Introduction
Sometimes, we are faced with so many decisions that making a choice feels exhausting. When we become irritated or tired from having to make choices, this feeling is called decision fatigue.
What Is Decision Fatigue?
Decision fatigue occurs when we face too many choices in a row, impairing our decision-making abilities (Pignatiello et al., 2020). When we experience decision fatigue, the choices we make are often impulsive, irrational, or low quality (Pignatiello et al., 2020). The types and numbers of decisions we face can vary as well. However, scholars estimate that the average adult makes 35,000 decisions a day (Pignatiello et al., 2020). Any decision can add to our fatigue, from choosing what to wear to deciding which house to buy.
What Are the Effects?
This fatigue can inhibit our decision-making and self-regulation (Vohs, 2006). For example, this impacts the decisions that doctors make on behalf of their patients. When doctors or nurses experience decision fatigue, their choices might deviate from recommended practices (Pignatiello et al., 2020). Meanwhile, patients with decision fatigue have a harder time managing their own health (Pignatiello et al. 124). For judges setting parole, a full day of decision-making may lead them to impose harsher sentences (Stewart et al., 2012).
In these cases, online therapy can provide convenient mental health support for doctors, patients, and judges, helping them better manage stress and decision fatigue in their busy schedules. In other areas of life, decision fatigue can lead us to unsafe or unhealthy choices without thinking through the consequences. You may have experienced decision fatigue when grocery shopping or deciding what to wear. When this happens, you might get tired of weighing the pros and cons of each option and decide to grab the first thing you see.
The effect of decision fatigue can be big or small. For example, a university student spoke with me about their experience of decision fatigue in everyday life. They described the experience of becoming overwhelmed while trying to find new clothes in a thrift store. Being faced with many racks of clothes and needing to decide which to look at, what to try on, and then what to buy quickly becomes tiring, and they often find themselves becoming irritable and wanting to leave without finding anything. Meanwhile, editors for a scholarly journal struggle to make decisions when they have many different articles to review. After a long day of reading manuscripts, it takes longer to decide what changes to make, or whether to reject a submission entirely (Stewart et al., 2012).
What to Do about Decision Fatigue
For important decisions, try getting a second opinion if you are struggling with decision fatigue. Alternatively, try taking a break and coming back to a decision later. In a study examining how decision fatigue affected parole sentences, it was found that taking a break restored judges’ decision-making abilities to normal levels (Stewart et al., 2012).
If you are struggling to make a decision, Joseph DeVito (2016) suggests four steps for conscientious decision-making:
- Identify what you want to accomplish.
- Identify the available options.
- Identify the benefits or downsides of each option.
- Choose the option with the most benefits and fewest disadvantages.
Conclusion
We face many choices every day, and some are impossible to avoid. However, if we remember to take a step back and make important decisions with care, we can increase our chances of avoiding the negative effects of decision fatigue.
References
DeVito, J. A. (2016). Making choices. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 73(2), 173–179. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44857498
Pignatiello Grant, A., Martin, R. J., & Hickman, R. L. (2020). Decision fatigue: A conceptual analysis. Journal of Health Psychology, 25(1), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318763510
Stewart, A. F., Ferriero, D. M., Josephson, S. A., Lowenstein, D. H., Messing, R. O., Oksenberg, J. R., Johnston, S. C., & Hauser, S. L. (2012). Fighting decision fatigue. Annals of Neurology, 71(1), A5–A15. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.23531
Vohs, K. D. (2006). Self-regulatory resources power the reflective system: Evidence from five domains. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16(3), 217–223. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1603_3
Author Bio
Nora is an international student from the USA. She was studying in the Czech Republic for her master’s. Her focus is on the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is especially interested in exploring how self-talk and self-awareness affect mental health within queer communities.
“Through my experience as a student living abroad, I’ve learned a lot about taking care of my mental health and handling big life changes. In my free time, I’m an avid reader, knitter, and artist. At WHJ Online Therapy Centre, I worked as a content writing intern, expanding my knowledge of mental health and self-help tools.” – Nora Zapalac
Published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license for mental health awareness with editorial review.