I’m on Amazon shopping for a gift. After an hour of comparing options, I … shut off my computer in utter overwhelm. I buy nothing because I can’t make up my mind which is the best choice.
Decision fatigue affects our ability to choose the best between two options. Especially energy-consuming is choosing between two (or more!) good options. If we are experiencing decision fatigue we will find it hard to exercise self-control. We will have tendencies to make either impulsive decisions or be unwilling to make any decision at all, or we may simply choose our default or the status quo, whatever worked before. Think how marketers use this to their advantage. What is found at checkouts everywhere? Candy and pop. The store knows shoppers will impulse buy because they are mentally tired and naturally want something to give them a boost. Judge’s favorable rulings drop as their day progresses, but rises again after a break. It appears that as decision fatigue sets in, they default to “No.” Companies like Apple and Trader Joe’s deliberately limit choices in order to simplify the decision process. They know that too many options put customers into decision fatigue causing them to purchase nothing at all.
Recognize when your brain is fatigued and postpone decisions. At the end of a day of mental work, your body is also fatigued. (I didn’t know this fact, but studies show that mentally taxing activities also drain our physical energy.)
Stop. Walk away from decision making and provide your body and mind with reinforcements so you can again make good decisions.
Eat something healthy and drink water. Our brain needs calories to function, blood sugar lows are tied to decision-making fatigue. So replenish with healthy food.
Then move your body, walking works for me.
Always express gratitude to God and others. Being grateful puts you in a positive frame of mind and connects you to God and others.
Pray. Ask God for wisdom.
These will refresh your mind and body and spirit and give you strength to make wise decisions again.
Plan ahead for times when your self-control and wisdom are low. Have things in place to take over for lack of willpower. Make decisions in a time of strength to carry you thru in times of weakness. This can be as simple as preparing food ahead so when your willpower is depleted, healthy food is the most accessible and convenient. This can be as life-changing as making important decisions about morality boundaries before your choice is clouded by emotion and fatigue.
Simplify. Lifestyle habits that simplify our lives save precious mental energy. Some folks, like me, have only a few outfits that they habitually wear so morning wardrobe decisions are minimized. Others make a ritual of choosing their clothes the night before to avoid morning decisions. Many people, like me, eat the same thing for breakfast every day so that their morning routine is fixed and no decisions are needed. Many find that having a day (or more) off each week from social media gives them extra time in their day and less stress – two things that increase joy. Do what it takes up front to free yourself from micro-decisions. Maybe an auto-ship program for your frequently purchased items, or electronic reminders for items on your calendar. Habits and technology can automate our day and save brain power for the important things.
Develop good habits. Habits that are healthy mentally, physically and spiritually, are our friends that both prevent decision fatigue and circumvent it. If we habitually read our Bible and pray, we don’t have to use brain resources to decide to read or not, we just do it every day. If we get up tired after a bad night’s sleep, we don’t have to rely on willpower, we have a habit in place to take over and push us to read. If we habitually eat lots of fresh produce, when we come home tired and hungry, we’ll have fruit and veggies in the fridge ready to eat. When we are tired and come up against a moral dilemma, our habit of choosing right and holding to our previous commitment will help us power through and do the right thing again when we’re too tired or emotional to reason out the pros and cons. What habits could you develop to help you make good decisions automatically? Keep at it! Remember that on average it takes two months to establish a habit. (But it can take up to six months, so hang in there.)
Helpful Info
“Approximately 20 percent of the calories we expend daily are used by our brains. Because brain activity is so costly, things like self-control and decision making cannot be relied on indefinitely. As a result, willpower is a limited resource.
Like a muscle, willpower becomes fatigued when exercised too frequently. All the decisions you make throughout the day deplete your willpower, and when you start running out of steam your ability to choose healthy food over more convenient food rapidly diminishes.
For one thing, it shows that willpower is not particularly reliable as a means to achieve lasting weight loss, and we’re better off spending our efforts creating healthy habits.
It also teaches us that any habit we wish to develop needs to impart a meaningful reward in order for it to stick. You can probably guess that some vague promise of future thinness is not sufficient––the reward for any habit needs to be immediate and tangible.
This means that in order to achieve long-term weight control you need to find healthy foods you actually enjoy eating, physical activities you like doing, and spend your time making these as convenient and accessible as possible.” Dr. Darya Rose in Summer Tomato http://www.summertomato.com/use-your-brain-to-lose-weight
“People have a tough time of self-monitoring for exhaustion: We don’t excel at fitting our workloads to our energy levels.
What’s the consequence? Decision fatigue seems to be the mental equivalent of hanger, that dreaded combination of hunger and anger. As decision after decision depletes your willpower, John Tierney, the Times writer, says you’ll eventually do one of two dumb things:
- Act impulsively: Since you have no energy to think about consequences
- Do nothing: Since you have no energy to agonize
In this way, if we don’t learn to manage our energy, we won’t be able to manage our decisions. Drake Bauer of Fast Company
No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price. John Tierney, “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength”
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https://blog.bufferapp.com/are-you-too-tired-to-make-good-decisions-the-rise-of-decision-fatigue
http://www.summertomato.com/use-your-brain-to-lose-weight