Approach Of Decision Making – 7 Ways To Avoid Decision Fatigue
Want to learn a different approach of decision making? Here are 7 ways to avoid decision fatigue when making decisions.
Let’s chat about a different approach of decision making.
The ideas here will help you specifically learn how to avoid decision fatigue.
So here’s the deal: when you are overwhelmed with having to make multiple decisions, each decision you make reduces your ability to make good decisions.
And it can quickly reach the point that you’ll actually avoid making decisions after a certain threshold is reached.
Approach Of Decision Making
FYI: There are only so many good decisions we can make each day on any given day.
Decision fatigue actually refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making that often leads to making poor choices or impulse spending.
These decisions include even the little things like what to wear today, what to make the kids for lunch, what to focus your time on.
You might notice that self-regulation also begins to suffer when you are experiencing decision fatigue.
This is why you’re more likely to eat unhealthy food or do something else detrimental to your well-being at night (so that’s explains so much, right?
You have already made so many decisions that day that come nighttime you feel tempted to give up).
Have you ever noticed that many successful people tend to make poor decisions at night?
These self-destructive decisions often come after a long day of making important decisions at work.
In my long political career, most of the mistakes I made, I made when I was too tired, because I tried too hard and worked too hard. You make better decisions when you’re not too tired. Bill Clinton
Approach Of Decision Making
Here are 7 strategies to avoid decision fatigue and make wiser decisions:
Approach Of Decision Making
TIP # 1 – Make important decisions early in the day and during times of low stress.
When you’re relaxed and in your safe space, you will have more freedom to kick back and make decisions without any pressure or distractions.
Approach Of Decision Making
TIP # 2 – Choose your clothes the night before.
It’s mentally exhausting to search around for clothes that match when it’s time for work.
- You can also limit the scope of your wardrobe and achieve the same effect.
- Steve Jobs and Barack Obama were famous for their limited wardrobes. Both felt that the fewer decisions they had to make each day, the better.
Approach Of Decision Making
TIP # 3 – Plan your day the night before.
Then, you just need to put your head down and get to work.
You’ve already made the basic choices of how you’re going to spend your day.
All that’s left to do is perform the necessary actions.
- For example, know what you’re having for lunch, breakfast, and dinner before you go to bed.
- What are the most important things you have to do tomorrow? When will you do them?
- This will leave you with a greater ability to make good decisions the next day.
Approach Of Decision Making
TIP # 4 – Keep your life simple.
A complex life is fatiguing.
The fatigue extends to your ability to make decisions.
Our brains weren’t designed to handle ongoing complexity.
A simple life is so much easier on your brain and will allow you to make better decisions.
Approach Of Decision Making
TIP # 5 – Delegate decisions.
Not all decisions have to be made by you.
Let someone else pick the restaurant and the movie.
Allow one of your employees to make the less-critical decisions.
Let your kids decide what you’re going to do this weekend.
Avoid decision fatigue by requiring others to make some decisions.
You seriously don’t need to make every decision yourself.
Approach Of Decision Making
TIP # 6 – Take a nap.
When you are sleep deprived, it is so much easier to make crappy decisions.
This is why I recommend taking a short nap when you really need to refuel your tank.
This is a great way to rejuvenate your mental faculties and sleeping for just 10-30 minutes will definitely recharge your decision-making capacity.
Approach Of Decision Making
TIP # 7 – Know your priorities.
When you know what is important to you, decisions become easier to make.
In the end, quick decisions don’t encourage a lot of decision fatigue.
This has actually been the secret to me getting so much more done in my life and business – JUST DECIDE.
You’ll avoid torturing yourself over all of your decisions you have to make if you understand which decisions matter and which don’t.
All in all, the quality of your decisions influences the quality of your career, health, relationships, and overall success.
The reality is poor decisions lead to personal challenges.
These challenges include financial issues, work and school difficulties, health problems, and other personal and social issues.
The more decisions you need to make, the more risk you run of experiencing decision fatigue.
You need to remember that each decision you make has a biological cost.
After making too many decisions, you’re more likely to argue with your partner, make unnecessary purchases, and eat junk food.
Approach Of Decision Making
As your brain fatigues it begins to search for shortcuts.
One of these shortcuts is to make decisions quickly and recklessly.
After all, thinking takes energy. YOU DON’T HAVE TO OVERTHINK EVERYTHING!
The other alternative is to refuse to make a decision at all until you feel more rested again.
Approach Of Decision Making
It is better to postpone a decision than try to force or rush one.
This is something we should simply be aware of as many people aren’t privy to the consequences of decision fatigue or poor decision-making when you are mentally exhausted.
Take it easy.
Take your time.
There is no need to rush it.
And also do whatever you can to minimise or simplify the decision-making process for yourself as decision fatigue is not something fun to experience!
When our physical energy slumps, so does the quality of our decisions. Michael Hyatt
Decision fatigue crushes willpower. Robyn Conely Downs
When you understand the power of a 5 second decision and you understand that you always have a choice to go from autopilot to decision maker, everything in your life will change. Mel Robbins
Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking. Malcolm Gladwell
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.