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https://www.businesswithababy.com/wp-content/plugins/dmca-badge/libraries/sidecar/classes/{"id":1572,"date":"2021-04-07T21:56:02","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T21:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businesswithababy.com\/?p=1572"},"modified":"2021-06-13T20:34:26","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T20:34:26","slug":"best-ways-to-reduce-decision-fatigue-ultimate-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businesswithababy.com\/best-ways-to-reduce-decision-fatigue-ultimate-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Best Ways To Reduce Decision Fatigue (Ultimate 2021 Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever come home from a long day at work and not been able to choose dinner?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019d happily eat anything, or nothing, than plan a meal from scratch. Perhaps you should get take out after all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s decision fatigue<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve made big decisions all day and now you\u2019ve had enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your mental energy has been depleted and your brain just wants to be told what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guide will help you recognise decision fatigue, take steps to reduce your decision load and keep your energy levels high till the end of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Defining Decision Fatigue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Decision fatigue is defined as willpower or ego depletion leading to poor decision making and can be a factor in irrational behaviour in the workplace and at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of decision fatigue was first proposed by social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister who recognised the impact making important decisions has on our mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us are familiar with physical fatigue. Mental fatigue receives far less attention, yet the effects of decision fatigue can be just as severe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our busy lives, we make around 40,000<\/a> big and small decisions every day. It’s easy to see with this number of decisions how decision fatigue sets in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As trade-off decisions are the most mentally taxing there is an argument that decision fatigue is a factor in trapping people in poverty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was demonstrated in a study by Princeton University<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individuals from 20 different villages in India were offered the opportunity to purchase bars of soap at a discounted price. Their willpower for a series of tasks was then tested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the soap was heavily discounted it was still a significant financial burden to the 10 most impoverished villages and the mental strain of evaluting this choice affected their willpower in the tasks that followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, the more affluent villagers who could easily afford the soap were less affected in subsequent tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economist Dean Spears argues that lower-income households are forced to make more financial trade-off decisions and therefore have less willpower to dedicate to other activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How To Identify When You Are Being Affected By Decision Fatigue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s important to recognise when decision fatigue is creeping up so you can be wary of making poor decisions with potential long term consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some key signs to watch out for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You Show Poor Emotional Control<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bitten your partners head off because they\u2019ve dared to ask you a question when you get home from work? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When small mistakes cause a red mist to descend you may be suffering from decision fatigue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledge this and communicate with your partner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this is a regular issue why not sit down together and work through this post. What changes can you make to your household today to reduce overall decision fatigue? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You Become Resistant To Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Change often involves unknown variables and lots more decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s unavoidable in both daily life and business. Many people find it difficult, but decision fatigue can exacerbate that further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may shut down a new idea without giving it adequate consideration, or be reluctant to keep up with new technology advancements, or market shifts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Refusal to change in an ever-shifting world puts you at risk of being left behind<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You Start To Become Reckless<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Reduced ability to exercise self control is a hallmark of decision fatigue and can lead to more reckless behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carefully considered or comparison decisions are more mentally exhausting than impulsive or instinctive ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your mental energy is low you will start to make choices that prioritise quick wins even if this goes against your core values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You Start To Feel Analysis Paralysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While choice is a good thing a study by Columbia University <\/a>showed too many different options can impair our ability to take action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When 24 samples of jam were available to chose from only 3% of shoppers went on to make a purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast when this was stripped back to only 6 jam options the purchase rate rose to 30%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When shoppers had too many options they were overwhelmed and struggled to contrast options effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysis paralysis caused them to opt for the easy decision, or path of least resistance, which was not to purchase jam at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are feeling overwhelmed with choice the best way to combat this is to cut down the number of options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of evaluating everything at once cut your choices down to a more manageable number like blocks of 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reduce The Effects Of Decision Fatigue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are some simple steps you can start taking today to reduce the impact of decision fatigue on your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t try to implement everything at once. Start small and commit to making one change today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1) Give Your Brain A Break<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"screaming<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Learn when to stop and don’t be afraid to say no. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t push your way through decision fatigue. You will end up making rushed and compromised decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed and mentally drained it’s time to take a break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stepping away to recharge won\u2019t drop productivity, in fact you\u2019ll likely be more productive because of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever had a good idea come to you in the shower or on a walk? It’s more common than you might think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allowing yourself to decompress and your mind to be free from decision making means it’s free to be creative and think outside the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, a distraction may provide the break you need to disengage from a fixation on the ineffective solution<\/p>Shelley H. Carson, Harvard psychologist<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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2) Limit Your Social Media Use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Scrolling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Social media constantly craves our attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if we aren\u2019t actually posting or scrolling, our smart phones bleep and buzz to let us know we\u2019re missing out and drag our attention back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not responding to notifications takes willpower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willpower is a finite resource and using it to ignore social media causes decision fatigue and impairs our ability to make quality decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been shown in a study by Roy Baumeister<\/a> using chocolate chip cookies. Students were lead into a lab smelling of freshly baked cookies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were split into two groups with one group allowed to indulge in the cookies and the other asked to resist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both sets of students were then given a series of puzzles to solve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students who had resisted the temptation of the cookies showed frustration and gave up on tasks significantly earlier than the students who had not depleted their willpower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does limiting social media look like? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step is to turn off all those notifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you aren\u2019t getting alerted every single time something happens it takes less willpower to resist social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we all have a fear of missing out, its vital to keep focused on what’s actually important in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second step is to set specific time brackets to check your social media and stick to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will depend on your level of engagement, but once or twice a day are good starting goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re finding it too difficult to stick to your set parameters try using an app to track your use for a week or so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cold hard facts about how much time you spend on social media (and the other things you could be doing with that time) may help boost your motivation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, and this might seem too extreme for some, delete social media entirely from your phone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove all those apps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go back to the old days of logging on through a browser on a desktop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may find that extra barrier is enough to curb your scrolling addiction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3) Reduce Your Daily Decisions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Daily routines reduce decision making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you get up at the same time every morning and go to bed at the same time each night your brain no longer has to think about those decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It goes through the motion on auto pilot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be fooled into thinking an automated life is a dull one. By automating mundane tasks it will give you the time and energy to focus and be present on the areas of your life that are meaningful to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some daily choices for you to remove:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work Appearance<\/span><\/strong> – Unless you are in a job that requires you to wear different clothes consider a work look. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a strategy that comes up time and time again with highly successful people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n