Decision Fatigue
I read an article the other day about decision fatigue.
The writer described how reducing the number of things in her home also reduced the number of decisions she needed to make each day. She related it to chronic illness and pain as well, and emphasized how simplifying routines, schedules, and tasks all added up to less stress and less fatigue. I’ve been pondering this and paying attention to the decisions that naturally appear in my day.
Here’s an example from just this morning, a few minutes after waking:
Should I make coffee first or take time to make breakfast?
Should I eat before taking Gravol or after? (current digestion issues)
What should I wear? Am I going out today or staying home?
Do I answer these texts and emails before breakfast or after?
Not a very restful way to start the day.
All day long, we are faced with decisions that affect our health, mood, ability to care for ourselves and others, and if we are not careful and intentional, we can be distracted so easily, and decision fatigue can set in.
Even though my life is pretty simple, my brain can get cluttered, and that can affect my health, so I’ve been looking for ways that little daily decisions have become heavy for me, creating stress where it doesn’t need to be. Call it a … spring cleaning of the mind.
So here’s what I’ve come up with as areas that need some attention:
Take nausea medication before breakfast (not if/when nausea hits), just take it. That’s what works for now.
Have pre-made food ready that I can easily digest. Prioritize time to prepare this.
Limit any health research/scrolling to stop before 7 pm.
Save the evening for relaxing activities and creativity.
Reserve space (on the calendar) before and after events to rest.
Choose priorities for the week and don’t add more to the list unless something is accomplished.
Choose clothes the night before and set out for the morning.
If possible, set a theme for each day: Monday (home), Tuesday (paperwork), Wednesday (errands/people), etc., as a structure or scaffolding to help organize the week. Then, as random requests come up, tasks can be sorted among the days.
I know that each of us has very different lives, and what we choose and what is asked of us is all very different. So, you may not relate to this at all, or maybe it piques an interest for you to do some spring cleaning of your own mind/heart/home.
Whatever you choose, I hope that the burdens you carry will feel a little lighter.