How to Manage Decision Fatigue
Adopt a minimalist lifestyle., Prepare ahead., Streamline and automate what you can., Shop at stores with fewer, higher-quality options.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Adopt a minimalist lifestyle.
One of the best ways to hold on to your cognitive resources is to reduce the amount of decisions you have to make in the first place.
In other words, simplify.
You can do this by embracing minimalism.Avoid decision fatigue by choosing simpler clothing items.
For instance, you might drastically cut down your wardrobe to a basic uniform.
Maybe you could wear a t-shirt and jeans on most days.
Or, black slacks and a plain blouse to work each day.
You can also use a minimalist technique for other parts of your home, like reducing your books and movies to include only your favorite choices. -
Step 2: Prepare ahead.
Cut out the choices you have to make on a daily basis by doing things in advance.
In general, you might make tons of decisions daily, but if you group many of them to specific times, you remove fatigue from other days.
For instance, you might prepare your meals for the week on Sunday, do your grocery shopping on Saturday morning, and deep-clean on Saturday afternoon.
By prepping ahead and isolating certain choices to less hectic days you won’t have to worry about fitting them in during more taxing days.Make sure to write down your plans for the week as well to help keep yourself on schedule.
This way you will not need to decide anything.
You will just have to keep to your schedule. , Find services that decipher your shopping or decision-making habits and start making them for you.
All it takes is a bit of time on the front end.
Define your routine and preferences with various available services that can be tailored to your life.Clothing selection sites like Stitch Fix, grocery ordering and meal planning apps, and entertainment services like Netflix and Pandora all monitor your typical decisions and then save your preferences to expand on in the future.
You won’t have to decide on a TV show because Netflix will present one that is similar to those you’ve watched in the past.
You won’t have to spend an afternoon trolling around malls when you set your style preferences and receive carefully curated outfits in the mail.
You can also group your errands together into one trip to help reduce your need to plan on a route.
For example, you could plan to stop at different places on your way home from work in the order that you pass them. , Many stores are starting to understand the overwhelm and fatigue shoppers experience from too many choices.
Having too many selections causes analysis paralysis, taking up too much of your time and depleting your willpower.
To minimize analysis paralysis, look for retailers that focus on providing high-quality but limited choices.
Suggestions include grocers like Trader Joes or specialty shops that feature quality products with fewer choices.You can also research what products you want to buy before going to the store.
This way, you will not need to make these comparisons while you are shopping. -
Step 3: Streamline and automate what you can.
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Step 4: Shop at stores with fewer
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Step 5: higher-quality options.
Detailed Guide
One of the best ways to hold on to your cognitive resources is to reduce the amount of decisions you have to make in the first place.
In other words, simplify.
You can do this by embracing minimalism.Avoid decision fatigue by choosing simpler clothing items.
For instance, you might drastically cut down your wardrobe to a basic uniform.
Maybe you could wear a t-shirt and jeans on most days.
Or, black slacks and a plain blouse to work each day.
You can also use a minimalist technique for other parts of your home, like reducing your books and movies to include only your favorite choices.
Cut out the choices you have to make on a daily basis by doing things in advance.
In general, you might make tons of decisions daily, but if you group many of them to specific times, you remove fatigue from other days.
For instance, you might prepare your meals for the week on Sunday, do your grocery shopping on Saturday morning, and deep-clean on Saturday afternoon.
By prepping ahead and isolating certain choices to less hectic days you won’t have to worry about fitting them in during more taxing days.Make sure to write down your plans for the week as well to help keep yourself on schedule.
This way you will not need to decide anything.
You will just have to keep to your schedule. , Find services that decipher your shopping or decision-making habits and start making them for you.
All it takes is a bit of time on the front end.
Define your routine and preferences with various available services that can be tailored to your life.Clothing selection sites like Stitch Fix, grocery ordering and meal planning apps, and entertainment services like Netflix and Pandora all monitor your typical decisions and then save your preferences to expand on in the future.
You won’t have to decide on a TV show because Netflix will present one that is similar to those you’ve watched in the past.
You won’t have to spend an afternoon trolling around malls when you set your style preferences and receive carefully curated outfits in the mail.
You can also group your errands together into one trip to help reduce your need to plan on a route.
For example, you could plan to stop at different places on your way home from work in the order that you pass them. , Many stores are starting to understand the overwhelm and fatigue shoppers experience from too many choices.
Having too many selections causes analysis paralysis, taking up too much of your time and depleting your willpower.
To minimize analysis paralysis, look for retailers that focus on providing high-quality but limited choices.
Suggestions include grocers like Trader Joes or specialty shops that feature quality products with fewer choices.You can also research what products you want to buy before going to the store.
This way, you will not need to make these comparisons while you are shopping.
About the Author
Ashley Gordon
Experienced content creator specializing in lifestyle guides and tutorials.
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