Recently I was introduced to a new restaurant and after a long work week, I arrived to find an 8-page menu. While the novelty of so many choices sounded lovely, the reality was much different. I stared at the endless sea of options blankly and crankily, complete brain fog taking over. Perhaps you can relate.
Have you ever been overwhelmed by making one more decision, particularly after a slew of decisions you made all day or all week long? Well, you’re not alone. This is a real thing, my friends.
Decision fatigue not only leads to avoiding decisions (hello, procrastination!) but can also lead to poor decisions in general—take impulse purchases, for example. This is why grocery store snacks are usually displayed near the cash register: by the time shoppers get there, they have already faced so many choices that they will grab any item they hadn’t initially planned on purchasing.
Here are a few tips from research and people much smarter than me to help you through the struggle
- Reduce your number of decisions. Store up your mental energy for the important decisions and reduce the trivial ones. Notable figures like the late Steve Jobs and President Barack Obama have done this very thing. They bought multiples of the same outfits in order to reduce their everyday clothing options down to a couple of outfits. Granted, they didn’t win Best Dressed or Most Stylish, but they did have a storage tank of reserves to make those important decisions. Perhaps I need to follow their example as there have been way too many days staring into my closet of never-ending outfit options before I figure out what to wear. First world problem, I know.
- Make decisions in advance. We all have those decisions we make repeatedly—what to cook for dinner each evening, when to work out, tradeoffs on business and personal “to do” items on really busy weeks, and so forth. Instead of making these decisions every day, consolidate the decision-making process. Set aside a block of time by planning your week ahead, blocking time on your calendar, doing meal prep on Sunday, so you have several meals ready to go with a simple re-heat.
- Ask for help. You don’t have to make all the decisions on your own. Some evenings I tell my husband, “It’s your night to decide what we’re eating. I have no bandwidth for another decision.” Other nights that’s reversed. And for the tougher or more importance decisions, you can ask a co-worker, friend or family member to help you think through the trade-offs, the pros and cons, so you avoid making a rash or poor decision.
And look on the bright side. If the above doesn’t work, there’s always eenie meenie minie mo decision making.
Hat tip to your decision making,
