A Professional Decision Coach’s Secrets to Making Better Choices in Travel—and Beyond

Unpacked by AFAR

Have you ever gotten stuck in indecision? Maybe it was around where to travel, or when to book your tickets, or even something as small as where to eat when you’re on the road. Well, this week’s guest is an expert at cutting through the noise and helping her clients—and now you—make fast, solid decisions. Her name is Nell McShane Wulfhart, and she’s a professional decision coach.

Does it sound like a made-up job? Nell is the first to admit that it is in fact a made-up job. But one that she is uniquely qualified for, especially when it comes to travel. I’ve known Nell for about a decade now—as a travel writer. She has lived all around the world, from South Korea to Uruguay to Switzerland.

A couple of months ago, I got an email from Nell about her new Audible podcast, The Decision Coach. And I learned that for the past decade, she has also been (in her words) a “professional bossy boots.” That means that she sits down with clients who are stuck and helps them get unstuck. Some are chronically indecisive and need help getting out of that rut. Others are usually good decision makers but are stuck on a big life decision, like whether to have a baby, or take a new job, or move to a new country.

So I sat down with Nell to talk about how she makes decisions, how we can make better decisions, and how we can apply all of that to travel.

Meet this week’s guest

• Nell McShane Wulfhart, podcaster and travel writer

Resources

• Read a full transcript of the episode.
• Listen to Nell’s podcast, The Decision Coach.
• Check out her website for tips on making decisions and to sign up for her newsletter.
• Follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss an episode.
• Subscribe to AFAR’s YouTube channel for a full video of the conversation.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.