We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caroline Guntur. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caroline below.
Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re very focused on here – improving our ability to make decisions. Everyday, we’re faced with decisions that can impact the future of our careers, businesses, relationships and more and so one of the most impactful areas for personal development, in our view, is decision-making. Can you talk to us about how you developed or improved your decision-making skills?
When I was younger, I was horribly indecisive. Vividly, I remember standing in a book store at the age of 17, trying to choose between two new bestsellers. I was there for hours, and it was an incredibly frustrating experience. If I self-analyze, it was perfectionism that was standing in my way. I wanted to make the perfect decision every single time, and because I couldn’t predict the future, I didn’t know what to do. I felt like my hands were tied, and it was very unsettling. Later in life, I learned that indecision plagues many people. It wasn’t just me. When we are unsure of the way forward, we hesitate, because we believe that no decision at all is better than the wrong one. That may be true, but I didn’t want to live like that. I knew I had to learn how to make good decisions, and not second-guess myself every single time. But how?
The road to overcome indecision was long, but enlightening. The motivation to change came from wanting more success in business and life. I realized that I would never get anywhere if I didn’t get out of my own way. I was a bottleneck. Every time, I didn’t make a video and my competitors did, I lost out on traffic. When someone else put out a blog post and I didn’t, I secretly wished I had published something. I knew I had to do something about it, but I didn’t know where to start.
My first real attempt was disastrous. I started avoiding decisions altogether by making “both” my default answer. Which book do you want to buy? Both. What trip do you want to take? Both. What audience do you want to serve? Both. That led me down another tricky path where I was all in on everything – all the time. I started overcommitting and I eventually burned out. This clearly wasn’t the answer either. Operating in extremes like that isn’t healthy at all, and deep down, I knew that it was simply a delay tactic.
After a lot of self-reflection, I realized that what I needed was better self-confidence, more trust in myself, and solid boundaries. So I went to work and I put routines in place for myself to actively come up with a solution. It worked. I started with the boundaries issue, and learning to say yes and no effectively and without explanation. That led to more confidence, and eventually, I learned how to trust myself.
My methodology led me to develop a framework that I now teach to others. It’s called *Mindful Monday Mapping*, and it’s a practice that lets you improve decision-making skills by looking at your business in both a microscopic, data-driven way, as well as in a macroscopic, intuition-fueled way, and then make progress using micro-goals. It takes into account your entire lifestyle as one holistic productivity sphere, and it works like a charm. This framework helps leaders make better and faster decisions, create a shorter work week, and implement healthy boundaries while still have full control over the business’ direction. By looking at facts as well as feelings from different vantage points frequently, you become more confident in your decisions and start developing the habit of knowing the status quo at all times. That develops confidence, strength, and instinctive self-trust. Today, I make incredibly fast decisions. Doing this deep work was on of the best decisions I’ve ever made because I’m no longer frustrated with myself. I don’t questions myself anymore – ever, and that alone was worth it.
If indecision is something you struggle with, please now that it can be overcome. Through self-reflection, honesty, and bravery, I did it, and so can you. Yes, it’s uncomfortable at first, but by practicing being OK with just being OK, you start to master yourself and your mind. Embracing imperfection is the only way forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have been a Professional Organizer & Productivity Coach since 2009, and I have tested out many niches over the years, from residential closet organization to digital asset management. While I still love the full spectrum of the industry, I have found myself happiest when showing small business owners (especially those in the creative fields) how to run their businesses efficiently. It involves planning, project management, organization skills, and communication. Living as a digital nomad myself and running my business completely online involves a high degree of efficient operations, and I love to help others find their ease in making work more fun and streamlined. We have so many brilliant innovators who are struggling because they cannot find the downtime they need, and I truly believe that you shouldn’t have to martyr yourself to make an impact in the world. It is possible to create impact for others and still live a healthy, fulfilling life full of boundaries. Indecision doesn’t have to be a part of your life, but it means welcoming change.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three skills I had to develop on my journey were undoubtedly learning how to set boundaries, trust in myself, and develop my self-confidence. Everything else came from learning those. When you are secure in yourself, you become strong and steadfast. I wavered for way too long, but in hindsight, I wouldn’t change it because it’s what led me down this path of teaching others how to be more efficient in how to make decisions.
The first thing to acknowledge is that change is necessary and possible, even though it might seem impossible. When we are in denial and can’t look at ourselves honestly (and without judgement), change doesn’t happen. We have to take a real look at what change is needed, and then go from there. Self-reflection is powerful, so start there.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When you feel overwhelmed, it’s simply your body’s way of acknowledging that it doesn’t have enough information to act on, so the way to overcome overwhelm is to break things down into more manageable pieces. If you get easily overwhelmed, you have to improve your project management skills. It’s a simple as that.
For example, let’s say that you’re planning a big project. The volume of decisions that need to happen will likely feel like too much, so the solution is to break that project down into phases, and tackle each one at a time. We divide and conquer. I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before, and there’s a reason for it. Smaller steps means less overwhelm, so you have to learn how to embrace those smaller steps and be ok with them.
Anytime you feel overwhelm starting to set in, just pause, take a breath, and ask yourself: what more information do I need to feel comfortable here? That’s a great place to begin.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theswedishorganizer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolineguntur/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caroline.guntur/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolineguntur/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolineGuntur
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7KxPuUgHsWJAD5bcIx3C1Q
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@carolineguntur
Image Credits
All photos owned by me, Caroline Guntur.
