No one wants to make bad decisions, but most people keep doing something that ensures they do.
Joseph O'Connor
Founder, Neuroscience Coaching Centre - Taking Coaches to the Next Level
They make too many decisions.
There is plenty of research to show our decisions tend to get steadily worse,
unless we have a break.
It’s called Decision Fatigue.
The brain and mind tire just like the body, but it doesn’t feel tired like the
body. They soldier on and we don’t notice how our decisions deteriorate.
The classic study on this was done with a parole board in 2011. Prisoners came
before the board to have their request for parole evaluated. Each day was
divided into three sessions with a food break between each.
At the beginning of each session, two thirds of prisoners received a favourable
decision – early release on parole. As the session wore on this percentage
dropped to almost zero before the food break, but picked up back to two
thirds immediately afterward.
The most influential factor about who got parole was not the merits of their
case, but the time of day. The Board, of course, was doing its best to be
constantly objective but their ability to continue to make decisions had
deteriorated as the day wore on.
Here's a couple of takeaways – do not see any professional immediately before
their lunch break. They will not be at their best. It’s beyond their control.
Secondly, minimise the number of decisions you have to take in one sitting.
Do not waste mental energy on trivialities.
(That’s why Barack Obama always wore the same style suit and Steve Jobs
always wore black turtlenecks, blue jeans, and grey sneakers. They did not
want to expend mental energy on trivialities).
We’ll be running the first Coaching the Brain training of 2023 from January
25th The Neuroscience of Emotions and Values
Get a taste and Register for the free webinar Understanding emotions and decisions
2 PM UK time | Wednesday 18th January.
It’s an easy decision and takes hardly any mental energy.
Cheers
Joseph