Ep 140 – How Ops Execs Get Stuck Circling Instead of Deciding

Find the full episode and more resources for ops execs at YourFutureRealized.com/140.

A client recently said, “I don’t know why this is taking me so long. I need better time management.”

She was just circling around one decision. Re-reading, putting it down, coming back to check one more thing. And the longer she did, the worse she felt.

Most ops leaders I talk to don’t struggle with making bad decisions. They struggle with taking too long to make good ones, because the stakes are high and the day-to-day never really pauses long enough to think cleanly. So some decisions end up taking up more space than they need to. 

The sneaky part is… waiting is still a decision. It just shows up later as delay, cleanup, or a conversation you didn’t want to have.

In this episode, you’ll hear how to get out of that loop and start making decisions without dragging them into your evening. 

Transcript

A client recently said, “I don’t know why this is taking me so long. I need better time management.”

She was just circling around one decision. Re-reading, putting it down, coming back to check one more thing. And the longer she did, the worse she felt.

Most ops leaders I talk to don’t struggle with making bad decisions. They struggle with taking too long to make good ones, because the stakes are high and the day-to-day never really pauses long enough to think cleanly. So some decisions end up taking up more space than they need to.

The sneaky part is… waiting is still a decision. It just shows up later as delay, cleanup, or a conversation you didn’t want to have.

In this episode, you’ll hear how to get out of that loop and start making decisions without dragging them into your evening. Find the full transcript at YourFutureRealized.com/140.

Hey Ops Execs,

What Happens Inside When Ops Work Never Lets Up

A cook in a busy restaurant says, “The kitchen is a mess. No one cleans up.”

And the Zen master says, “If you want a calm kitchen, calm your mind.”

It’s a little irritating, honestly. Because you want him to say, “Yeah, make them fix the kitchen.” But in ops, the kitchen is kind of always messy, isn’t it?

So a more useful question might be: What’s happening in your head while that’s going on?

I hear the same phrases all the time:
 “I’m slammed.”
 “I’m drowning.”
 “This week is insane.”

And I notice this in myself too. Everything speeds up a notch. My stomach tightens. My brain goes, “Okay—urgent, urgent, urgent.” And I’ll start clearing things off a list just to feel done… just to blow off some nervous energy.

Or, on a different day, I’ll do the opposite. I’ll slow way down, almost freeze, and try to get it all exactly right. Same pressure. Just playing out differently.

A Simple Pause That Changes How You Decide in Operations

What I’ve found more useful is trying to catch that moment when I’m not thinking clearly. Even just noticing it changes something. Because right there, there’s a little bit of choice.

I can keep going in that state… or pause, just for a few seconds. Sometimes it’s one real breath or a quick step outside. Or I lean back and stop typing for a moment. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to interrupt the momentum.

And then sometimes deciding to make a decision a little sooner than I want to. Not a perfect one, not fully thought through. Just… decided.

Practicing Faster Decisions Without Losing Your Mind

I had a client who started playing with this too, giving herself a short window, sometimes just a couple minutes, to decide and move on. She hated it at first. It felt sloppy. 

But she started to see that not deciding was what was actually costing her a lot. That’s what was keeping her up at night. That’s what was slowing her team down. So, she began choosing and adjusting more quickly.

Over time, something shifted. She started closing  her laptop earlier. Decisions didn’t follow her into the evening in the same way. Less rehashing. Less second-guessing.

Not because things got easier, but because she wasn’t holding onto every decision like it was quite so precious anymore. The work didn’t slow down. But it felt different to move through.

So, as you head into the rest of your day, you might notice when you’re getting stuck in a loop. Maybe pause for a few seconds. And see what it’s like to make one clean decision a little sooner than you normally would. And see what happens. 

Where are you waiting for more certainty when you already have enough to decide?

If you want to take this a step further, especially around how your decisions affect how others see you, queue up episode 85 next, “Why Every Ops Decision Builds Your Reputation.” It goes deeper into how your choices quietly build your leadership story. Find it over at YourFutureRealized.com/85.

The Decision I’ve Been Circling

And just so you know, this episode isn’t only about my clients.

I’ve been circling some decisions myself, especially around this podcast, and where I want to put my energy as I step into the next chapter of my work.

I’ve been noticing how easy it is to keep something going just because I can—because I’m used to carrying a lot—long after it stops being the best use of my energy.

I’ll share more about that in the next episode. For now, I’m taking my own medicine: noticing where I’ve been circling a decision, and choosing a next chapter that fits today’s reality and the direction I’m heading now.

Maybe there’s one decision you’re ready to stop circling, too...

You can't stop the chaos, but you can change how you move through it.