Reducing Decision Fatigue to Improve Your Mental Health

wellbeing

In processing too much information we limit our ability to perform at our best and increase the risk of decision fatigue. This is why finding ways to avoid brain overload is key to our effectiveness.

Each day we’re faced with making thousands of decisions. Some are mundane, like what cereal to have, while others are more serious. For example, whether to sell our home or undergo surgery.

Decision making is also taxing on our working memory. That is, our ability to hold, process and use new information to guide our behaviour (Hall & Jarrold, 2015).

Similarly, as we use our decision making muscles, our ability to self-regulate and make sound choices reduces. This results in an increased risk of making poor, unethical, and possibly costly decisions (Kouchaki & Smith, 2014).

So what can we do?

The mental demands of responsibility

It's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed or stressed by the number of decisions you need to make on a daily basis. Some may also find decision making difficult or even unpleasant (Luce et al, 1999).

It was for this reason that when putting our house on the market a few years ago, we agreed my wife would manage the process. Allowing me to focus on finishing my degree.

From previous experience, I knew that thinking of anything in addition to peer reviewed journals, would've been too much for my mind to manage.

Impact of decision fatigue on my health

I struggled during an earlier period of pressure several years ago; a time when I took on too much. The impact was horrible. And the outcome of my decision fatigue was that I suffered with tension headaches.

When it first started I began to notice my mind could only take so much before it began to fatigue. Similar to the muscles I train in the gym, with too much, my capacity to focus began to fail.

I visited my GP and was advised to "Let go" of whatever was bothering me. After leaving, I started to consider what that could actually look like practically.

At the time, I recall feeling like there wasn't anything I could let go of. And, as a result I felt trapped and deflated at the idea of not being able to do anything to improve my health.

After more reflection and advise, I started taking note of things within my control. This resulted in me feeling less stressed and more empowered. And thankfully, experiencing tension headaches less often.

Reducing daily decisions

Though unable to change some things, I recognised a quick win was to limit decision-making. Truth is, during this time the number of decisions I needed to make had become overbearing.

So, to reduce decision making and use up less mental capacity, I knew I needed to clear some mental space. Similar to when lack of storage effects my iPhone's performance, the solution was to remove some metaphorical apps.

This simple adjustment resulted in the reduction of tension headaches. It also led to shifts in my ability to focus and perform at my best. And, most importantly, I saw noticeable improvements in my overall wellbeing.

So, here are four things I've practiced to help manage decision fatigue. They've been useful in combating information overload, looking after my mental health, and being more productive.

1. Avoid unimportant decision making

The first is to remove a need to make decisions. For example, I have a simplified wardrobe, consisting of a set number of shirts and trousers I can alternate and wear on rotation.

Of course, there are other items of clothing which I wear at the weekend and special occasions, but during my working week, my wardrobe is pretty much the same.

The simplicity of my wardrobe frees up mental space in the morning to focus on more valuable things like reading, praying, exercising and considering my most important tasks.

2. Use routines to remove distractions

There are lots of distractions throughout the day. Text messages, phone-calls, and countless notifications, pull our minds away from giving attention to important work.

So, though some may not like or understand it, I remove these distractions by turning off notifications and regulating calls and emails.

For example, by limiting when I check emails, I reduce the number of potential decisions needed in response to those received throughout the day.

3. Get thoughts and ideas out of your head

Some things are stored on what I describe as my internal mental hard drive. For example, significant memories, dates, goals and so on.

But things I can refer to as and when needed, or that I may not want to access until a later date, I keep on my external mental hard drive.

"Your brain is for having ideas, not storing them." David Allen

To do this, one of my go-to tools is Evernote, which I've been a fan of since being introduced to it by a colleague several years back. It's a brilliant app that allows me to organise my thoughts and ideas into a single digital workspace that I can access at anytime.

It'll require getting used to, and a system of organising that works for you. However, its powerful functionality could free up mental space and save you from the impacts of decision fatigue.

4. Share thoughts and feelings with others

As a therapist, you'd have guessed I'd suggest this one. Of course I would. I place high value on the benefits of talking therapy.

However, even as a therapist, I can still find it a challenge to open up and express feelings. Not only am I a naturally private person, I'm also by nature a (not so) secret introvert.

So, in sharing, either by writing or speaking to someone, you're able to free up the space in your mind that those thoughts and feelings would otherwise keep occupied.

Being open about how you're feeling and speaking about your concerns, can also give you clarity about some of the decisions you're feeling you need to make.

Exploring your thoughts and speaking about how you feel can also prevent you from spiralling into patterns of unhelpful over-thinking which could lead to depression and anxiety.

Summary

As you can only manage a finite amount of information and processing which influences your behaviour, your capacity to make good decisions depletes throughout the day.

So, in wanting to make good choices, it's key to your mental health and effectiveness, that you limit as many non-critical decisions as possible.

Reducing the number of non-critical decisions you need to make, will reduce the likelihood of decision fatigue and result in you making better choices about what's most important.

Keeping space free in your brain for high level decisions, reflection, and idea creation, is key to performing at your best and maintaining your emotional and mental wellbeing.

Over to you

What decisions might be taking up too much of your mental capacity?

Which of the four tips could you use to help you avoid the possibility of decision fatigue?

Are there any other suggestions you'd add to the list?

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If you think you might benefit from working with a counsellor or coach, book a free Exploration Call with me to talk about what working together might look like.

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References

Hall, D, and Jarrod, C. (2015) What Is Working Memory? [online] Bristol.ac.uk. Available from: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/expsych/documents/factsheet-1.pdf [Accessed 20 December 2019].

Kouchaki, M., & Smith, I. H. (2014). The morning morality effect: The influence of time of day on unethical behavior. Psychological Science, 25, 95–102.

Luce, M. F., Payne, J. W., & Bettman, J. R. (1999). Emotional tradeoff difficulty and choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 36, 143–159.

Morin, A. (2019) 10 signs you're an overthinker. [online] Inc.com. Available from: https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/10-signs-you-think-too-much-and-what-you-can-do-about-it.html [Accessed 20 December 2019].

Polman. E., Vohs, K. (2016) Decision Fatigue, Choosing for Others, and Self-Construal. Social Psychological and Personality Science, Vol. 7(5), 471-478