Decision Fatigue-the Struggle is Real

The average adult makes thousands of decisions each day. Choosing to read this article is just one of many decisions you'll make today. Some decisions are important, while others may be trivial, but they all compete for our attention. We start the day by deciding to get out of bed. This might be after we decided to roll over to turn off the alarm, or to hit the snooze button one more time.The decisions start from the moment we open our eyes and continue from there.

What should I wear? Do I want to eat breakfast? Is there time to check this website or go through my email? How do I respond to this text?

Open the history on your computer and look at how many pages you've already visited today. Each click a decision on your part to move to another site, or open another window-and deplete your future decision-making ability.

What Is Decision Fatigue?

The more decisions we make, the weaker our decision process becomes. Studies have shown that judges make less favorable decisions by the end of the day. Our brain looks for shortcuts rather than expending more energy to think through the consequences, or instead we avoid deciding by doing nothing.

Decision fatigue is different than physical fatigue because we're not always aware of the depletion of our mental energy. That's one reason stores place impulse items and junk food at the register. Or have you ever wondered why you ended up with those extra warranties when you made a large purchase? Our mind wants to default to the easy decision, which can result in:

• Making less-desirable decisions
• Reduced willpower
• Poor judgement
• Impulse buying

Combat Decision Fatigue

Many decisions can't be avoided. But you can find ways to reduce the number of daily trivial decisions to make space for ones that are more significant. As nurses, we must make many important decisions throughout the day. To conserve mental energy, consider methods to work against decision fatigue.

Automate Easy Decisions- What do Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Albert Einstein have in common? They all simplified their wardrobe to save their mental energy to focus on more important decisions. If you already wear scrubs for your job, you may be saving the time and effort on that daily decision. Otherwise, consider paring down your wardrobe to neutral colors that easily coordinate. If you still want to add a little flair you could change your accessories. Plan other decisions the night before such as:

• Where to get coffee the next morning
• The route to take to work
• Who's dropping off, or picking up the kids
• What to have for lunch, or dinner

Do the Most Important Thing First - Some people make less ethical decisions by the afternoon because of decision fatigue. Prioritize your tasks so you tackle ones that require more thought and mental energy early in your day.

Stick to a Schedule - Reducing the strain on your brain by simplifying basic decisions. Instead of constantly thinking about what routine chores you should do, designate a day, or a time of day, so you don't flood the decision gates.

If the thought comes to your mind, you won't have to focus on it because you know that you'll complete the task at that designated time. Schedule when you:

• Get groceries
• Do laundry
• Pay the bills
• Sort through your emails
• Exercise

Batch Your Tasks - Complete similar tasks at one time. Sometimes multi-tasking can be counterproductive. Instead of stopping and starting a task, decide when to start and get to work. You might get a bonus of increased productivity once you get in the mental zone of devoting all your focus on the task.

• Complete your meal prep one day a week
• Fill a medicine box with your vitamins for the week
• Buy birthday and holiday cards for the month
• Determine which day, or time, you will complete weekly errands
• Buy lunch items in bulk for you, or your family
• Do all your charting at one time

Reset Your Mental Space - If you're feeling the weight of decisions, take a break and eat a snack to fuel your brain, or take a short nap to recharge and prepare to tackle more decisions.

Rest Your Mind

The next time you wonder why you feel so exhausted when it seems that you haven't physically exerted that much energy, consider if it's mental fatigue dragging you down. It's impossible to avoid decisions, but you can work on methods to save some of the energy expended on daily, routine choices to focus on the big decisions.

How Do You Save Your Mental Energy?