Cream or sugar? Cash or card? Go to work or take off? Beer or whiskey? Gym or pizza with friends? Turn off the alarm clock or hit snooze?
Everyday we make thousands of decisions, some are normal day-to-day while some of them can be life changing. By the end of the day, the quantity, intricacy, or the likely impact of our decisions can leave us physically and mentally exhausted.
We are going to discuss what decision fatigue is, how it is caused, and how to prevent it.
What is Decision Fatigue?
One study suggests that adults make 35,000 decisions during the day. When you are making tons of decisions at home and at work this often leaves you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed. Although, not a diagnosable medical condition this feeling is known as decision fatigue. It’s a state of mental overload that can hinder your ability to continue making decisions and shut you down. Typically, this leads to a person giving up and not making decisions or making impulsive or irrational decisions. Good news this is a short-lived reaction.
Signs and symptoms
As we manage our personal life, family, and careers while adding thousands of decisions made everyday we can become quickly overwhelmed. Here are some signs and symptoms of decision fatigue.
Impulsivity. Leaders must make quick decisions all the time. Some of these decisions can be quite complex in nature that can have long-term consequences. Additionally, impulse decisions that are less complex can cause stress because you are less vigilant about that decision. For example, I make impulse decisions when my kids have late practices and choose the drive-thru instead going home and cooking. This decision is usually unhealthy and costly.
Exhaustion. This is one of the main causes of decisions fatigue. Trying to balance the needs of your family, health, careers, and personal needs is exhausting. Even the decisions you’re making before you leave the house in the morning for work increases stress levels. As the day goes on your ability to make decisions diminishes. You would be surprised how quickly decision fatigue can be resolved with a good night’s sleep or nap.
Overwhelmed or anxiety. Having many choices is often thought to be a good thing. However, to many choices or making a ton of decisions can increase anxiety and overwhelm some. For instance, my wife and I have room upstairs in our house that has been used to store our crap we want out of site. It’s time to move our son upstairs but just looking at all that stuff instantly raises my anxiety level. The decisions of whether to donate, sell, or give away just wears me out just thinking about it. Planning your day can decrease being overwhelmed easily and burnout.
Procrastination or avoidance. Avoiding or putting off making decisions is another sign of decision fatigue. This is my Achilles heel of my fatigue. I often put off or avoid doctor appointments or home projects. I’m not sure why I continue to put myself through this, I feel such a relief after I have made decision.
Prevention
We can’t control every aspect of our lives or decisions. Accepting that not all decisions are in your control or need to be in your control can relieve decision fatigue. What controls, if any, can be put in place to protect ourselves?
Remove reoccurring choices. Many of us make the same decisions over-and-over. You can cut down on many daily decisions by planning ahead. For example, instead of trying to make dinner decision every day, try meal planning. Pick day during the week or weekend and make a weekly meal menu. This will help with your grocery list as well. Add these meals to your calendar and approximate time it takes to prepare. There are many great meal planning websites that give you a grocery list and prep time. Make good value added habits.
Delegate, delegate, and delegate some more. You can’t relieve yourself of all decisions. As a parent or leader, it is impossible to make every decision so delegation is a must. Delegation helps others get recognized for their importance, which promotes a deeper sense of commitment and engagement. Remember, the end goal is to get the ball across the goal line. It doesn’t matter how the ball gets there, within reason of course.
Exercise. If you are struggling to make a decision and have deadline the last thing you probably want to do is take a break. However, taking a short walk, 3-10 minutes, will help you manage stress and increase blood and oxygen to your brain. It will reduce stress, anxiety, and increase energy levels to get you through some of those hard decisions. I know, making time for exercise can be a struggle, consider a standing desk, eating during your breaks and walking during your lunch, or take long way. It’s easy to take the long way, park further away, go to furthest bathroom, or instead of e-mailing a co-worker get up and walk over to them.
Schedule downtime. You have to take some downtime, you deserve it. When you are at work don’t take a break or lunch at your desk. Sitting there during these times make you to accessible to e-mails and phone calls. The idea behind downtime is to not make decision or analyze anything. Also, as a parent, kids have a lot to say when you first see them after their school day. They are excited to see you and you are excited to see them. I set a boundary that when I walk into the house my kids know not to bombard me with questions. They know I need about 15-20 minutes to get out my work cloths and unwind. It works! Find things to do like reading, listening to a podcast, play a game, meditate, or read your favorite blog site like MenerationX.com during your downtime.
Get some sleep. People that are sleep-deprived make poor decisions. The lack of sleep degrades both short-term and long-term memory. One obvious sign of sleep deprivation is daytime drowsiness, which reduces your focus and makes it harder to make sound decisions. Establishing good sleep habits like going to bed the same time, avoiding tablets or phones an hour before bed, and sleeping in a dark room will help you perform your best.
Conclusion
We make thousands of decisions every day. The complexity or impacts of the decisions we make can leave us physically and emotionally drained. Having good healthy daily routines and tweaking those routines can make a big impact in reducing stress and decision fatigue. Get rid of those non-value habits, they are a waste if your time. Prioritizing the to-do list every morning will bring conflict to light so they can be resolved. Self-care like taking breaks, sleeping, and exercising will reduce anxiety and stress. In conclusion, we aren’t immune from decision fatigue it affects all of us at some time. The good news is that it’s short lived and with some good routines it can be managed.
Be sure to follow us on X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.