How to Prevent Decision Fatigue

On average, we make 35,000 decisions each day.

Hard to believe? Think back over what’s happened for the last two minutes alone:

When you came upon the link to this article, you made a choice as to whether or not to click on it. Throughout the course of reading it, you’ll decide whether or not to continue. You’ll also choose whether or not to scratch the itch on your nose, adjust your position to stop hunching your shoulders towards your screen so much, and more.

Making so many decisions, whether important or unimportant, takes an energetic toll on us. We don’t have an infinite amount of intellectual capacity, so the more our brain has to do, the more exhausted it gets.

The concept of decision fatigue can have significant consequences when it plays out in reality. For example, one astonishing study found that judges were significantly more likely to grant parole when reviewing cases in the morning versus the afternoon (there was a ~65% difference!).

Once we pause and acknowledge that our brains are just like our bodies, and that they need to rest and restore to be most effective, we can take action to mitigate some of this fatigue. These actions can also help us conserve our energy and use it when it matters, thus enabling us to make better choices for our health and happiness.

So, how do we do this?

Here are some strategies, broken down into three types of action, that you can explore:

Automation

This category is pretty self-explanatory. The more we automate in our lives, the less active decisions there are to make. Here are some ways you can introduce more automation in your day-to-day:

• Set up automatic payments for your bills, and get supplies that you need regularly sent to you on a schedule (think of things that you go through often like toilet paper and shampoo).
• Wake up at the same time every day – not only is it one less decision to make, but sleep researchers say it’s one of the best things you can do for your circadian rhythm, enabling solid sleep.
• Do little things the night before that will ease your mind the next morning – laying out your outfit, measuring the coffee, and packing your lunch can all set the tone of your day off to a smooth start. In terms of outfits, some people take it to the minimalist extreme and only wear the same few staples, or set a standard combination to choose from (for example: always black pants and a colorful top, or only purchasing navy suits).
• Try habit stacking when introducing a new routine into your world – for example if you want to drink one more bottle of water per day, leave a full bottle next to your alarm clock or coffee machine. When you go to either of these without thinking, you’ll see the bottle and automatically be reminded to drink instead of having to remember and decide when to do it on your own.
• Think about meal planning – there are so many great resources on this blog to support you alone. Making all of the decisions on what you’re eating for a few days at once, and even prepping some of the food, minimizes the energy you need to expend later when you’re working longer days and feeling depleted.

Delegation

Another straightforward category for combatting decision fatigue: when possible, avoid having to make the decisions in the first place! While this isn’t always an option, there may be more room for it in your life than you think.

• At home: is there someone you can give even one household “to-do” to? A little can go a long way.
• At work: is there room to share the load with someone else to give them an opportunity to step up and grow?

Prioritization / Optimization

This bigger picture category can take a bit more thinking at first, but leads to less fatigue in the long run.

• Make more important decisions in the morning when you know you’ll have more bandwidth. Similarly, if you’re exhausted at the end of the day, see if you can delay deciding until the next day when you have a fresh mind.
• Simply spend less energy deciding on things that don’t have a significant impact on your life. For example, there are now seemingly endless options for shows to watch (thanks, Netflix!) but taking an hour to select something mindless dwindles your decision-making resources down.
• Take more breaks to recharge your brain! For example, our hunger hormone ghrelin negatively impacts our decision making (think about it – your body goes into survival mode saying “Who cares, let’s just move on so we can refuel!”). If you’re starving and have to make a choice about something, see if you can get some food first. You’ll likely make the better choice and have more energy to do it!
• Reframe the pressure you put on yourself for the outcome – especially for less important areas, know that a decision that’s good enough vs. perfect is still okay.
• Prioritize where you’ll spend this finite energy by not worrying as much about the future or constantly rehashing past choices… when you’ve made a decision, move on to the next thing that matters.

This long list of options for how to mitigate this fatigue isn’t intended to overwhelm you with yet another decision!

Go with your gut and start with whichever idea feels easiest to you to integrate – your brain will thank you.