Personal policies are guardrails for our lives that protect us from decision paralysis.

I woke up this morning around 4 a.m. Yikes, another night facing a familiar dilemma: wake up early and likely crash by late morning (disrupting my day and energy) or sleep in, tossing and turning, only to wake up groggy and later than I'd like (around 9 a.m.).

This might be obvious to you, dear reader: when you're half asleep, it's usually not the best time to make decisions. Cognitive functioning is impaired, and the engine is still cold. So why demand decisions from ourselves when we’re weakest, if we don't have to?

I've developed a loose policy for this wake-or-sleep dilemma. If it's before 4 or 5 a.m., I force myself to go back to sleep. No waking at 3 a.m.—4 a.m. is the absolute earliest, and 6 a.m. is the latest I'll allow if I'm already awake. The decision is pre-made—so if the clock reads 5 a.m. and I’m still tossing and turning, I get up. No questions asked.

Now, the loosey-goosey bit, the flexibility of this 4-5 a.m. range, still leaves me with a tough choice, but it also offers grace. It gives me space to check in with my body and brain: are they really ready to start the day, or do they need more rest? Early on, I had to be strict with this policy. But as I’ve built experience and intuition around using policies for decision-making, I allow myself this flexibility—an antidote to frustration or self-blame if I don't follow the plan exactly.

What policies can you put in place to improve your day-to-day life?