Decision making can be fun, profitable and productive, but we need to know the circumstances in which we make good ones, and bad ones.
I've noticed if I make a decision when I'm tired, hungry, or grumpy, usually it's one that I'll regret, unless it is about eating or getting some rest.
For example, I was on a plane, returning from a challenging consulting assignment, and I knew when I arrived at home I needed to get to work on an important consulting proposal.
Instead of giving myself a chance to nap and eat on the flight, I dove right into crafting the proposal, and this was a big mistake.
When I reviewed it later, sadly after I had emailed it and it was irretrievable, I noticed how impatient and negative its tone was.
"Would I buy from the guy who wrote that?" I asked myself.
Emphatically, I shook my head and rued the decision I made to hammer out the proposal while hungry, and as I'd discover later, exhausted.
Without question, had I waited and submitted it up to a week later, it would have at least stimulated further dialogue.
As it was, I faced an ominous, unbreakable silence after dispatching it as I did.
Don't make phone calls, take meetings, or do anything significant when you're sleepless and foodless.
I've found it's better to allow yourself to feel fresh and rejuvenated before undertaking decisions or actions of consequence.