Fighting Off Decision Fatigue

Decision fatigue is real, and not only is it emotionally draining, it can also be detrimental to business. Every single day is filled with small decisions that add up, ranging from what to wear and what to eat for lunch all the way to which route to take to the office and which tasks to prioritize for the day. To fight off decision fatigue, the best thing you can do is systemize your routine in order to eliminate some of the mental load that you experience on a daily basis.

When I was in elementary school, my parents made me and my sister pick out our outfits ahead of time for the week because they were tired of fighting with us over what to wear. Every morning was a constant struggle because it always felt like we had nothing to wear, despite having a full closet of options. They bought each of us an organizer with daily labels, and they set aside time for us to pick out our outfits every Sunday, offering to help us when needed. Once we had decided on an outfit, it went into its designated spot for the day we planned to wear it. This meant no more having to think about what to wear each morning; we grabbed our outfit, put it on, ate breakfast, and then left the house for school.

We developed this routine to make it easier on all of us. I can laugh about it now, but it was a very serious matter at 8-years-old, and it felt like my parents didn’t understand the struggle. The mental load of decision-making may be different at various points throughout our life, but it never really goes away. In fact, as adults, we have significantly more responsibility than we did as children, which means we have more to balance both personally and professionally. I still sometimes find myself picking out my outfits ahead of time when I know I have important events or meetings to attend so that I am not panicking trying to find clothes that I’m happy with at the last minute. Sometimes I even plan out my lunches for the week so that it’s one less thing to think about.

Routines create structure and stability. If you know that every workday you will start out with checking your email, then you will check it again at lunch and another time in the afternoon, then you eliminate the constant back and forth of checking your inbox and getting distracted from your other tasks. Most emails can wait a few hours, and if they can’t then the other person will likely reach out in another manner as well. Another helpful habit is taking some time at the end of each day to plan out the following day. We start losing energy by late afternoon anyway, and by taking the time to prioritize your tasks for the next day, you can jump right into your work when you get to the office.

While this does not entirely eliminate the need to make decisions throughout the day, it does reduce the effects of decision fatigue because you don’t feel the weight of the decision at the time of action. The reason this is so important is because many people shut down when they feel overwhelmed, which means that nothing gets done. The more choices we have to make at a time, the worse our decision-making quality gets. So instead of wearing yourself out to the point of inaction or poor choices, establishing a routine can create a healthy system for dealing with everything that needs to get done. Don’t let decision fatigue get in your way. Take control by creating a daily routine that works with you, not against you, and that energizes you instead of drains you.

-Meghan Slaughter