- Put sleep on your side. “Sleep is tremendously important for willpower and decision-making,” Baumeister says. …
- Make some choices automatic. People make thousands of decisions each day, Schwartz says. …
- Enlist a choice adviser. …
- Give your expectations a reality check. …
- Pace yourself. …
- Tune into how you’re feeling.
It’s 4 p. m. You need to focus, but you have a deadline at the end of the day, five new things on your to-do list, and urgent emails to respond to. Gosh, you think, I need a quick energy fix. You had intended to work out in the afternoon, but given that it would require getting dressed for the gym and choosing an activity, wouldn’t it be simpler to just stop by Starbucks for a coffee and a brownie?
In essence, decision fatigue is mental exhaustion brought on by the sheer volume of decisions a person must make each day, which results in difficulty making—or making good—decisions. So what is decision fatigue, and what impact does it have in and outside of the workplace? That might make sense if your choices are based on business strategy (what is the best marketing strategy for the new product?) or potentially life-altering options (should I accept that new job?) However, the human brain can engage in the same decision-making process when deciding what to eat for lunch or what to wear to work.
Your manager has asked you to come up with a schedule for a project, and you need to make several decisions about whom to include, what steps are required, and what the end goal is You cannot begin the project because there are too many decision-making opportunities.
Stress can be brought on by the emotional effects of decision fatigue in all areas of a person’s life, not just at work. It can be difficult to make any decision at all, even regarding a pleasurable activity—picking a movie to watch or a game to play for family game night, for example—when there is too much ambiguity and there are too many options, plus the added pressure to make the best decision.
How to Avoid Decision Fatigue
Why is it important to recognize decision fatigue?
It’s critical to recognize decision fatigue because doing so can help you avoid negative consequences, such as burnout symptoms. You can conserve energy, boost productivity at work, and feel less stressed by overcoming decision fatigue.
What is decision fatigue?
Decision fatigue is an effect that occurs when a persons decision-making ability decreases after making several decisions Decision fatigue causes a person to feel mentally worn out and stressed, which can result in burnout. By keeping an eye out for symptoms like procrastinating and avoiding decisions, you can spot decision fatigue.
10 ways to avoid decision fatigue
Despite the possibility that making decisions at work is inevitable, there are steps you can take to reduce decision fatigue, including:
1. Prioritize your decisions
Prioritizing your decisions is one way to prevent decision fatigue. Try to identify the most crucial tasks you need to complete when you are making your workday plan. By addressing important decisions early in the day, you can prevent decision fatigue.
2. Create a decision-making process
You can prevent decision fatigue by developing a decision-making process. A streamlined set of steps that you can use each time you need to make a decision is a decision-making process. You can develop a decision-making process by thinking back on your previous choices and developing a method that works for you. This can enable you to make decisions more quickly and with less effort.
3. Plan ahead
Planning ahead is a crucial strategy for avoiding decision fatigue as it can help you avoid having to make quick decisions throughout the day. Try, for instance, to decide what to wear to work the night before. This can spare you from having to decide in the morning and give you more energy to make crucial decisions at work.
4. Create routines
Additionally, you can create routines to help you avoid decision fatigue. You can make fewer decisions if you follow a set schedule every day. For instance, you don’t need to choose your bedtime every day if you already know what time you go to sleep. You can prevent decision fatigue from small decisions by following routines.
5. Avoid unnecessary decisions
Avoiding unnecessary decisions is a simple additional method to prevent decision fatigue. You can accomplish this by having a process in place for making decisions that come up frequently at work or by automating some decisions. This can enable you to save your energy for more crucial choices.
6. Take care of yourself
It’s also crucial to look after yourself when battling decision fatigue. By controlling your stress, taking breaks throughout the day, and establishing healthy sleeping and eating routines, you can take care of yourself.
7. Recognize your good decisions
Its also important to recognize your good decisions. When you decide well, try to give yourself some time to think about it and reward yourself. You can do this to maintain your motivation and prevent burning out.
8. Create decision time limits
Another efficient strategy to prevent decision fatigue is to set decision time limits. By putting a time limit on making a decision, you dont spend too much time on making one decision You can use that time and energy to complete other tasks and make decisions.
9. Commit to decisions
Committing to previous decisions is another suggestion for preventing decision fatigue. Once you’ve made a wise, informed decision, make an effort to stick with it. You can do this to conserve energy and complete other tasks.
10. Make big decisions when you have more energy
To prevent decision fatigue, try to make important decisions when you’re more energized. Avoid making decisions when you’re hungry or when you’re tired later in the day. Instead, make decisions that will have a significant impact on your life when you are at your most energetic.
Examples of decision fatigue
Here are some instances of decision fatigue in the real world and strategies for avoiding it:
Interviewing job candidates
Making decisions while interviewing job candidates requires a significant amount of thought because you must take into account each applicant. After a long day of interviews, you might feel exhausted by your decisions. In this case, using a streamlined interview process and taking breaks between interviews would help you avoid decision fatigue.
Planning your outfits for work
Making a decision about what to wear in the morning before going to work can require a lot of energy. In this situation, choosing your work clothes the night before rather than the morning could help you avoid decision fatigue. In this way, you can wake up knowing what you’re going to wear, freeing your mind to concentrate on more crucial work decisions.
Dealing with product issues
You might make good decisions at first if your company’s new software product is having issues, but as you spend more time fixing the issue, the quality of your decisions may decline. You could avoid decision fatigue in this situation by taking breaks from work and engaging in self-care.
FAQ
Why do I have decision fatigue?
Being forced to make too many decisions over an extended period of time is what leads to decision fatigue. Users start the decision-making process by carefully weighing their options.
How do you deal with decision overload?
- No more than a few (three or four) significant decisions should be made each day.
- Schedule crucial meetings in the morning and make the majority of your important decisions early in the day when you’re relatively fresh in terms of mental energy.
How do you stop decision-making?
“A person with decision fatigue may feel exhausted, have confusion, or experience other physical or mental signs and symptoms,” Dr. MacLean explained. The phenomenon is cumulative, so as the person makes more decisions throughout the day, they may begin to feel worse or more exhausted.
