Decision fatigue comes when we find ourselves having to evaluate and make choices over and over again. We make more decisions in one day than previous generations ever had to and to be honest it can be quite tiring.
Many of the choices we make each day are the same ones we made the day before. What to eat. What to wear. When to go to bed. What if there was a way to simplify the number of daily decisions and leave more space in our brains for other, more important things?
There is. We can choose to decide some things once and put them on repeat instead of having to think through them every time the same situation comes up.
One of the ways I have done this is with my breakfast. I’m not exactly a morning person and could get overwhelmed or waste time trying to figure out what to have, so I simplified my decisions. I made a one time decision to have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast every morning. I’ve been doing it for years. Instead of missing the other options I feel more peaceful with the familiarity and knowing the first decision of the day is already made.
There is a trend now of people creating capsule wardrobes or even wearing the same thing every day. Top executives would tell you this frees their brain to focus on more important things. For me, it feels peaceful to only have what I wear and love in my closet, reduce visual clutter and make getting dressed in the morning easy.
There are other ways you can practice the art of deciding once:
- Streamline your self-care products. Find your favorites and only buy and use them.
- Cleaning products and routines
- Exercise
- Spending or financial goals
- Meal plans
- Wardrobe colors – neutral bottoms with 2 accent colors
- How you spend time or organize your day
- In your business or career
- Morning and bed time routines
You can also make fixed decisions about other things. When I found myself worrying too much about my adult grandchildren, I made a long term decision to not waste my time worrying about what is not my business or might not even happen. Deciding once has helped a lot. This could also work for things like not sweating the small stuff or letting the past be the past.
Some of you may be concerned a life of sameness and one time decisions could become too structured or boring, but I’ve found the opposite to be true. When my mind is free of rethinking all these little decisions it has more space to handle the big things. There is more room for creativity, fun and being effective in the other things I want to do.
Deciding once can reduce stress and bring a lot of freedom into your life. And, that is what I wish for you. Are you ready to give it a try?
Related Posts:
Simple Solutions: Making Decisions