Early on in the pandemic, a raft of articles appeared about making decisions in a crisis. Slow down, they all suggested. One by Art Markman in the Harvard Business Review is typical of many others.
Human beings hate feeling helpless, Markman suggests, and they prefer to act quickly to assert some agency, “even when inaction would be more prudent”.
The last line reads: “it is best to take your time when making decisions rather than acting on gut feelings. Those quick actions may reduce some of your anxiety in the short run, but they are likely to create more problems than they solve.”