Ever find yourself trying to think through making a decision and feeling completely overwhelmed? If yes, you’re not alone. That’s one of the many symptoms of decision fatigue, which more and more of us tend to experience.
Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions you make, which tends to occur after a long period of decision-making. But the catch here is that most of us don’t realize the invisible decisions we make throughout our day before the big decisions overwhelm us.
Whether it’s deciding what to eat for breakfast, choosing an outfit to wear, or figuring out what workout you’re going to do at the gym, these are all micro-decisions you are doing in a day that require brain power. It’s no wonder that after making a dozen of these seemingly unimportant decisions once you get to the more serious ones, your brain is exhausted.
Thankfully, there are ways you can overcome decision fatigue. You can implement various strategies that help conserve mental energy and improve the quality of your decision-making throughout the whole day.
1. PRIORITIZE AND LIMIT DECISIONS
Start by identifying and focusing on the most critical decisions that require your attention. Avoid spending mental energy on trivial decisions that don’t have a significant impact, such as what color socks you’re going to wear today.
We highly recommend you set limits on non-essential decisions by creating routines or default options. For example, creating a consistent morning routine is a method that would save you at least 10 decisions right from the get-go. Another great idea would be to create a meal plan so that you know what you’re eating every day of the work week.
2. ESTABLISH DECISION-MAKING CRITERIA
If you tend to not even know where to start when faced with a few options, then developing a set of criteria or guidelines to aid your decision-making process would be helpful. Develop these predefined standards or values for different areas of your life, such as professional and personal to start, to streamline your choices and reduces the mental effort required for each decision.
3. CREATE AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT FOR DECISION-MAKING
Your room — or office — is a reflection of your mental state. But it also works the other way around: when the space you’re in is clean, you will be able to think clearer and make better decisions. To reduce the number of distractions and unnecessary choices in your environment, clear clutter, organize your workspace, and minimize the number of options presented to you.
4. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness exercises, such as deep breathing or meditation, can help reduce mental fatigue and increase your ability to make thoughtful decisions. So by cultivating mindfulness techniques, you will be able to stay present and focused during decision-making.
5. SEEK SUPPORT AND INPUT FROM OTHERS
Lastly, don’t hesitate to seek advice or input from trusted colleagues, friends, or mentors. Some decisions are complex and an outsider’s point of view can be really helpful. Not only would you gain fresh perspectives, but such collaborative decision-making can alleviate the burden of making every choice alone.
What’s important to keep in mind as you apply this advice is that decision fatigue can vary from person to person. Therefore, it’s essential to experiment with different strategies and find what works best for you in both your personal and professional life.