Decision Fatigue Is Biological = 🤯

A few weeks ago was on the Human Inc panel call with my colleague Milind Raval, ACC of The Coaching Consortium around executives who feels stuck.

The panel explored all the different lenses "being stuck" can be viewed and many different strategies to unstick oneself.

One that was compelling to me, that I integrated quickly, quoted within sessions that same week was Shawn Watson's: Decision fatigue is biological, physiological; not psychological. 

We make 35,000 decisions daily and there's a physical limitation around the number of quality decisions our brain can make in a day. 

Scrolling on social adds to the load instead of relieving it; all those tiny decisions about what to watch or respond to add up quickly.

By the end of the day, it's harder to make quality decisions.

Watson pointed to this UK study, where loan officers routinely say no by the end of the day because they can't make quality decisions.

Additionally, when you have decision fatigue, you fall back on old networks or pathways, which may or may not be the best decision in that moment. 

For example, I hear this with C-suite clients. After a long day of making thousands of decisions, they may turn to social for some lightness, some relief, but feel worse, more exhausted. Why? According to Watson, Social involves more decisions that add to the load, not lighten it.

Watson, on his podcast, talks about three interventions for decision fatigue:

Prevention

Building resilience

Recovery (sleep resets decision capacity!)

I'm a big believer and utilizer of prevention tools: I often have the same delicious breakfast for weeks or months at a time; no need for a decision there. I use a capsule wardrobe that i love and feel great in; lessening decisions there. Workout gear, equipment is within my eye line at my desk and I do PT daily -- it's not a choice; it simply gets done.

What are some of your tools to help with decision fatigue?