Rather than looking at potential alternatives with a mind to choosing them, they are looked at with an eye toward rejecting them. Cursory exclusion can be suboptimal or even harmful in some situations where a really excellent choice is rejected because of some superficial flaw or atypical presentation. Many decisions are made along the lines of previous decisions. When this happens, do that. Standardized policies for handling recurring events or choices help to make life more efficient.
Procedure manuals are essentially catalogs of previously solved problems.
The manuals tell how to respond when the same or similar problem arises. Thus, they might be called books of programmed decisions. Habitual behaviors might be seen as forms of decision simplification, also. For example, some people have a standard or favorite area to park at the shopping mall or grocery store they visit most frequently. By using such a standard parking spot, a new parking decision need not be made each trip and the mind can run on automatic when the shopper approaches the mall or store.