From the moment we open our eyes every morning, we are bombarded with choices. From small—what should I wear today or eat for breakfast?—to large,—how should I tackle this important work project?—we use up valuable mental energy making each decision.
The concept of decision fatigue was first documented by social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister describing how our mental and emotional stress positively correlates with the number of choices we need to make.
Simply put, we often use up our capacity making less important decisions and are left with little energy to focus on the things that are important, complex, and require our best selves.
Why is this Important?
Mental fatigue is a big deal. It can affect your energy levels, decrease your motivation, increase your stress and irritability as well as detachment and anxiety. It can also present physical symptoms and take the joy out of the things you used to love doing.
How then do we combat decision fatigue?
By simplifying everything else.
Where To Start
The first step is determining which areas of your life are most important—the ones that require the bulk of your energy and best self. This might be work, a side business, raising children, building a home, or self-improvement—write down the 1-3 items that you know require the most focus and energy.
This means that other aspects of your daily life should require fewer choices to be made. Often, we find that it’s the other way around, and we’re spending way too much mental energy on things that are actually unimportant to our values and goals in life.
Now, write down a brief list of the choices you make each day. They can be very general—take a look at my example below to get you started!
- Get dressed
- Make breakfast
- Pack lunches
- Prep meals
- Do errands
- Work
- Make supper
- Clean/tidy house
- Plan playtime activities for our child
This list above is a very brief and general idea of some of the tasks and decisions I would complete in a day. When you’re writing yours, keep it general and only include the things you routinely do each day.
Now you can look at this list and proactively decrease the decisions associated with these items.
Simplify Your Decisions
There’s no right or wrong way to streamline the areas of your daily life. Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Routines/Rhythms
Routines have gotten a bad rap, but I find them very handy when it comes to mental fatigue. If the word “routine” makes you cringe, try thinking of it as a fluid rhythm for you or your family instead. The point is to create consistency, so you’re able to operate through your household’s morning, afternoon, or night without overloading your brain with choices.
For example, my current morning rhythm includes waking up, feeding our dogs and chickens, feeding our son, making breakfast for ourselves, spending some time reading and doing devotionals, packing lunches, and getting dressed for the day. It doesn’t always go exactly like this (and that’s okay!), but having this basic flow of events makes it easier to function before I’ve had my morning cup of green tea.
2. Clothing
I’ve totally jumped on the daily uniform bandwagon. I don’t want to think about what to wear each morning, so I stick to jeans and a t-shirt. Reduce the number of items you have to choose from or challenge yourself to declutter your closet.
Tip: For those who love fashion, I heard about an idea recently where you spend 10-15 minutes each week making 5-7 outfits for a weekly mini-capsule wardrobe. You’re still reducing your daily mental fatigue deciding what to wear, but you can still draw from your larger wardrobe and change things up each week!
3. Eating
If you prefer a rigid structure and don’t care about eating the same thing, just eat the same breakfast, lunch, or supper each day! If you need a bit more variety, create a simple meal plan and stick to it! If you are somewhere in between, you can create a hybrid between these two options and figure out what works for you.
Personally, I rotate between 2-3 breakfasts depending on what groceries we have on hand. I have sandwiches or leftovers for lunch, but for supper, I like expending a bit of creativity and not sticking to a rigid meal plan.
When I do meal planning, I plan for “genres” of meals throughout the week. For example, we eat some type of pasta on Monday, a taco-based recipe on Tuesday, a casserole on Wednesday, etc. I like experimenting with new recipes and creating things on the fly, so this plan gives me a bit of structure but freedom to work within it.
4. Cleaning
Again, I’m coming back to rhythms. Stay broad or get as specific as you want, but it’s helpful to set up routines for when you do each chore (i.e., how often you’ll do laundry, clean your bathroom, wash the floors, etc.). Stick to the plan and make it fun with some music or an audiobook.
5. Working
I could write a whole other blog post about reducing work-related decision-making for better efficiency and productivity. For now, I’ll share these tips!
- Each morning (or the day before!) write out the 3 most important things you need to do each day and treat them as your top priority
- Set times that you check emails, inter-office communications, or your phone (put them on do not disturb otherwise)
- Get up and take a break every 90 minutes—this helps your brain reset and refresh
- Clear your desk of anything else that reminds you of other less important decisions that need to be made
- Keep a notebook or electronic list of other less important items. If you think of one while working, write it down and then return to the task at hand (this gives your brain more freedom to focus on your current task).
I hope you’re able to put some of these ideas into practice to reduce your mental fatigue and experience more freedom to focus on the decisions that truly matter.
Little Minimalist on the Prairies 