How to bust decision fatigue
Decision fatigue is a well documented mental process where as we make more and more decisions throughout the day we become exhausted and begin to make worse quality decisions.
Classic examples of this are:
Your discipline for food, exercise, budgeting, etc… positive habits wears thin at the end of the day.
Simple choices start to feel really hard.
Your patience for navigating a minor frustration is limited.
Decision fatigue disproportionately affects women, people of color, and the poor. Women typically do more of the social and emotional work of the family and workplace in addition to their professional and home management responsibilities. This = more decisions throughout the day.
In the US, people of color have to navigate a world that is organized around white culture and dominance. Extra navigation and management of cultural norms & expectations = more decisions.
Low income people encounter higher “stakes” when they face a variety of routine responsibilities - doctors visits, transportation, child care, food costs, etc… Each of these tasks presents the potential for a crippling financial event and a difficult trade off. More complex decisions = faster fatigue.
When we are in decision fatigue it is literally harder to make the next decision. In fact, we are more likely just to pick the default choice if there is one. This means we are also likely to pick the well worn and habitual choices rather than the creative or new solution. And, we are more likely to pick things that will give us immediate pleasure or relief rather than long term benefit.
This sounds like a problem, am I right? I am getting anxious just thinking about it….
So working to manage decision fatigue has the day to day benefit of just bringing all our mental fire power and intention to the things we care most about. Basically, its mental hygiene so that we don’t run out of gas in the tank to get where we are really going.
There is some fun in this too. When you reduce insignificant decisions you have more time for fun, creativity, and inspiration oriented decisions -- like, what kind of essential oil do I want for inspiration before I journal today OR Konmari organizing decisions!
But it’s even more important than that. You, Friend, have some killer important and special gifts to offer the world. All of us are in a position to make an impact on the world that only we can make. And the world needs bright, curious, engaged, positive people like us. The more we labor over minutiae and small decisions the less we are able to really tackle the work that we are truly meant to do.
This is why, I’ve been focusing on all the ways we can simplify our life to reduce non-critical decisions. I am drawn like a magnet to any choice that is eliminating “wasteful” decisions -- as in, decisions that aren’t improving the quality of my life or leading to a deeper impact.
Here are some of the things I have been experimenting with. What do you do to simplify and reduce decisions in your life? I’ll put together an email to share all your amazing ideas!
4 dinner meals a week that we repeat for 4-6 weeks before we change it up.
Packing the same lunch for Marnie each day
Capsule wardrobe. It's just about time to simplify further though...I am getting tired of my clothing choices lately.
3 pairs of PJs on repeat.
Simple nighttime skin care routine.
Meditate at the same time every day. For me, right after girls go to bed.
Schedule errands and other tasks on my calendar for the time I am going to do them during the day and week ahead.
Schedule my exercise 1 week out at a time on the calendar
Making simpler recipes
Rarely drinking alcohol (don't think about what to drink, how much, when, etc…)
Scheduling chores for certain days - e.g. water plants on Wednesday
Amazon Subscribe & Save for regular purchases - wipes, laundry detergent,
Subscription purchases in general for consumable things - like razor blades, for instance.
A “watch later” list on You Tube for when I am doing chores or walking on the treadmill.
Generally, just pre-deciding to use up what we have (e.g. tea bags) rather than contemplating new choices.
Avoiding a lot of trips to places like Target that I swear are like decision black holes. Let's be honest they are designed to create decision fatigue so we buy!!!...that's a fact!
I think we all survive via our own forms of simplifying and reducing decisions so I am so excited to be inspired by what you do Friend! Share with me!