When shopping for a new bicycle, for example, restrict yourself to a certain store or a certain brand.

😯

http://lifehacker.com/5397810/artificially-limit-options-to-make-choosing-pain-free

brilliant idea

Stoner (owner of 7 On-Ones 😉 )

Very, very good advice. 🙂

I've used the trick of artificial limiting when dealing with restaurant menus for as long as I can recall. When I sit down in a restaurant I skim over the menu and immediately select two items that look good. From that point on I only debate the one against the other and usually decide what I want within moments. I'm almost always the first to be ready to order and I'm never one to say after a meal "I wish I would have ordered…" because I picked from two things I really wanted.

Isn't that just "choosing"? I mean personally I just walk into the restaurant, think "do I fancy fish, foul or beef" then select one from the 4 or 5 available in that list. I've always just thought that was choosing, not artificially limiting my choice.

Buying bike parts – odd one. I buy bike parts because they suit my requirements. Selecting a rear mech – I need a long cage and I need a shimano. Thats most of the field gone. Now I just need to pick a level, so I check my budget and think what would be sensible, and buy the nearest one.

Where's the difficulty? I mean none of this is groundbreaking thinking, isit?

I don't want a choice, I just want what I want.

Choice implies you are compromising and picking the least worst option.

Isn't this just the difference in shopping habits between men and women though…

Man: Need black trousers, here's a pair, costs right, fit well, away we go…

Woman: need black trousers, here's a pair as above…I wonder what the 250 other shops that sell this kind of shit have to offer…

I artificially limited my choice of wife to just those who found me attractive. This made things much much easier, than my previous approach.

"I artificially limited to my choice of wife to just those who found me attractive"

Having tried that approach for many years with no success I had to widen the field to include those who didn't find me unattractive…

Isn't this the same as the 'Jam Jar' effect?

The theory being you will sell more jam by having 10 varieties to choose from to make a quick simple decision, rather than 100 to bewilder the customer so they leave empty handed.

I buy bike parts because they suit my requirements.

With respect, I think this is part of the issue. A woman who spends all day looking for a pair of trousers will argue that she is looking for a pair that meet her requirements. The reason it takes all day to choose a pair is that there are a lot of pairs, and her requirements are actually quite specific.

If you change your requirements (whatever they currently are) and simply say that you will buy a bike which is "Available in Evans Cycles, costs less than £700 and is a bicycle" then you have artificially limited your options.

If your requirement is "a trail hardtail, more AM than FR, the best one available for my budget" then you have not, as is demonstrated by any "what trail hardtail?" thread on here. 😀

With respect, I think this is part of the issue. A woman who spends all day looking for a pair of trousers will argue that she is looking for a pair that meet her requirements. The reason it takes all day to choose a pair is that there are a lot of pairs, and her requirements are actually quite specific.

Fair point BD, and well made. But I'd say that with most things that do not involve "personal taste" as the prime overriding factor this just isnt the case. If the woman were looking for a pair of trousers that fitted her two legs and her waist size, and fell within budget, it would be fine. But people have personal tastes and this complicates matters, falsely weighting some factors. Looking back at the bike example – if you look at the items for sale there are only a fixed number that fit budget and specification requirements. The thing is simply selecting your important *factor* in the decision making process. If that factor is something you cant quantify then you're screwed.