In my earlier post discussing the paradox of choice, I confessed I am a self proclaimed chronic maximzer. For instance, years ago I was frustrated with my can opener. It was difficult to use and often took several trys to fully open a can. When I held it, my hands were uncomfortable. I, of course, went to Amazon to find a replacement. Searching for “can opener” on Amazon yields:

1-48 of over 1,000 results for “can opener”

Over 1,000 results! How could I possibly find the best can opener amongst a thousand choices? Even looking at just the 48 on the page will take a while! I didn’t look at all of them but I did end up spending 4+ hours opening product pages, meticulously reading reviews, and mentally comparing them to each other in an attempt to maximize my decision.

Satisficing = Satisfy + Suffice

So what’s a more efficient strategy?

Satisficing.

Instead of trying to find the ultimate best choice, the pragmatic strategy is to find a choice that is sufficient for your needs. So for my can opener I could declare my requirements:

1. High Quality - Higher than 4.5 star rating with more than 1,000 reviews
2. Manually operated
3. Small enough to fit in a drawer
4. Comfortable
5. No more than $25 dollars

Good Enough > Best

So really what we’ve done is defined “good enough.” In the past, I intentionally avoided “good enough”. That implied there was something better and you should spend more time searching. I simply needed to change my mindset. “Good enough” is completely acceptable and in fact desirable because it meets all our requirements.

Satisfying

The other key part of satisficing is the satisfying side. When you find an item that meets all your requirements, you’re done. That’s it. You found one that satisfies the requirements so it’s “good enough.” The search is over.

I still struggle with this part so sometimes I compromise. I’ll restrict myself to saying, “OK you can keep looking but once you’ve found three items that are ‘good enough’ then you HAVE to stop”. I then compare between those three to fulfill the maximizer urges.

Satisficing as Meta-Maximizing 😮

Furthermore, I convinced myself of the benefits of satisficing with an ironic argument. We only live so long. Time is a limited resource, so really the bigger goal should be maximizing our time. Realize that you have control in how much time you spend in making a decision. Always trying to find the best answer can, in the grand scheme, be inefficient. From a diminishing return lens, “good enough” is virtuous because the marginal utility of a “better” option isn’t worth the time spent finding it.

The Best Can Opener 🥫

BTW, if your curious which can opener I chose as a “maximizer” it was the Zyliss Lock N' Lift. In retrospect I could have spent less time making that choice using the satisficing strategy. At the very least, knowing that the can opener definitely meets the “good enough” requirement has been helpful. One of the negative consequences of maximizer mindset is regretting your choice because you think there could have been a better one. After learning about satisficing I don’t fall into that trap. Instead, I have been extremely satisifed with my can opener 😃.

See also

• This one habit changed my life 📅
• Free Kindle Books 📚
• The Paradox of Choice 🤔