Episode 52 – Decision Fatigue: Let’s talk about how it affects you and what you can do

Welcome to the Mentor 4 Moms Podcast!

On this episode:

Here’s the real reason why you yell, scream, and eat all the carbs and sugar you swore you were never gonna eat. Various internet sources estimate that an adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day, in contrast a child makes about 3,000. (Sahakian & Labuzetta, 2013).

Decision making can exhaust your willpower. Just like muscles in your body experience fatigue after a strenuous workout, your willpower can experience fatigue after making so many decisions.

This is how it shows up for me:

After shopping in the grocery store and then I can’t figure out what I want for dinner, so I end up getting food at a drive-thru. Why? It’s an easy decision.
After a long day of homeschooling, I can’t manage to string a few sentences together to post a social media update. It just feels like too much sometimes.
Shopping on Amazon. After looking at ALL of my options and reading ALL of the reviews, I quite often end up putting the item on my wishlist and buying nothing at all. My husband has to make purchases for me on Amazon b/c I get so overwhelmed.

Decision Fatigue Triggers

Decision avoidance or default to no

Tired of making decisions so you just say no
Or you put off making a decision like I do with Amazon

Impulse purchases

On the flip side, decision fatigue may cause you to spend more than you intended because your ability to say no or weigh the pros and cons is limited.
Candy and snacks at the checkout counter are for these moments. Online retailers offer ‘one more suggestion’ before you checkout in hopes that your impulse shopping is in full effect.

Decreased ability to make sound decisions

Debt
Emotional eating
Irrational emotions
Decision fatigue can explain why you can be such a responsible eater most of the day and then eat all the calories late at night.

Ways to combat Decision Fatigue:

Decide ahead of time– for a long time we ate oatmeal for breakfast every day. Why? I wanted to make one less decision every day. I didn’t have to think about what was for breakfast. Other ideas: Taco Tuesday, or Pizza on Fridays. Limit your wardrobe to a few items that you like and that fit. Then the question of what to wear becomes simple.

Tackle the most important things early in the day. Before you overly exert your willpower give your best time and attention to the things that matter the most.

Keep your body hydrated and well fed. You make better decisions when you’re not hungry. Take good care of yourself by eating and drinking healthy meals throughout the day. This can minimize the neg effects of a decision heavy day.

Remember your core values and use them to keep your decisions in alignment with your values.

Simplify. Don’t over complicate things. If you want to lose weight, what’s one thing you can do differently to meet that goal? Don’t do like me, change your diet, start a brand new workout plan, and stop drinking sweet tea all at the same time. Now I don’t have my favorite drink, I can’t eat my favorite foods, and my body hurts from being tortured during my workout. It’s all too much, too soon. And eventually, I will quit.

Willpower is not all or nothing. We all have it and we can all exhaust it. There are highs and lows throughout the day. Being aware of this will help you to make better decisions in the days to come.

And the next time you find yourself tempted to yell at the kids or to eat all the carbs, check in. Maybe your willpower is too low to be at your best right now. Give yourself a little space to use one of the solutions shared today, so that you can feel good about your choices with less regret.

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