The most valuable part of a long bike ride is the second 30 minutes. The first 30 are spent settling into a groove, finding the right pace, and clearing my head. I know this is done when random interesting ideas start showing up, as I’ve written about before. There are three categories of exciting ideas:

1. Stop now. Instantly tell Siri to create a reminder. If Siri isn’t working because I’m off-network, I’ll stop my bike and type my reminder. The idea is that important.
2. Disposable. Interesting idea, but not worth capturing yet. Maybe it’ll come back later?
3. Greatest hits. These are disposable ideas that keep come back on subsequent rides.

One of my great hits for a couple of years has been building a flowchart regarding making big decisions. Not small decisions, big ones. As with all complicated people things™, I see these situations as flowcharts. An obvious set of steps, branches, and logical conclusions. Flowcharts give me a sense of control when it’s hitting the fan.

(click on the image for a larger version)