-stakes, irreversible decisions
- Slow Down On Important Decisions
Match deliberation to the cost of being wrong: spend System 2 where reversal is hard.
- Tripwire Decision
Recognize when a series of small reversible decisions has created an irreversible position.
Watch for one-way door creep
- When To Slow Down Decision Making
Match deliberation to the cost of being wrong: spend System 2 where reversal is hard.
- Annie Duke Decision Making
Annie Duke's thinking in bets framework treats decisions as bets with uncertain outcomes, separating the quality of the decision from the quality of the outcome. Most real decisions involve incomplete information, so good decision-making is about process and probability, not about being right every time. The core skill is evaluating decisions on the information available at the time, not on how they turned out.
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