Column
Decision fatigue can clog your brain
Caterina Valentino
Here’s how you can overcome the thief of good decisions
Before you lift your head off the pillow in the morning and
plant your feet on the floor, how many decisions have you
made? Internet sources estimate that an adult makes about
35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. Cornell Uni-
versity researchers estimate that individuals make 226.7
decisions each day just on food alone. Are you tired just
thinking about it?
Science indicates these small decisions clog your brain’s
neural synapses, slow down the transfer of information and
limit the brain’s ability to make important decisions later in
the day. That’s decision fatigue. It’s a silent thief that embez-
zles your decision-making capabilities as the day wears on.
Decision fatigue is the notion that people tend to make worse
decisions after having tended to a large number of small,
inconsequential decisions. Much like muscle fatigue, if you
over-flex your decision muscle, you get stressed out and fail.
In 2011 researchers investigated the decisions of parole board
judges at four major prisons in Israel. They confirmed that
legal formalism holds that judges apply legal reasons to the
facts of a case in a rational, mechanical, and deliberative
manner. By analyzing more than 1,100 of the judges’ decisions
over the course of a year, the researchers discovered that
decision making was all about time of day. Prisoners who
appeared early in the morning received parole about 70% of
the time, while those who appeared late in the day were
paroled less than 10% of the time.
have low glucose levels or are mentally fatigued. Others
concur that executive function can be restored and mental
fatigue overcome, in part, by viewing scenes of nature (take
a walk); taking short rests (power naps); experiencing a posi-
tive mood (mindfulness); and increasing one’s blood glucose
levels (eat foods with natural sugars, like oranges).
My mother, and maybe yours too, was ahead of her time. She
stymied decision fatigue without even knowing. She routin-
ized small decisions and led by example. She showed me
how to pack my school books the night before and place my
bag at the door. Select tomorrow’s wardrobe today and place
it on the chair for tomorrow. She did everything she could to
make sure that when I left home my brain synapses were
firing along uncluttered pathways and were ready to face the
academic challenges of math and chemistry.
So what’s the bottom line? It’s wise to routinize small decisions
into habits that eliminate unnecessary deliberation. Make
important decisions earlier in the day and on a full stomach.
Hacks to deal with decision fatigue
Sleep
Get plenty of it
It’s essential for staying energized, mentally sharp, and healthy
Sleep flushes harmful toxins from the brain
Schedule important decisions early in the day
Eliminate unnecessary deliberation Front-load your day with the important decisions
And that’s not all decision fatigue might explain. Perhaps sales
reps who insist on an afternoon appointment might be hedg-
ing their bets that the boss will be more receptive to their
sales pitch. Decision fatigue may be the answer to why leaders
and managers make disastrous late-night decisions. Are you
rethinking how you implement longer work shifts? Push decisions to the lowest competent person
Hire the best person for the money you have
Provide training and development
Keep then happy
Decision fatigue doesn’t discriminate. It warps the judgment
of everyone: executive and nonexecutive, rich and poor. No
matter how rational you are, you can’t make decision after
decision without paying a biological price. Decision fatigue
silently pilfers your capacity to make good decisions.
When the brain’s processing powers weaken, so does its
inhibition and frustration levels. Tired brains get into needless
fights over inconsequential decisions, make illogical shortcuts
appear worthwhile and, when compounded with high frustra-
tion levels, tend to favour short-term gains and quick decisions
over selecting the best option.
Psychologist Roy F. Baumeister noted that decision fatigue
fluctuates. Anyone is prone to making poor decisions if they
18 | October 2018 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
Delegate
Limit your options
Do your research and limit your options to two or three choices
Go minimalist
Routinize simple decisions
Implement what your mother taught you
Routinize simple decisions into habits
Before bedtime pack your lunch, lay out your breakfast,
choose your clothes and turn off your electronic devices
Caterina Valentino, PhD, is an Instructor at the Ted Rogers School
of Management at Ryerson University and the Faculty of Health
Disciplines, Athabasca University. She can be reached at
[email protected].
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