Decision Making Fatigue - A Self Therapy

I decided to write this article as a bit of therapy for myself. In a day I have to make an incredible number of decisions and although sometimes I feel like I haven’t worked that hard I am incredibly drained by the end of the day.

This has obvious knock-on effects with family life and I have found that in my personal life where I was the life and soul of the party a few years ago I am becoming more of a recluse that values time alone.

I would say I am an Extrovert by nature but over time I wonder if that is still True!

What is Decision Making Fatigue?

Decision Making Fatigue isn’t a medical condition, but it is a real phenomenon. According to registered psychotherapist Natacha Duke (Cleaveland Clinic, Canada), it happens when the sheer number of decisions we make throughout the day leaves us mentally, emotionally, and even physically drained.

The more choices we have to make, the harder it becomes to think clearly, leading to poor judgment, impulsive decisions, or just avoiding decisions altogether. It’s why high-performing leaders streamline their routines—fewer small choices mean more energy for the big ones.

I am impulsive at the best of times and I have found at times my ability to make snap judgement decision is often at the detriment of my team who fail to clearly understand the decision made or the next steps needed in a process.

5?Reasons Decision Making Fatigue Happens

1.?You make a lot of decisions every day.?Many of us have jobs or play roles that require numerous quick decisions every day. For myself running 3 business units and approx. 30 team members all asking me for my view, idea, feedback, decisions etc. becomes draining and the obvious feedback is well delegate more but, in the business, I am in, often this is not possible.

2. Your decisions impact other people.?This could be your partner, your friends, your colleagues or even people who don’t know you. For me it has certainly impacted my personal life with my wife. She too runs a successful business and sometimes we get home, greet each other, have a hug, ask about each other’s day and hardly speak after.

3. You’re in the midst of a difficult life situation.?You are overly stressed, you are unfit, you have family problems, the list goes on and how people handle this situation can exasperate the pressure of decisions that you make.

4. You’re faced with uncertainty.?Human nature is to want a solution to everything and when that path is not clear it’s hard to make decisions. It can result in procrastination and missing decisions that you would normally make in your sleep.

5. You have perfectionist tendencies.?When you are striving to get everything right despite not having all the information you need it can be very taxing on your brain. For me I am a clusterf*** of perfectionist, impulsive and emotional. I hate disappointing people; I always want to complete tasks to the best of my ability and I want my clients and candidates walking away with such a wonderful experience they only think of me next time.

What has really helped me is exercise. I do not exercise to crazy standards but I regularly exercise 3 days per week. This enables me to fresh minded and in the best physical condition for the day or week ahead. I limit drinking! Hangovers are a thing of the past as I literally cannot function with one. Weekends, I ensure I spend a few hours playing video games in order to clear any brain fog as it keeps me incredibly focused. I also forcibly add decisions to things I really enjoy. For example, I am a sneaker enthusiast and choosing what pair to wear is something which gives me a dopamine hit.

Decision Making is part of running a business so I can’t dwell on this fatigue but I do find ways to combat it.

What do you do to combat these feelings and what coping strategies do you have?