In cricket, a premeditated shot is one where you’ve decided what you’re going to play before the ball has been bowled. You’re going to stick to that shot regardless of what comes at you.

Sometimes this strategy works, and the payoff can be quite good. You might hit it out the park and make a few runs.

However, it is more likely that it doesn’t work out. You can end up missing the ball or losing your wicket. Either way, it is not a sustainable way to build an innings.

I’ve seen premeditated work done in exams too. Because the exams in my courses are open book, students will sometimes plan an answer out before seeing the question. The problem is when they either don’t get the question or get a slight variety of it. Often they will write out their premeditated answer anyway and end up losing out on marks as a result.

This anticipation is a way of mitigating uncertainty. It’s a simple plan for dealing with a myriad of potential outcomes.

Though it might feel safe in the build up to the uncertainty, it ultimately leaves us underprepared unless the exact scenario we are looking for pans out.

The best way to take on uncertainty isn’t to think out your shot before it. Instead, gather an understanding of the situation, plan out multiple potential approaches and then adjust for new information as arrives.

That way you’ll be able to handle anything that comes at you.

Image is from Rondebosch Boys school where we were playing cricket this afternoon.