Have you ever heard of decision fatigue? It is also called decision fatigue, and it means that fatigue accumulates every time you make a decision. If you unknowingly look at your phone and play YouTube or games as soon as you wake up, you will make a lot of decisions and accumulate fatigue in your brain. If you have a desired behavior or goal, you should eliminate trivial decisions and save them for important decisions.
1. Decision Fatigue
Decision fatigue refers to the mental fatigue that occurs the more decisions you make.
The dictionary meaning of decision is to clearly define an action or attitude, and we make decisions in various situations from what socks to wear to meals, work, and relationships in our daily lives.
However, humans unknowingly accumulate fatigue the more decisions they make, and this form can affect us by deciding on various trivial things.
Humans are said to have a limited number of optimal choices per day, and for this reason, we should maintain our lives in a way that minimizes decision fatigue as much as possible.
2. Examples of Decision Fatigue
You may wonder how much decision fatigue actually affects humans. Let’s find out how successful people live related to decision fatigue.
1) Israeli Parole Board Decision Fatigue Study
In 2010, Israeli researchers conducted a study on decision fatigue related to judges who conduct parole hearings for prisoners.
Israeli Parole Board Study)
The results showed that in early morning trials, judges were lenient 65% of the time, but as time passed, the probability of a favorable decision gradually decreased to 0%. After lunch, the rate of lenient decisions rose again to 65% and then fell.
From the Israeli study, we can see that fatigue accumulates in the decision-making process the more judgments are made. Judges are not free from decision fatigue, and ordinary people should also take care of their decisions.
2) Methods of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg
The late Steven P. Jobs and Mark E. Zuckerberg automated decisions on what they considered trivial matters.
Steve Jobs always wore a black turtleneck, New Balance sneakers, and jeans, and Mark Zuckerberg rotates the same T-shirts and suits in his wardrobe.
It may seem trivial, but deciding what to wear or what to eat can also deplete brain energy, so celebrities try to minimize decision-making in everyday life.
3. Ways to Reduce Decision Fatigue
Let’s look at ways to reduce the fatigue that comes from making decisions.
1) Clearly identify what is important
Stewart Friedman, selected as one of the world’s top leadership and management thinkers in Thinkers 50, often called the Oscars of management, emphasizes knowing what is important to oneself.
Friedman’s method)
① Imagine what you look like in 20 years, who you are with, what you are doing, and what influence you have (drawing a feasible future and finding out what is important to you)
② Think about who the most important people are to you, what they want from you, and what you want from them.
Tip) If you find out what is most important to you through Friedman's method, you can say no well and reduce decision fatigue.
2) Set a decision budget
Tony Stubblebine, who founded and serves as CEO of Coach.me, sets a budget for decisions to be spent each day in advance.
We usually wake up, check our phones, YouTube, social media, etc., and can use up trivial decisions. This is a waste of energy before doing the important things of the day.
When you wake up in the morning, organize what you need to do first and prioritize it. If you do what you have to do according to that priority, you can refuse or avoid unwanted work.
Tip) Try setting your own routine and writing a daily priority schedule within that routine! If you write a priority schedule every day, it will become your routine, and your life can change!
3) Automating Everyday Life
Like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, you can create similar patterns for decisions that are not deemed important in everyday life.
You can buy multiple identical products of the clothes or socks you wear every day and wear the same ones, or you can specify simple types of food for breakfast and lunch every day.
Additionally, you can minimize the number of decisions wasted unknowingly on mobile phones, games, or watching videos.
Tip) Think about what unimportant things require many trivial decisions, and try to create situations where you don’t have to make those decisions!
4) Boosting Decision-Making Energy
In the book “The Ultimate Life” written by Dave Asprey, it is suggested that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) governs willpower, and it states that energy depletes each time we make decisions or use our brains.
However, if there is an amount of energy in the anterior cingulate cortex, there is a way to conserve it by reducing the number of decisions, but according to Dave Asprey, there is also a way to make the energy powerful.
This method involves deliberately attempting things you don’t want to do or are difficult, for example, using a grip strengthener or holding your breath to the point of pain and just maintaining a bit longer.
Tip) On days when you have important decisions, avoid wasting energy on difficult tasks. Try the above methods usually!
5) Saying No
In MBTI, if you have a strong E trait, you can gain energy from relationships with people, but if you have an I trait, it may rather drain your energy.
If you are an I type or have important things to do or goals, try saying no to other people’s requests. To refuse other people’s favors, you first need to have clear priorities and goals.
Therefore, always keep in mind what is important in your life and what your priorities and goals are!
Tip) Just because you accommodate other people's requests doesn’t mean they will like you. If your relationship is based only on your compliance, it might be better to cut it off!
4. Author’s Thoughts
The author also buys multiple identical T-shirts and socks to reduce decision-making, and my breakfast and lunch menu is almost always bulletproof coffee.
However, depending on the perspective, such methods may seem mechanical and may not suit everyone. Therefore, rather than everyone following the above methods, it seems necessary to adjust everyday life according to what you value.
For someone who values fashion more than anyone else, having to wear the same clothes every day, or serving the same food every day to a gourmet, could be an insult.
In my opinion, it’s important to be clear about how you want to run your life. Think about what kind of person you want to become and how you want to live, and who are the important people in your life!
5. Conclusion and Q&A
We have explored what decision fatigue is, how influential people prepare for it, and how we can reduce decision-making fatigue. Let’s address some frequently asked questions and key points related to decision fatigue.
1) What is decision fatigue?
Decision fatigue is the same as decision-making fatigue, and it refers to the brain feeling fatigued the more decisions are made. If there is decision fatigue, even important decisions may not be the best choice but the easier one.
2) How do famous people reduce decision fatigue?
As exemplified in the text, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have actions of having a lot of the same clothes and only wearing those clothes. You can feel their will not to waste decisions even in trivial situations like dressing.
3) What are specific ways to reduce decision fatigue?
To reduce decision-making fatigue, clearly distinguish what is important to you, set priorities, and refuse trivial requests from others. Like celebrities, you can also reduce trivial decision-making and plan in advance what to decide when you wake up in the morning.
► Source and Reference Information
[Book] The Organized Mind: Part on Cognitive Overload – Daniel J. Levitin / Wiseberry Publishing
[Book] The Ultimate Life, Chapter 1 – Dave Asprey / Business Books Publishing
– Be the Titan Brain
