Do YOU have these symptoms of decision fatigue:
👉 It takes forever to figure out even the simplest stuff
👉 Mental exhaustion (like your brain’s asleep and doesn’t want to wake up)
👉 Inability to focus
👉 Avoiding decisions altogether
👉 At the other end of the spectrum: impulsive decision making
👉 The desire to run away from everyone and everything
Every single thing you say, do and think is a decision….and our brain can only focus on so much before it says “To hell with making decisions! I’m DONE!”
From the moment you wake up you’re making decision after decision after decision….and it doesn’t stop all day! Even checking email, deciding what to wear and which route to take where you’re going uses up a lot of your decision-making energy 😮
By the time you make all these mundane decisions, you’ve got little to no focus and energy left for the bigger, more important, more complicated and challenging ones.
What you need to do is take the pressure off your hard working brain by making the most of your decision-making energy and freeing up your brain space for those big, important decisions 😉
How to overcome decision fatigue:
👉 Reduce the number of decisions you have to make. Put systems and processes in place wherever possible, so things are happening automatically and you can stop “deciding” what needs to get done each time. This can include tech and online automations, or systems and habits you create for yourself.
👉 Narrow down your choices. Having too many choices makes it much harder to come to a decision. Gradually reduce those choices, and the right choice will become clear.
👉 Make the the most of your morning or the time of day you have the most energy. Use this time to think about the big, important, complex and challenging decisions you have to make. Save the easier stuff, like email, social media, etc. for later.
👉 Don’t confuse difficult decisions with urgent decisions. It’s OK to take your time to think about and consider something so you can make the best and most effective decision…not everything needs to be figured out right away.
PRO TIP: if you feel anxiety or extreme indecision about something, it could be your brain’s way of slowing things down so it can sort it out, reconsider and/or gather more data for an informed decision.
👉 Ask for someone’s opinion and input. Sometimes you just need an outside perspective to get out of your own head.
👉 Set a timer for 2 minutes for the simpler decisions. Done. Move on.
👉 Meditate. Yep, taking even just 5 minutes to breath deeply each day can clear your mind, calm you down and increase your focus…a perfect recipe for easy decision making.
As you practice these strategies, you’ll get better and quicker at making decisions, and it’ll be easier for you to get and stay focused on the important stuff.
Comment below and tell me which of these strategies you’re going to try out first!
Yes! If I have too many choices I can’t make a decision. These are great tips!
Thanks so much Wendy – glad you’ve found them helpful! 🙂
Thanks so much for this… great tips. I think I am going to try to make the most of my morning time. Right now I spend too much of that high energy time doing ‘busy work ‘. I think I will focus more on getting the most important items of the day done first (even if they are difficult) and then move on to those necessary, but less important tasks.
Jocelyn you’re getting me all excited over here – these are all AHmazing ideas and I can’t wait to hear how they change things for you 😉