Stimulus - Learn Tools to Crush It in Your Medical Career How To Not Overthink Simple Decisions
9 snips
Nov 24, 2025 Dan Dworkis, an emergency physician and clinical professor at USC Keck School of Medicine, dives into the art of decision-making. He reveals how cognitive load can sap our mental energy and explores the concept of 'free rolls'—when to act without overthinking. Strategies like identifying key decision dimensions and recognizing when to forgo choices emerge as vital tools. Dworkis also emphasizes breaking down big life decisions into manageable experiments. Tune in for insights that can simplify both small and monumental choices!
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Three Types Of Cognitive Load
- Cognitive load splits into intrinsic, extraneous, and germane buckets that share the same mental energy pool.
- Managing each bucket reduces overall strain and improves performance under pressure.
Night Shift Lighting Disrupts Focus
- Rob describes night shifts where lights were turned off and it disrupted his focus and sleep biology.
- The example highlights how environmental factors add extraneous cognitive load during clinical work.
Harvest Free Rolls
- Harvest free rolls by identifying yes/no choices with overwhelming upside and negligible downside and just do them.
- Use free rolls to avoid wasting bandwidth on trivial, low-risk decisions.
