Analysis Paralysis?
Aug 21st, 2001, 03:33 PM
#1
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Analysis Paralysis?
We're in the beginning stages of planning a 2-3 week trip to Italy in November 2002. The number of choices are so staggering, I'm finding that we're already coming up with analysis paralysis. We know where we want to go (too many places to see in our time frame). But we can't seem to get beyond that. What order, how long in each place, modes of transportation, hotels. There are just SO MANY choices. And the more research we do, the more problems choices we come across. Everytime we make a decision we find another reason to change it. And coming to Fodors just increases the choices. If we ask an opinion, we get 47 different answers in many cases. And I lived in Italy for 3 1/2 years!!! Certainly, it must be easier for me than for somebody who's never been in Europe? Am I the only one who faces this analysis paralysis? How do we get over it? How do we make those final decisions. (No wonder people take organized tours--all the decision-making is done for you! 
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Aug 21st, 2001, 03:45 PM
#2
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Actually, dear, it's much worse if you lived there, as you know what you did see, you long to see things that are cherished memories & you HAVE to see all the great stuff we're talking about that didn't get seen while you lived there! <BR> <BR>However, 2-3 weeks IS a finite space of time, with a finite number of hours in it. Sit down in a peaceful place & do some deep breathing--just a little, don't hyperventilate. Now..if you have no social obligations you must satisfy during this trip (no nephew's wedding, no meeting up with Aunt Sylvia & her 6 grandkids, etc.) you must do some soul-searching about your time. (If you DO happen to have obligations, realistically allow the time for them.) It might make sense to pick a region. Rome + Amalfi? Veneto, with Venice & Trieste? Cinque Terre + Florence? How many hours, realistically do you want to spend getting from place to place? (I enjoy train travel personally, but a whole day on a train is a wasted day to me.) If you absolutely have your heart set on something (visiting the Vatican, for example), put it on a list. Have the spouse do the same. Compare lists. Look at keeping the "shared" venues & pitching the rest. This calls for absolute honesty on your part, no weaseling allowed. <BR> <BR>This is not the answer, merely the road that can possibly get you there. <BR> <BR>Best Wishes, <BR>BC
Aug 22nd, 2001, 04:10 AM
#3
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Omigod Linda thats it EXACTLY! <BR> <BR>Analysis Paralysis!!! <BR> <BR>Perfect... <BR> <BR>It describes perfectly what I get sometimes when I am overwhelmed by choices.... <BR> <BR>The worst was when I was planning France 99 and wanted to spend a week somewhere in France following a (french) friend's wedding in Northern France... <BR> <BR>I even posted a distress beacon on this forum and everyone helped me calm down and make some decisions... <BR> <BR>I am not sure how I get through it sometimes but I do always come out of the other end, often with the help of the Fodorite community... <BR> <BR>Now if they ever take down this board I am really going to be in a bind... <BR> <BR>I would get permanent Analysis Paralysis!!! <BR> <BR>/<avey <BR> <BR
Aug 22nd, 2001, 06:31 AM
#5
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Hi Linda, <BR> <BR>Because I go through this anytime I plan a trip, I've developed a couple of little tricks to force myself to narrow my choices. This is my favorite: since the worst thing is to avoid making a choice, you must make a choice. Remind yourself, as I do constantly, you're only making a plan, not committing yourself to an ironclad <BR>contract. Live with it for a while. I guarantee you that soon what you love and hate about it will emerge. Pick out what you love, and develop another set of choices. The key is to select only the elements you LOVE and work around them--but you really have to go through all the preliminary decision-making for the truth to emerge. <BR>Last year, I actually planned a trip to Istanbul, including what I would see on each day of my trip, and after all that, I realized that what I truly wanted to do was return to Italy! Go figure! I'm not suggesting that something this drastic will happen to you, but the technique really helps me get off the stick. 2-3 weeks in Italy--sounds marvelous. I look forward to hearing more.
