It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.
Tony Robbins
As leaders of our families, we face numerous responsibilities on a daily basis that can be overwhelming and stressful. Even small decisions we make every day can have a major impact on our lives, which is why it’s crucial to make the right decisions at the right time.
Making the right decision when you are in a good mood, aware, and focused can be easy, but how are your quality of decisions when you are at the end of the day and you are tired and stressed out from the day’s activities? These are the times we start lacking quality in our decision-making, leaving us vulnerable to decision Fatigue.
What is decision fatigue?
According to Dictionary.com, Decision Fatigue is the mental and emotional exhaustion resulting from excessive or relentless decision-making, especially the cumulative effect of small decisions that one makes in the day. Throughout the day we may have to make a lot of small, less important decisions that can lead to decision fatigue later on in the day. This can have a negative effect on our lives, causing us to feel overwhelmed, burnt out, and even depressed.
Effects of Decision Fatigue
As men, a lot of our decisions can have a significant impact on our families, and while we may not be the president of the United States or the CEO of a major company, bad decisions can still cause chaos that puts us and our loved ones in a bad predicament. Therefore, it’s essential to understand the importance of avoiding decision fatigue and putting things in place to ensure that we don’t get to that point.
How to combat decision fatigue
One person who understood the importance of avoiding decision Fatigue was Steve Jobs. He wore the same thing every day to avoid having to make a simple yet important decision about what to wear. The look he wore every day which became his signature look was a black turtleneck, blue jeans, and New Balance shoes. Seen below. Now do you have to go to this extreme? Maybe, maybe not. While we don’t necessarily have to go to that extreme, we can simplify our lives to where certain small decisions are automatic, allowing us to focus on more important decisions and avoid decision fatigue.
Here 4 things I believe we can do to avoid Decision Fatigue:
- Implement automated procedures such as AutoPay and checklists.
- Organize your decision-making by prioritizing tasks.
- Cultivate positive routines and behaviors.
- Incorporate regular breaks and activities that replenish mental energy to sustain clear thinking.
Implement automated procedures such as AutoPay and checklists.
Streamlining your life can lead to a more efficient life. We can eliminate some of the recurring decisions we have to make daily, weekly, and monthly by automating it. Now, I am not saying you have to wear the same thing every day like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, but we can do things such as setting up autopay and preparing for the next day the night before. With all the technology we have now, we could streamline our days. I don’t ever have to think if my alarm to the house is on, or if the sprinklers are going to go on. It is all automated, one less decision I have to make, helping me avoid decision fatigue.
Organize your decision-making by prioritizing tasks
Some decisions are more important than others and require more brain powers than others. For example, deciding what color suit you want to wear to your wife’s friend’s wedding is probably not as important as what you are going to include in your presentation to important stakeholders at your job.
It is said that the more important the decision, the earlier in the day you should make the decision. The morning is when we make the most accurate and thoughtful decisions. We tend to be more cautious and meticulous. Your time is yours to take control of, so having designated times for making certain decisions can be a great way to avoid decision fatigue.
Build positive routines and behaviors.
Routines are a great way to automate decisions and limit our choices. If you have a goal to run a marathon, make running every day a part of your daily routine. Think of yourself as a runner, now it’s no longer a decision you have to make. It’s now part of who you are. This can apply to many areas of your life. For instance, making up your bed, reading your Bible, investing time in your family. If you make it part of who you are, you won’t have to worry about deciding to do it or not.
Incorporate regular breaks and activities that replenish mental energy
Take care of your most important asset. Your mind! Taking care of ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually can help you avoid decision fatigue. I know our minds may be running at a very high rate with the thoughts and plans that we have for the entire day, but if we don’t take time off to simply rest our mind and body then we are more likely to experience decision fatigue. we have to take time to get our blood flowing, do some meditation, and brain dumping, and get enough rest at night. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we enhance our cognitive functioning and ability to make sound decisions throughout the day.
Wrap up
Our daily decision-making is what determines our outcomes for the day and beyond. Decision Fatigue can cause even the most capable people to make irrational decisions. The more decisions we make on a daily, or weekly basis, the more likely we are to make poor decisions. Eventually, our brains start looking for shortcuts, leading us to make bad decisions that could have long-lasting negative effects on our lives.
The little Engineer that could! Ryian Williams, wears multiple hats as a husband, father, author, speaker, and engineer. Driven by his enthusiasm for coaching and uplifting men, he has embraced the lifelong mission of guiding men toward becoming the most authentic versions of themselves
Great read as usual!
What a word brother! I felt your entire message and it especially resonated with me when you touched on incorporating regular breaks to replenish your mental energy. I tend to go go go; in order to achieve as much as possible and try and get as much done as I can. But I really just end up tired and feeling unaccomplished. I will be taking some of those steps more seriously like mediating and getting good sleep, so that I can have a sharp mind for the day and decisions ahead.