Fixation & Indecision: The Two Traps of Sensemaking

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When Decisions Get the Best of Us

Have you ever been so focused on one piece of a problem that you missed the bigger picture? Or felt paralyzed, unable to make a decision at all?

These aren’t just personal quirks — they’re common breakdowns in how we make sense of situations. Known as fixation and indecision, they can derail effective judgment in everything from daily life to high-pressure environments. Understanding how these traps form — and how to escape them — starts with improving our sensemaking: our ability to interpret cues, evaluate the context, and navigate uncertainty.

Stuck in place? Whether it’s clinging to the wrong answer or drowning in options, fixation and indecision can leave you spinning your wheels.

Fixation: “I Know What I’m Doing” (Famous Last Words)

Fixation happens when we get stuck on our initial assessment about what’s going on — and stop looking for anything that might counter that initial assessment. Once we think we’ve “figured it out,” we base our decisions around that explanation. Even if new information comes in, we might ignore it or explain it away to protect our original plan.

This is dangerous because situations can change — or maybe we misunderstood the problem in the first place. When we’re locked in on one idea, we may miss warning signs or clues that something’s off.

Take something as simple as a green light. You see it turn green, and your brain says: Go. You probably don’t double-check for cross traffic or a car that might still be turning. But maybe the light malfunctions. Or someone’s running the red light. If you’re fixated on “green = safe,” you might not notice the threat until it’s too late.

This kind of tunnel vision shows up in emergency settings, too. Imagine a medic arriving on scene to treat what’s reported as a diabetic emergency. The patient is confused and sweaty — classic signs of low blood sugar. The medic gives glucose, expecting quick improvement. But nothing changes. Instead of stepping back and asking, What else could this be?, the medic may keep doubling down on the low-blood-sugar diagnosis — missing the fact that the patient is actually having a stroke.

That’s fixation in action: we cling to the first story that makes sense and miss what actually matters.

While my main focus is not on the origins of fixation, here are a few for your consideration. So why do we get fixated? Sometimes it’s overconfidence — we think we’ve got it right, so we stop paying attention to new clues. Other times it’s fear: fear of being wrong, fear of the unknown, fear that things are slipping out of control. And then there’s the pressure to make a quick decision — we just want to settle on an answer and move on.

But in messy, complex situations, rushing to feel certain can leave us blind to what’s really going on.

Fixation can feel like this — stuck inside a single explanation, unable to see what’s right in front of you.

Breaking Fixation

Fixation isn’t just a beginner’s mistake — even seasoned decision-makers fall into its trap. Fortunately, there are ways to loosen its grip. These techniques aren’t one-size-fits-all, but they can help you stay more flexible and responsive, especially when the stakes are high.

Challenge Your Own Thinking

• Don’t take it personally
  If new information challenges your interpretation, that’s not an attack on you. Recognize when you’re getting defensive, and ask yourself: Why am I resisting this? Fixation often hides behind the need to feel certain or right.
• Look beyond your current theory
  Be willing to consider data that doesn’t fit your first explanation. Sensemaking is about evolving your understanding — not locking it in early. Situations themselves can shift. New information, changing priorities, or unfolding dynamics mean that what made sense five minutes ago might no longer apply. Expecting your initial interpretation to hold firm throughout is unrealistic — and sometimes dangerous. Your understanding should evolve with the situation.
• Try the Crystal Ball Test (Klein, 1999)
  Imagine this: the situation unfolds, and it turns out your explanation was wrong. Totally wrong.
  • What else could explain what you’re seeing?
  • What kind of evidence would make you give up your current theory?
    If that’s hard to answer — you might already be fixated.

Stay Engaged

• Adopt an active mindset (Klein, 2022)
  An open mind is willing to hear new ideas. An active mind goes further — it looks for them. Ask questions. Challenge your own assumptions. Make discoveries. Active minds pair curiosity with critical thinking — they’re alert to signs that things may not be as they seem.

• Engage your curiosity (Klein, 2020)
  Instead of jumping to conclusions, ask:
  • What might have caused this?
  • What’s likely to happen next?
  • What am I not seeing yet?

Curiosity slows you down just enough to avoid a premature judgment call.

• Watch for patterns
  One odd detail could be a fluke. But two or three? That’s a signal. If something feels “off” more than once, stop and reexamine your assumptions. Repetition is a clue — don’t ignore it.

Bring in Outside Perspective

• Get a second opinion (Klein, 2022)
  When you’re stuck, invite someone else into the discussion. A fresh perspective can offer alternate interpretations or spot details you’ve overlooked. Sometimes the best fix for fixation is another mind on the case.

Indecision: “I Don’t Know!”

On the flip side of fixation lies its quieter cousin: indecision — the inability to settle on a choice and move forward. We’ve all been there. But in fast-moving or high-pressure environments, hesitation can be just as costly as charging ahead blindly.

