Your brain is capable of juggling lots of facts and possibilities at the same time when you let it work without specifically thinking about the decision. But when you are specifically thinking about a problem, your brain isn't able to weigh up as much information. I sit on things and rely on my gut.

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The take-home message is that when you have to make a decision, the first step should be to get all the information necessary for the decision. Once you have the information, you have to decide, and this is best done with conscious thought for simple decisions, but left to unconscious thought -- to 'sleep on it' -- when the decision is complex.

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Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not always advantageous to engage in thorough conscious deliberation before choosing.

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It feels like it's the completely wrong way to make such an important decision. It turns out that in some circumstances it's far from sub-optimal. It's the best thing you can do.

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