What is optionality? If you want a thorough answer, check out the big juicy book I spent the last couple of years writing.
In the meantime, I’ve written a post that links together everything I’ve written in one place, and gives a taste of what the book is about for new readers.
Here’s my definition of optionality, adapted from the introduction of the book, followed by 10 principles for navigating an uncertain world…
Probably you’ve read articles about how Obama wears the same suit every day, or Mark Zuckerberg has seventeen identical grey t-shirts in his wardrobe. The idea is to deliberately eliminate inconsequential daily choices and free up mental bandwidth for more important decisions; like ordering extrajudicial killings or strip-mining billions of people’s private information to sell to advertisers.
I say this lifehack is is much more useful and wide-reaching than streamlining your wardrobe: you can automate the important things, too.
If you wear the same outfit over and over, nothing bad happens. Maybe you don’t get invited to Fashion Week. But what if you eat the same food every day?