How to overcome decision fatigue & make better decisions
Hi there,
Yesterday I sat down to write this newsletter around 8pm. I didn’t know what to write about and spent about an hour looking through some of my notes and staring at the blank screen before deciding to turn on Netflix instead.
At the end of the day, we often find ourselves mentally exhausted.
We make a lot of decisions in a day - from big strategic decisions at work to small choices on what to wear. By dinner time, the prospect of deciding what to eat, which should be a relatively simple choice, becomes daunting.
The reason this happens is decision fatigue.
Our decision quality decreases as the decisions we make increase. This is because as our mental energy depletes, our brains start taking shortcuts to help us make decisions, which can result in poor, more impulsive decision-making. Decision fatigue may also lead us to avoid making decisions at all.
If this sounds familiar, here are 4 ways to overcome decision fatigue and make better decisions.
Create a routine: Routines allow us to make decisions in advance, so you simply follow the routine without having to make choices when the time comes. For example, planning out meals for the week in advance and exercising on specific days and times works well for me.
Remove choices that don't matter to you: Steve Jobs wore the same black turtleneck every day not just because it's an incredibly stylish look, but to remove it as a decision he made that day and to reserve his mental capacity for more important decisions.
Have a snack: The old adage of “don't go shopping hungry” is actually backed by science. Glucose levels can impact our ability to control impulses and make better decisions. Try to eat something before making an important decision.
Make important decisions in the morning: Mental energy is finite and will decrease throughout the day, so make important decisions first thing when you have maximum energy and focus.
Link of the week
This week’s link is from Zinc, a venture builder where I’m an advisor. I’d highly recommend applying if you’re passionate about sustainability!
Could you create a B2B business that transforms and supports industries to manage and reduce their environmental impact?
Zinc is looking for 70 exceptional individuals to join the next cohort of Founders on their 12-month Venture Builder starting in October 2022. Designed to launch individuals as the co-founder of a mission-led startup, successful candidates will receive up to £250k funding and a dedicated programme of support from experts & Zinc’s in-house R&D team. With the mission to build a new B2B business from scratch that will transform the industries with the most impact on our environmental crisis: the farming, fishing and food, transport, construction and building operations, and/or manufacturing and supply chains sectors.
Urgent action is required to help businesses address and adapt to the impact caused by our environmental crisis, and now is the time to act. The first application deadline is Thursday, 9th June. Read the full mission manifesto here and click here to apply.
That’s all for now. Have a great bank holiday weekend!