Last season I had an all star director who made a large portion of the decisions for the program on my behalf. She knew our budget and my vision for the program. She updated me on the decisions she was going to make, and as long as I had no strong objections and it didn’t compromise our brand or integrity, we proceeded forward. In May, she moved about an hour away and accepted a position at another gym much closer to her new house.
So, for a few weeks we talked about what that needed to look like in our gym. In small-town Missouri, there are few candidates for an all star director position, and I had been down that road before. I wasn’t interested in bringing in someone from the outside. I’m pretty particular in how I want things done and have a strong vision for the program, so it would have to be someone from within. At the time, we just didn’t have anyone who could fit that position, so we started to think outside the box. A large portion of the director responsibilities were administrative in nature. They could be systemized (and some already were) and an administrator could really do them. The remainder could easily be split between the rest of the full-time staff – all of whom were actually excited to take on those responsibilities.
So, we decided to hire an administrative assistant (as I said the other day, we hire pretty slowly, so we’re still in the process!) and we began pressing forward.
So far, it has all gone pretty smoothly. We’re in Season 11, so we’ve circled the block a few times by now. Though cheer has changed, we have the experience to adapt with it. But one thing I’ve noticed in the past few weeks was that I’m feeling a bit of decision fatigue. It feels like every time I turn around, I’m needing to make decisions. I thought this would slow down once our packet was done and tryouts were over. Instead, it just kept going.
We had to finalize practicewear and uniforms, create a choreography schedule that made sense for four elite teams, three prep teams, two novice teams and two hip hop teams. We had to set the theme of the hip hop teams and decide how we wanted to reveal that in a way that would be special. We had to look for larger spaces to host our showcase in November, and decide how we wanted to run next year’s banquet so we could reserve space now if necessary. Then the competition schedule needed to be completed and released. All that would be a lot for a director, but I also coach a couple teams this year, so I had to finalize stunt groups, decide who would be tumbling and jumping this year and fill out my choreography questionnaires. As you might expect, I also have had regular owner decisions for three businesses and about a dozen rental units we own.
I’ve had decision fatigue.
On Monday though, I made a single decision that helped me feel a bit better about all of that. I took a lesson from Dave Ramsey, who says if you have a hard time making a decision right now, make a decision that will lead you to that decision (ie: Decide by what date you’ll make that decision!) So, I assembled a core group of people involved in our competitive programs, created an agenda of all the decisions that needed to be made and sat for an hour yesterday and talked it all out. My poor staff and business partner…99% of the decisions were ultimately made by me, but they were all amazing as they sat and watched the wheels turn. I’m a talker when I have to make decisions. I need to talk it out and need others to stop me if I’m missing something or going off track. I’ve been very honest with them over the years that I need that help. They’re patient with me, because they know we’re going to get answers – and they’ll have their chance for input if they want it.
So, instead of spending a week worrying about the decisions I needed to make, I consolidated them all into one hour. I gave myself the time to think about it prior to our meeting but without the pressure of needing to make those decisions in advance.
If you’re struggling with decision fatigue, set a deadline. Give yourself one hour on that deadline by which you’re going to finalize your decisions. Think about the options and weigh them in advance, but don’t pressure yourself to actually make those decisions yet.
Today, a weight has been lifted. I had a hard time even writing this blog prior to today because my brain was bogged down. Today, I know exactly what has to be done to move forward, and my staff and I have divvied the tasks and set deadlines. We now have clear expectations moving forward.
I know you have a lot of decisions right now, so my hope for you is that you can take it one step at a time, and if you get overwhelmed, simply decide when you’ll decide. That’s the first step.
