Choices vs Decisions

From David Allen's Productivity Principles Newsletter

Choices are more productive than decisions.

Commentary

“Decide” embodies the same Latin root as “homicide,” “suicide,” and “genocide,” and in a subtle way carries the same kind of finality and heaviness. There’s a sense that decision is a point of no return – no turning back, no recourse, no freedom. “Choosing” leaves us room to breathe, the openness to live and learn, to course-correct, to change our minds. Whereas deciding tends to frame our thinking as right and wrong, choices allow us to express a preference. Every choice is a decision, and every decision a choice, of course. But one of the greatest obstacles to effectiveness and success is the fear of making a wrong one. So we can use all the ammunition we can get to support our willingness to make a mistake. Words have great power, and it’s a good idea to choose the best ones.