Have you ever had to make a really big decision in your life?

Perhaps you were buying a house, choosing a city to move to, wanting to get married, or wanting to have kids. These decisions have such big consequences (especially the kids 😂) that choosing can be downright paralyzing.

Engineers have a solution to this problem.

Engineers use a system to solve problems on the job and it happens to be useful for any decision in life. I want to share with you what I call the four phases of problem solving:

1. Comprehend

You should know what problem you are trying to solve. What is buying that house going to accomplish? What's the motivation? What do you want to get out of it?

If you first don't orient yourself, you won't have a target to aim at.

2. Ideate

It can feel silly, but writing down the potential solutions is a great way to ensure thoroughness. Engineers have to do this as part of the job, and for good reason. It forces us to be explicit about pros/cons.

3. Estimate

You want to make sure you estimate the price on each dimension appropriate for your situation, like financial cost, time, opportunity cost, emotional cost, quality of life, etc.

4. Evaluate

Engineers have competing demands like business objectives, user demands, and code health when evaluating a solution. For your life decisions, this might be your finances, personal goals, individual preferences of those involved, etc.

You'll need to evaluate each solution by comparing the costs, and choose one the solves your problem best and satisfies various demands.

Next time you have a big decision to make, proceed slowly and methodically. Use these four phases to help you navigate. Think like an engineer.