Only So Many Good Decisions a Day

I am an avid learner who looks for ways to improve mine or my employees or my participants (students’) lives. As a Learning and Development professional, I am both committed to and passionate about learning something so I can share it and hopefully help others improve their personal or professional lives for the better.

Recently, I was searching through Youtube videos for inspiration on being more productive. Some would say I am too productive (i.e. workaholic). I won’t dispute that either way. I just know that we all have a lot of balancing acts and I wanted to see if there are new concepts I was missing. Well when watching one of Jim Kwik’s videos, he said something intriguing. He said (I’m paraphrasing based on my understanding of his speech) that it’s been proven that human beings can only make so many good decisions a day.

I’ve heard that before but really didn’t believe that it’s true.  I mean, humans with discipline and focus can surely make as many good decisions as they want to in a day, right?

That’s when I searched trusty Google for various articles on “Decision Fatigue.” There are many available such as this one from the NY Times. This article explains, including examples of research done, just what it is and how it can affect even the most well-meaning of us.  I started to think about the many examples of when folks may have made poor decisions. Like when you go to Costco with a list and end up with way more than what you went in for. Or when I’ve chosen to get that one small bag of chips as a reward for the grueling day at work. One article even talks about how our bodies crave glycogen when the brain gets tired from too many decisions. Now, I’m not saying I should abdicate my choice to eat chips instead of drinking water and going for a walk instead. What I’m saying is that I began to realize that the concept of decision fatigue is real.

And to save my mind for big decisions and my tummy from splurging on too many chips, I decided to do the following:

1. Minimize less important decisions such as:
   • What to wear to work each day. I know Steve JObs and Mark Zuckerburg and even President Obama pared down their wardrobes to avoid wasting important decision making power on what to wear each day, but I decided not to go to that extreme. Instead, I plan what I am going to wear each day of the week on Sunday. I purchased a plastic valet arm that holds 7 days worth of clothes. I pick all my outfits for the workweek (5 days) including jewelry.  This is based on the weather from Accuweather. I know it may change, but for the most part it’s pretty accurate. Then I iron them and hang the starting with Monday’s outfit.  This saves me from fumbling around in the morning trying to decide what to wear.
   • Family Meals- although I would love to cook every night, it’s unrealistic with the long commute and my kids’ and spouse’s evening activities. That’s where cooking on Sunday or purchasing food that can be warmed up or take out that we have scheduled to order on a given day has allowed me to relax about food choices for my family.
   • Workout Schedule– setting up weekly appointments with my spouse (accountability buddy) to go to the gym helps me to stay on track. We may miss days periodically, but if we have already agreed on which days to work out, it makes it harder to find an excuse not to go. Plus we know it’s good for us both mentally and physically so opting out shouldn’t be an option but often has been. This is helping us both get in the workout time we need.
2. Create a morning routine. Many great leaders also have a morning routine. This includes what to eat, when to get up, and energizing activities such as meditation, BURST training (aka HIIT), planning and journaling. My routine contains all of this. At least for the work day. I don’t eat the same breakfast on the weekends, but I do on the week days. Mostly because it’s easy to get my healthy shake and apple cider vinegar, lemon, and chia seed drink ready the night before so all I have to do is grab it on my way out the door.
3. Time big decisions. If I know I’ll have to make some critical decisions, I won’t do it when I’m hungry, at the end of a long workday, or if I am emotionally upset. The recommendation to “sleep on it” is a good one. We make our best decisions in the morning when we are fresh and haven’t yet headed down the road to decision fatigue. If we do have to make a big decision, we should get some healthy food in us and have allowed our mind a mental break. We still may not make the most resourceful or insightful decision, but it is much better than rushing to decide when we are already exhausted and hangry.
4. Plan monthly, weekly, daily. I have always been a big planner. Ever since I started working in a real company back in the early 90s. The bank I was working for put me through a time management class called Franklin Quest. Back then, we had paper planners that had pages that had sections for appointments, tasks and notes. Since then, I have been a big fan of to-do lists based on big goals or projects with tasks prioritized into my work day. If possible, I actually schedule time for important tasks rather than just leaving my whole Outlook calendar looking like most of my time is free. When others try to book time with me, they’ll see that I only have specific times available. This is to ensure that those critical work tasks are given their appropriate attention and not just filtered in between “fires.” I do still love paper planners, but I mostly use it now to document important events, memories, and goals. In fact, I am creating my own version which I’ll eventually share in another post.
5. Practice Self Care. If I am not emotionally or physically at my best, I know that my decisions won’t be either. That’s why I have created my morning routine, but I also add in self-care activities such as reading or watching inspiring Youtube videos or doing some arts and crafts projects. By mentally giving myself permission to put me second (after my husband and kids), I don’t feel as guilty if I am not spending every waking moment on work. I say I put myself second, because if it came to doing something for my kids or my husband or doing something for me, well… I’m going to do something for them. Luckily, I do have a husband and kids who are also very sensitive to me and will often do things for me first too. It’s a two way street. But I know many leaders will say, you have to put yourself first (i.e. put on your own oxygen mask first before helping another). Either way, just don’t put yourself last. Make time each day or at least multiple times a week to take care of you- your mind, body, spirit, heart. It will pay off in better decisions.

So do we have limited good decision-making abilities each day? I have to say, after thinking through some of my personal and work decisions, I see that many which didn’t work out as they should be made when my mental, emotional, or physical energies were at their lowest. So yes, decision fatigue is real. Don’t let it ruin your next big, important, life-changing decision.

Take time to put your plans in place. And hopefully, you too will find more mental, emotional, and spiritual energy is available when those critical decisions arise!

Have you experienced decision fatigue? Do you have some other tips in helping to make better decisions each and every day? Share in the comments below or feel free to email me.

Looking forward to your thoughts and ideas!