At its root, indecision often reflects a breakdown in sensemaking. It’s not that we’re always missing information — sometimes we have too much. The issue is that we struggle to organize and interpret it, which makes it hard to choose a direction and commit. Gary Klein (2019) calls this experience vagabonding.

Vagabonding: The Drift with No Destination

Vagabonding is what happens when your thinking becomes scattered and unfocused. You can’t tell which details matter, which ones don’t, or how they relate to each other. Klein describes it as an inability to filter out the noise or connect the dots — a state where everything feels important, but nothing stands out.

In this state, people often respond by gathering even more information. But more data isn’t always helpful. If you don’t already have a mental framework to make sense of what you’re seeing, adding more just compounds the confusion. Instead of sharpening your view, adding more data can blur it.

Think about walking onto a car lot, expecting to buy a new car. The salesperson enthusiastically introduces dozens of choices: different models, features, gas mileage, safety scores, prices, warranties, and colors. You’re trying to consider everything. But the sheer amount of data, with no clear way to prioritize, leaves you overwhelmed. You walk away without making a decision — not because you didn’t care, but because you couldn’t cut through the noise.

As I described with fixation, I will not go into great detail on the potential causes of vagabonding but here are a few for your consideration. Vagabonding often stems from a lack of direction. When we don’t have a clearly defined goal, prioritizing information becomes difficult — every detail feels equally relevant. It can also arise from overthinking, often fueled by perfectionism or low confidence. We fear making the wrong decision — that we’ll fail, lose something, or disappoint others — and so we stall. Without a firm sense of direction or belief in our ability to make sound judgments, we stay stuck, hoping more time or more data will give us certainty. Often, it doesn’t.

Indecision can feel like this — overwhelmed, unsure where to start, and paralyzed by too many options.

Breaking Indecision

When you feel stuck or overloaded, the goal isn’t to find a perfect answer — it’s to start moving again. Here are a few ways to sharpen your thinking, reduce mental clutter, and move toward clarity.

Internal Clarity: Clarify the Situation

• Ground Yourself (Klein, 2022)
  Start by defining your goals. What are you actually trying to achieve? What constraints are you working within? If you can name what matters, it becomes easier to ignore what doesn’t.
• Accept Uncertainty (Klein, 2022)
  You won’t always have all the information. That’s normal — and survivable. Waiting for complete certainty often leads to paralysis. Train yourself to make solid decisions even when the picture is incomplete.
• Use a Critical Eye (Not Just an Open One)
  Being open to new information is good — but what matters more is knowing what to do with it. Focus on the few cues that drive real impact. Trying to understand everything leads to overload. Zero in on what matters most.

External Testing: Engage Actively with the Problem

• Reduce the Uncertainty (Klein, 2022)
  Pick one cue you believe is important — and test it. Watch what happens. This isn’t about guessing — it’s about running a low-risk experiment that feeds your understanding. Ask: What does this tell me? What should I pay attention to next?
• Chunk the Problem
  When a decision feels too big, break it into pieces. Solve one small part at a time. Clarity builds as you move forward, not before.
• Write It Out
  Don’t try to juggle everything in your head. Write down your thoughts. Externalizing your thinking helps you organize, prioritize, and see what’s missing.

Confirmation: Recognize What the Situation Is Telling You

• Repetition Is a Clue
  If something keeps coming up — an issue, a cue, a concern — pay attention. One anomaly might be noise. But repetition deserves investigation.
• Sometimes There’s No “Right” Choice
  Some options are so close in value that it doesn’t matter which you choose. Klein (2022) calls this the zone of indifference. In those moments, don’t get stuck hunting for a perfect answer — just pick one and move on.

Support: Bring in Outside Perspective

• Talk It Out
  Thinking out loud helps clarify your thinking. Ask someone to be a sounding board. Let them walk you through how they’d make sense of the situation — you might hear something you missed. Learning from others’ reasoning builds your own.

Moving Past the Road Bumps

Fixation and indecision are two common roadblocks on the path to effective sensemaking. But they’re not permanent detours — with the right mindset and tools, you can move through them.

Try experimenting with some of the strategies above the next time you’re facing a tough call. You don’t need to apply everything at once — just start where it feels natural. With practice, you’ll build the awareness and agility needed to navigate uncertainty more confidently.

Sensemaking is a skill — and like any skill, it gets stronger with use.

References

Klein, G. (1999). Sources of power: How people make decisions. MIT Press.

Klein, G. (2003). The power of intuition. Random House.

Klein, G. (2019). Escaping from fixation: Harnessing the power of curiosity to reduce diagnostic errors. Psychology Today.

Klein, G. (2020). How to harness curiosity: Curious? You’re not the only one. Psychology Today.

Klein, G. (2022). How decision-makers can handle uncertainty. Psychology Today.Klein, G. (2022). Snapshots of the mind. MIT Press.