Sometimes you just gotta let a decision breathe.
“Always sleep on a big decision.”
That’s what my grandad would say.
My grandad wouldn’t think of himself as an entrepreneur.
People who started businesses in the 1950s weren’t seen as glamorous hustling types. They were often ex-soldiers looking for purpose after the war. My grandad found his calling by applying butchering skills he’d learnt before the war.
What evolved was a butcher’s shop with a healthy consumer and retail business that sustained my family for more than fifty years.
My mum once shared a story about the first day the shop did £1,000 in sales (adjusted for inflation, £19,976).
Grandad was closing the shop. My mum and nan were counting the day’s takings.
Mum said they had to do it twice, as they couldn’t believe the first figure.
So they did it again.
Grandad came to see what all the shrieking was about, as Mum and Nan danced and hugged at the achievement. After it was checked again, Nan said they should go out and celebrate.
Aside from the joy, Grandad had other thoughts.
To grow the business even more, they needed a delivery van. To that point, the family car had doubled up. But it didn’t look professional.
That day’s takings offered an opportunity.
Over dinner, the family discussed the idea.
The decision seemed easy. But not for my Grandad.
“No,” he said. “I’ll sleep on it first.”
The following day, he gave everyone his decision.
He didn’t buy the van. He decided to wait, as the vehicle would come with extra cost, and he didn’t want to put pressure on the business.
It took another six months before they breached the £1,000 again. My Mum noticed Man’s quiet worry as she reconciled the books. In the intervening period, sales dropped off, leaving cashflow tighter than they would have liked.
Looking back, my grandad’s choice might seem overly cautious—especially after the excitement of that record day. But he understood something that’s easy to forget in a world obsessed with speed: not every opportunity needs to be seized in the moment. Sometimes, restraint is the wisest move.
Because he took the time to pause, he avoided a decision that could have strained the business during leaner months. It’s a lesson that feels even more relevant today, when we’re pressured to act fast and rarely encouraged to pause.
His story isn’t just family history—it’s a reminder that the best decisions often come after the excitement fades and the mind has time to settle.
Times have changed. Tools have changed.
My Grandad’s “sleep on it” rule meant physically stepping away from the shop ledger. He’d close the book and walk out the door.
Today, the ledger is a dashboard. The shop is a Slack channel. The pressure to decide comes at speed.
Yet, the principle remains.
Amazon executives use “pre-mortem” exercises to imagine failures before launching new services. IKEA builds “deliberation phases” into big investments. These are just new ways to let decisions breathe.
The real skill isn’t reacting faster. It’s knowing when not to react at all.
In today’s hyper-connected world, the pressure to make snap decisions is relentless. Yet, my grandad’s approach—pausing, reflecting, letting a decision breathe—offers a timeless strategy for finding clarity amid the noise.
Sleeping on a decision lets your gut and your mind act as one. Today, we’re driven by feedback loops and fact-based decision-making. Both are critical, but they ignore the clarity that comes from letting your mind subconsciously pick apart a choice.
Your instincts are strong.
So is your ability to think rationally.
Don’t shy away from combining them.
Very few decisions are truly urgent. Yes, some are important, but not in the context of life or death. So do yourself a favour and let your decisions breathe.
Sleep on them.
As Francis Bacon so wonderfully put it, “Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.”
