Creative Ways to Use a Favorite Picker at Home and Work

If you have never used one before you are basically about to create a list of options and the Favorite Pokemon Picker will draw a selection at random (or likely at a weighted distribution). Seems like a basic, almost, too easy, thing. That’s also what makes it so effective in various scenarios. Decisions are decisions that are over thought many a times. In a meeting with friends, who should present first? When a to-do list is as long as a long line of people, what task should you do first?When you’re not sure what you should eat, which movie you should watch… It takes the brain strain out of the equation and simply makes the decision for you. It’s sort of liberating.

I recall my first encounter with one for real. We were in a twenty-minute home-and-away tug-of-war regarding what restaurant to dine at. Twenty minutes! For dinner! So I entered our 5 most favorite restaurants in a pickle, pressed the button and let it pick me. We had fun and laughed it off, ordered food and got on with our night. The whole thing rewired my decision fatigue thinking in that brief moment!

At Home: Make Chaos As A Game

There are a ton of little choices in home life that seem to consume an inordinate amount of energy. It is here that I finally found someone that had a Starter Picker of some value.

Chore rotation: I know I remember having this weird earmuffed attitude at home where my family would say “what are you doing you?” if they felt I was not doing the right chores. No one ever wanted to be called ‘that person’ who gives people instructions as it was always bossy. Now we simply pile everything in the Starter Picker and randomly set it to do all of our chores each week. It is somewhat equitable and no-one has to complain, it was just the luck of the draw anyway.
Family game nights: We eliminated board game arguments by placing all of our games in the picker. This has actually left us with games we have not had the opportunity to play before! There was one old game of trivia that we had that we haven’t done for a long time and the picker introduced that to the rotation. If you use a version with spinning, my kids love the anticipation of the wheel spinning! It’s a just a little something added to a seemingly boring task such as choosing a board game.
Meal planning: Thank you for this one saving my sanity! I had had enough with the “what do you want for dinner” and “what do you want, I don’t care, I don’t” thing that circles around forever. I have now got a dinner list to pick from and let a picker pick 3 dinners for the week. Customers of this type don’t wish to make decisions for themselves but still need a variety of offerings.
Random acts of kindness/self care: I made a list of minor self care activities, and have an external thing like going for a walk, calling an old friend, reading a chapter of a book – when I have those moments of “I don’t really feel like connecting on this list” I let the picker do it for me. It eliminates the paralysis of indecision of ‘what should I even do right now’.
Kids’ activities: If you have kids you know how to keep them entertained without having to repeat the same 3 activities day after day — and by the time they’re to the tenth time it, they’re already bored. Create a list of age-appropriate activities for a picker to show and let your child press the button. Children enjoy the pressing and the things that happen. So it’s their choice that makes them even more excited to take part in the activity.

At Work: Less Painful Meetings and Tasks

This is the area where I honestly didn’t think this tool would be an asset to me — but it is a tool that is now a part of how my team is working.

Determining the ground rules for meetings: This seems like only a little, except it really makes a difference. No one loves to be called on first in a brainstorming or status update. We do not allow anyone to miss out when we run names through a “picker,” instead of uncomfortable silence where everyone looks at his laptop waiting for the other person to talk. Fast; not special; off the hook from social pressure to any one.
Assigning tasks fairly: In cases such as when a project consists of a few interchangeable tasks, we’ve begun letting a picker pick at random instead of the managers choosing their favorites or the people fighting it out over the easier ones. This may seem like a counterintuitive way to work, but it helps lessen resentment in the workplace. Nobody can fault leadership for its lack of bias against any particular instrument, for it was a random tool that made the decision.
Decision making in brainstorming for breaking a decision deadlock: Ever had to cut down a list of three great concepts to one and then no one wants to pick the one, just to promote a blank look? That tie breaks second-hand with a picker tool. The “randomly selected” sometimes evokes more raw discussion as well since the choice is not imposed by a colleague and people tend to be more honest when they don’t know the person.
Team building icebreakers: Random pairing of coworkers for virtual coffee talks using a picker. It’s tiny but has resulted in some great discussions with folks who don’t work on the same side and don’t normally discuss that stuff. Fewer awkward ties: again, nobody picked the pairing, it was a happenstance.

Team picnics or outings, selecting lunch locations. Same rules as a dinner party at home! If five people are not agreeable about a restaurant, toss it into a picker! Makes quick decisions to stop debates and all feel good since it’s not personal.

Why This For Right Now Works Psychologically

It sounds like something’s up here, more than just being convenient. If a decision is made with a neutral tool, instead of from a person; then there will be no blame or social friction. There is no loss of any kind. No one thinks that they have been disregarded for something they like. Whether it be a couple making plans for dinner or co-workers splitting up jobs, the picker is remote source of emotion, leaving human interaction to generally be unburdened of that emotional strain.

Also reduces decision fatigue. The results of research and common sense are the same: The more of these trivial decisions we make throughout the day, the more burned out we are when it comes time to make the larger ones. Give a trivial choice to a random person so you don’t use up mental energy when you need it for something more important, such as a big presentation, a difficult conversation, or big planning.

Final Thoughts

I never thought that something as simple as a picker tool could help get this much into my daily life so far but here we are. Guess what—it’s gotten a lot of little use that too few people mention but it’s made an awesome little productivity and harmony booster right here, from dining-table quarrels to fairly apportioning assignments at work. Try out making your own lists, and having a picker decide. Take it gentle: Try it on a small scale, like what you’re going to watch tonight or perhaps where you’ll go for your coffee.