Decision Fatigue: Definition, Causes, and Effects

Decision fatigue is a state of mental exhaustion that occurs after making too many decisions, resulting in the deterioration of your decision-making ability. Decision fatigue is different from mental fatigue, which is exhaustion due to spending an extended period on cognitive tasks. Decision fatigue specifically describes the impairment of decision-making skills due to prolonged bouts of decision-making. However, there may be other contributing factors such as physiological fatigue and sleep deprivation.

Several factors could put you at a higher risk of experiencing decision fatigue, including:

1. 1. Decision complexity: The more complex the decision, the faster it depletes your decision-making energy stores.
2. 2. Decision importance: Critical decisions, such as ones that affect the course of your life, present a more significant psychic strain than minor decisions.
3. 3. Impact on others: Carrying the burden of making decisions that affect the lives or choices of others—like those regarding a patient’s health care or judicial decisions—is a significant contributor to decision fatigue.
4. 4. Daily volume of decisions: Having to make a high number of decisions is the leading cause of decision fatigue. If you make more decisions than your brain can handle, you’ll start to see a deterioration as the day progresses.
5. 5. Time spent making decisions: The more time you spend making decisions, the more likely you are to experience decision fatigue.
6. 6. Overall stress: If you’re under a lot of pressure, the additional psychic burden of making many decisions can strain your decision-making ability.

Decision fatigue can impact all aspects of your life, including your behavior, cognitive function, and physiological state. In addition to tiredness and brain fog, the effects of decision fatigue include:

1. 1. Anxiety, depression, and chronic ailments: If you experience daily decision fatigue over a long period of time, it may eventually cause mental health issues like anxiety and depression. The mental exhaustion of decision fatigue may also contribute to physical issues such as tension headaches and digestive problems.
2. 2. Impaired cognitive function: Decision fatigue can impair your cognitive function and reasoning. Even if you aren’t physically tired, or have unlimited time to complete a cognitive task, your mind may not be at its sharpest.
3. 3. Impulsivity: Decision fatigue may push you into mental shortcuts, forcing you to quickly choose the default option, rather than making a well-thought-out decision. As your mental energy runs low, you may make more impulsive decisions.
4. 4. Indecision: Decision fatigue may make it difficult for you to comprehend trade-offs and more complex choices. If you experience decision fatigue, you may feel stuck in the decision-making process, wavering between options, and unable to decide.
5. 5. Irritability: The pressure to make decisions when you no longer have the energy can quickly lead to a bad mood.
6. 6. Procrastination: When you experience decision fatigue, you may procrastinate to avoid the energy expenditure required to make a decision. In this way, decision fatigue can lead to decision avoidance.

Though decision fatigue may feel inevitable, there are some simple ways to combat it:

1. 1. Reduce the number of decisions you have to make. The easiest way to avoid decision fatigue is to reduce the number of decisions you need to make. Making lists when you go to the grocery store, for example, can help streamline your choices. You can also reduce less important decisions by learning how to meal plan for the week, choosing your outfit the night before, or eliminating small decisions altogether.
2. 2. Delegate decision-making to others. Allowing others to make decisions without micromanaging can empower them and relieve you of the burden of having to make too many choices. Learn more about delegating.
3. 3. Make big decisions earlier in the day. The best time of day to make big decisions is early in the day or in the morning when you’re well-rested and have the most energy. Toward the end of the day, your ability to make decisions deteriorates.
4. 4. Be satisfied with your choices. Once you’ve made your decision, move on. Trust that you’ve made good decisions, and let go of the idea that you could have chosen better.
5. 5. Rely on daily routines. Converting your daily decisions into habits is a way to work on autopilot and reserve your energy stores for the rest of your day. Exercise, meals, clothing, and a consistent bedtime are all areas where a routine will free you from poor choices. Learn how to make a schedule.
6. 6. Get support. If you’re experiencing depression or anxiety due to ongoing decision fatigue or burnout, seek help from a licensed professional. Learn how to recover from burnout.
7. 7. Take breaks. Decision fatigue is a form of stress, and taking regular breaks between decisions can help you recover your energy.
8. 8. Take care of your physical health. Proper nutrition, getting enough sleep, and physical exercise can contribute to a sense of well-being and reduce stress. Get neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker’s tips for improving sleep quality.

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