Drop options to make decisions

I sometimes tell people that I already have more windows open than I have time to look out of (quoting Peg Bracken). In a similar vein, research finds that closing a few doors makes it easier to choose which one to walk through: New York Times, “The Advantages of closing a few doors. The research in question used a computer game. It found that keeping all their options open distracted players from the high-scoring actions.

In real life, it leads to thrashing about between tasks and not doing them, throwing good money after bad, and dragging on in painful relationships.