How to Defeat Decision Fatigue
I checked in with a pastor friend last week to see how he was doing in these challenging days. He responded that he was “hanging in there,” but as I pressed him a bit more, he said, “I am struggling with decision fatigue. With circumstances and situations being so fluid, every day I have to make so many decisions…and I’m worn out.”
I understood the feeling he was describing. I’ve been there before myself. But the term “decision fatigue” was new to me. So, I did some research and sure enough, it’s real! Coined by social psychologist Roy Baumeister, decision fatigue occurs after an extended season of fast-paced and far-reaching decision-making.
Decision fatigue occurs after an extended season of fast-paced and far-reaching decision-making.
Every day is filled with decisions. From the moment we wake up to the time we go to bed, the average person has made 35,000 decisions. They can be as minor as breakfast or no breakfast…which route to take to work…going to the gym or not…which TV show to watch.
But for pastors and leaders, there are so many more decisions. And they carry major implications. Open up the church or keep it shut down? Preach the planned sermon or change it? Address the social unrest yet again or move on? Confront that staff member or let the issue pass?
The decisions are unending and the pressure to make the right ones are unrelenting. So how can one defeat decision fatigue?
Here are some suggestions I came across in my research.
1. Make fewer decisions.
The best way to reduce decision fatigue is to reduce the number of decisions you have to make in a given day. Look for ways to streamline your choices. Avoid random decision-making by using lists throughout your day. To-do lists keep us on track. Shopping lists help us avoid walking up and down grocery aisles trying to decide what to buy.
The best way to reduce decision fatigue is to reduce the number of decisions you have to make in a given day. Look for ways to streamline your choices.
Plan your meals the night before, so you know what you’re having for breakfast, whether or not you’re going to pack a lunch and what you’ll make for dinner. Stop trying on 10 different outfits in the morning; pick out your clothes ahead of time. Find ways to automate certain decisions, such as signing up for automatic bill pay for recurring bills. Instead of thinking through which route to take when driving somewhere, use a GPS to help you navigate where you need to go.
2. Delegate decisions.
You can delegate decisions the same way you delegate tasks. By giving responsibility for decision-making to other people, you reduce the number of decisions on your plate.
By giving responsibility for decision-making to other people, you reduce the number of decisions on your plate.
Consider your responsibilities in your home life, work, and elsewhere. Are there obligations you can delegate to someone else? Managers can delegate some decisions to employees. Spouses can delegate decisions to each other. Parents can delegate certain things to children.
When done right, delegating can not only clear things off your plate, it can empower people and show them that you trust them.
3. Make big decisions in the morning.
Researchers have found that time of day impacts our judgment and our ability to make the best decisions. It might seem to make sense that morning people make their best decisions in the morning and night owls make their best decisions at night, but studies have found this just isn’t so.
For most of us, the best time of day is in the morning. That’s when we have the most energy to make accurate and thoughtful decisions. By afternoon, most people hit a plateau, and in the evening, as fatigue sets in, we start making riskier snap decisions.
The best time of day to make important decisions is in the morning. That’s when we have the most energy to make accurate and thoughtful decisions.
So, if you have a big decision that requires careful consideration, aim to make it in the morning.
4. Establish daily routines that minimize decision making.
There’s a reason why some of the greatest leaders in the United States wear the same outfits on a daily basis. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Barack Obama are always shown wearing the same colored shirts or suits. This isn’t a coincidence.
Baumeister and his colleagues found that the most successful people conserve their energy by developing effective habits and routines to help reduce the amount of stress in their lives. Developing regular routines for menial tasks (like getting dressed) conserves their brain space and energy for larger decisions.
The most successful people conserve their energy by developing effective habits and routines to help reduce the amount of stress in their lives.
5. Pull back from the chaos.
There’s a reason why some of your best ideas and decisions are made when you’re in the shower or on a walk outside. When you pull away from demands of daily life, you relax the prefrontal cortex, the “thinking” part of your brain.
When you disengage, this area subconsciously presents new and existing knowledge that you weren’t able to tap into when you were surrounded by the buzz of the workday. By giving your brain a break, you allow it to make improved neural connections and ultimately better decisions.
There’s a reason why some of your best ideas and decisions are made when you’re in the shower or on a walk outside. By giving your brain a break, you allow it to make improved neural connections and ultimately better decisions.
6. Eat a healthy snack.
It may seem like a simple tip, but hunger is scientifically linked to your desire to make impulsive decisions. When you are hungry, your stomach produces the hormone ghrelin, which decreases impulse control.
So eating a healthy snack can give you the jolt you need to be more thoughtful and to avoid making a wrong decision. Next time you have a long meeting or a working session that results in mental fatigue, buffer in time before your next task or meeting to munch on a piece of fruit or granola bar.
Hunger is scientifically linked to your desire to make impulsive decisions. Eating a healthy snack can give you the jolt you need to be more thoughtful and to avoid making a wrong decision.
There’s no way to avoid making decisions, but with a few of these tips in your toolbox, you’ll be able to quickly identify when fatigue is setting in and how to combat it.
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