Don’t Wait—Beat Decision Fatigue Now: Simplify Your Choices and Reclaim Your Energy

Did you know that we make about 35,000 decisions in a day? Mind-blowing, isn’t it!

That includes small decisions, almost subconscious choices like which lane to drive in on the way to work to larger, more impactful ones like career moves. Each decision pulls from your mental energy for the day which is why we experience decision fatigue after a long day.

You might be experiencing decision fatigue if you are:

Starting the day making thoughtful decisions and end it with poor ones.
Feeling stuck or overwhelmed, even with simple choices.
Making snap decisions without careful thought, usually opting for convenience.
Delaying decisions because they feel too draining.
Feeling easily annoyed when faced with additional choices.
Struggling to focus or think clearly about options.

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Why should you care about decision fatigue?

Because decision fatigue can have a significant impact on your body and mind. When you’re faced with a constant stream of decisions, your mental energy gets depleted. This can lead to physical exhaustion, stress, anxiety, impaired judgement, and difficulty focusing.

Physical exhaustion prevents you from making good choices in the evening like cooking dinner at home rather than stopping for fast food or taking a walk after dinner rather than endlessly scrolling through social media.
Stress or anxiety can be caused by pressure to make choices which can lead to symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, or even digestive issues. Those are just the immediate symptoms; chronic stress and anxiety could have significant long-term effects that could be life-threatening.
Impaired judgement begins to happen as your decision-making ability declines causing you to make impulsive or poor choices. You might find yourself impulsively purchasing things on social media ads or making unhealthy decisions while shopping at the grocery store.
Difficulty focusing can affect your overall productivity and wellbeing. This could cause you to make mistakes at work or not get things done around the house that you had planned to do.

How do you combat decision fatigue?

Combating decision fatigue involves managing your mental energy and simplifying your decision-making process. Here are some strategies to try:

Create habits and establish routines to build structure and reduce decisions that are repetitive and trivial. For example, a morning routine that includes exercise and flossing will feel automated when you do it rather than making the choice each morning to workout or floss.
Limit your options to reduce choices wherever possible. For example, meal prepping earlier in the week or wearing a capsule wardrobe can save mental effort by reducing or completely removing choices.
Prioritize important decisions that matter most and tackle them earlier in the day when you feel mentally fresh. This doesn’t necessarily prevent decision fatigue but can prevent some of the stress or anxiety caused by making a bad or unhealthy choice.
Take breaks by stepping away from decision making to recharge your mental energy. Use reminders or alarms that go off to automate these breaks, taking the decision to take the break off your plate. A short walk, some self-care, or meditation session is a great way to recharge your mental energy.
Practice mindfulness which allows you to experience greater awareness and focus and alleviate the mental strain of constant decision-making. Mindfulness can help improve focus, reduce mental clutter, increase self-awareness, and promote thoughtful choices.
Stop multi-tasking! Trying to juggle multiple tasks involves switching between decisions which further strains the brain.
Stop over committing and taking on too many responsibilities. This can result in decision overload. Be realistic about what you can do in one day and prioritize the things most important to you.

When you’re faced with countless choices, big or small, your brain’s capacity to weigh options and make sound judgements diminishes over time leading to bad choices, procrastination, and regret. The key to combating decision fatigue is to simplify your choices, create routines, and focus your energy on the decisions that matter most.