Decision overload
You’ re making more decisions before 10am than your executive thinks about all day. Critical thinking specialist Bethan Winn explains how to beat the mental fatigue that’ s draining your effectiveness
Decision fatigue is a real threat to productivity and you will be feeling it more than most. With AI accelerating information flow, leaders expecting instant clarity and competing priorities landing by the hour, you’ re often the first line of defence against chaos. This creates constant pressure to make rapid, accurate calls while juggling dozens of decisions that never make it onto the executive’ s radar.
But the EAs who will thrive in 2026? They won’ t be those pushing harder. It will be those who think smarter.
The decision pyramid that controls your day Consider a typical Tuesday morning. By 10am, you’ ve already decided which emails need immediate attention, whether that supplier query can wait, if the CEO’ s schedule needs reshuffling and where to book Thursday’ s client lunch. You’ ve made more decisions than your executive has even considered.
Think of these calls as your‘ decision pyramid’. At the base lie your daily habits – which tasks to tackle first, how to prioritise conflicting requests and when to push back. Your success with major decisions often depends on how well you’ ve built this foundation.
When you’ ve been making solid small decisions all morning, that afternoon choice about rescheduling the board meeting becomes clearer. But when you’ re already drained from a hundred micro-decisions, even straightforward calls feel overwhelming.
Smart you versus tired you We all have what I call‘ smart me’ and‘ stupid me’ operating in our heads. Smart you plans ahead, sets boundaries and knows what serves the longterm. Stupid you wants comfort and immediate relief from whatever feels urgent right now.
These two versions work on different timescales. Smart you can visualise next month. Stupid you exists in the moment, responding to whatever feels pressing. This explains why your best intentions crumble when you’ re tired or stressed; the future-oriented voice gets quieter precisely when you need it most. The solution isn’ t willpower. Create an environment where the right choice becomes the easy choice:
n Block specific times for specific tasks. n Set up templates for recurring decisions. n Use tools that make saying no feel professional rather than difficult.
44 Executive PA | Summer Issue 2026