Weigh the Cost: Balancing Your Decisions for Success

Do you ever hear yourself saying “yes” to someone, but in your head, you’re already wishing you could have said “no”?

Whether you don’t have the time to take on something else, or you just don’t want to do it—it’s ok to say no. In fact, it’s more than ok to say no.

Don’t forget—any time you say “no” to something, you’re also saying “yes” to something else. This trade-off of giving up one thing to hold on to something else can be called an opportunity cost.

In a recent episode of Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, we explored the concept of the opportunity cost and why it’s such an important thing for ADHDers to regularly consider. Understanding this can help you make better decisions, plus manage your time and energy more effectively.

What is this “Opportunity Cost”?

Ultimately, opportunity cost is all about the choices we make. When you find that you struggle with time management or prioritizing your tasks, recognizing the “either/or” of your decisions is an important thing to recognize. As we talked about on the podcast, recognizing these trade-offs is crucial for maintaining balance and ultimately avoiding burnout.

Why is it so important?

There are a few reasons that recognizing your opportunity costs is so important:

• Stay aware of the choices you make
  Understanding the opportunity cost of your decisions can help you become more aware of the choices you make every day. ADHDers who struggle with impulsivity will often make decisions without thinking. Giving yourself the time to recognize the opportunity cost of a decision forces you to be more mindful and present before making a decision.

• Manage your expectations
  Many ADHDers underestimate—not only the time—but also the energy required to complete different tasks. When you acknowledge the opportunity cost, it can help you keep realistic expectations. Realistic expectations around time and energy spent can help reduce feelings of frustration if you find you weren’t able to complete everything you wanted to.

• Promote your own emotional well-being and positive self-care
  When you’re able to see and accept that it’s okay to prioritize certain activities over others, it can relieve some of the pressure you might feel to “do it all”. When you make this shift in mindset, it can create a greater feeling of self-compassion, and help you accept your limitations without guilt.

Now it’s your turn

Understanding and recognizing opportunity costs can be a powerful tool to add to your toolbox of strategies. While it can be “easy” to say that recognizing these trade-offs can be helpful, we all know that the act of doing is much different.

That is why I have created a workbook to help you practice recognizing how you tend to do things, how long things take, and ways to better estimate time to know whether or not you can afford to take on something new when someone asks you.

Follow the link below to this free workbook. I would encourage you to go into the exercises with an open mind, without judgment, and with a curiosity to learn more about yourself.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Nikki

⇣ Download your own free copy of The Opportunity Cost Workbook