--- title: The Fast Way to Make Better Decisions, Backed by Research description: Take the perspective of someone else canonical: https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-19T04:01:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:28.387Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Fast Way to Make Better Decisions, Backed by Research og:description: Take the perspective of someone else og:url: https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dc2347d08162f8f/698867dde20a871131a8db57/man-thinking-window.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: man-thinking-window og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Fast Way to Make Better Decisions, Backed by Research twitter:description: Take the perspective of someone else twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dc2347d08162f8f/698867dde20a871131a8db57/man-thinking-window.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Fast Way to Make Better Decisions, Backed by Research ## Video: Question Everything: How Do You Know When You've Made It? [Watch (HLS stream): Question Everything: How Do You Know When You've Made It?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mXGkUGAr.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2015-09-18. TIME hit the streets to ask New Yorkers several offbeat questions designed to provoke and prod the brain._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 19, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  He's deep in thought He's deep in thoughtGetty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 19, 2015 4:01 AM UTC Take the perspective of someone else. Think about what your smartest friend might do in that situation. --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/whats-a-quick-tip-for-improving-your-decision/)**_._** **Join over 215,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/"},"headline":"The Fast Way to Make Better Decisions, Backed by Research","datePublished":"2015-10-19T04:01:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:28.387Z","description":"Take the perspective of someone else","url":"https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/","keywords":["Psychology","decision-making"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dc2347d08162f8f/698867dde20a871131a8db57/man-thinking-window.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dc2347d08162f8f/698867dde20a871131a8db57/man-thinking-window.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"man-thinking-window","caption":"man-thinking-window","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/","name":"The Fast Way to Make Better Decisions, Backed by Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Question Everything: How Do You Know When You've Made It?","description":"TIME hit the streets to ask New Yorkers several offbeat questions designed to provoke and prod the brain.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mXGkUGAr/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-18T14:44:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mXGkUGAr.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/","duration":"PT56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4069850/better-decision-making/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```