The shortest route isn’t necessarily the simplest one

When providing people with directions, whether written or on a map, the temptation is to give them a route that’s used by people who make the same journey regularly.

When we make a journey regularly though, we often don’t take the simplest route, that being defined as the one that involves the least number of decisions about what to do. Instead we’ll often choose to take the shortest route even if it involves lots of junctions, twists and turns. To the unknowing eye would seem to make the route more complex but there are, of course, good reasons why we’ll take a seemingly more complicated route than necessary: reducing fuel costs and the time sat in traffic jams among others. And that’s fine, because it only takes a few attempts (and maybe the odd mistake too) to know the route without a map, and how to escape from it if necessary.

When providing directions for someone who is making a one-off journey though, making it as simple as possible should be the priority. To achieve this means giving a route with as few chances for error as possible. This is especially important in directions for drivers, who will have to take their attention away from the road each time they need to make a decision. Therefore providing clear information about each decision is vital so the driver can get their eyes back to the road as soon as possible, and be completely confident about what they’re doing next.

Also, think about the places you are sending people, particularly if they’re walking: are these going to be nice places to be, or will the prospect of going through these places be enough to cause them unnecessary stress.

So although you may not end up giving the shortest route, the time and hassle you’ll save the person following the directions, will more than make up for any extra mileage.