Urgency Instinct hinders thinking by exaggerating a decision's urgency

from Factfulness:

Factfulness is … recognizing when a decision feels urgent and remembering that it rarely is.

To control the urgency instinct, take small steps.

• Take a breath. When your urgency instinct is triggered, your other instincts kick in and your analysis shuts down. Ask for more time and more information. It’s rarely now or never and it’s rarely either/or.

• Insist on the data. If something is urgent and important, it should be measured. Beware of data that is relevant but inaccurate, or accurate but irrelevant. Only relevant and accurate data is useful.

• Beware of fortune-tellers. Any prediction about the future is uncertain. Be wary of predictions that fail to acknowledge that. Insist on a full range of scenarios, never just the best or worst case. Ask how often such predictions have been right before.

• Be wary of drastic action. Ask what the side effects will be. Ask how the idea has been tested. Step-by-step practical improvements, and evaluation of their impact, are less dramatic but usually more effective.

#bias

Others in this series:

1. Gap Instinct hinders thinking by ignoring the middle majority
2. Negativity Instinct hinders thinking by emphasizing bad news
3. Straight Line Instinct hinders thinking by assuming trends will continue
4. Fear Instinct hinders thinking by confusing risk with fear
5. Size Instinct hinders thinking by considering a number without context
6. Generalization Instinct hinders thinking by using misleading categories
7. Destiny Instinct hinders thinking by forgetting that small changes add up
8. Single Perspective Instinct hinders thinking by having only a hammer
9. Blame Instinct hinders thinking by pointing fingers
10. Urgency Instinct hinders thinking by exaggerating a decision's urgency