In our 21st century world we have almost unlimited choices—from where we live, travel and eat to where we watch television and even what and how we watch it. We choose our wardrobes, our cars, our smartphones. We decide between health care plans, colleges and retirement options. In any given day we choose so many things yet at what point do these seemingly enviable choices start to weigh us down?
As a leader, these choices expand exponentially because in addition to our individual choices, we make a great many decisions for others as well. The downside as a leader is that we can get so wrapped up in all of the decisions we must make that it can sap our energy and distract our brain. This is called decision fatigue and it’s real.
Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions an individual will make after repeated or long periods of decision making. Over time, as you make more and more decisions, science tells us we begin to weigh them less carefully, choose things that may not be in our interest, make poorer decisions and even avoid making decisions at all. So how do we cut through the clutter and eliminate unnecessary or trivial decisions from our day so that we can focus our decision making powers where it counts most?
Psychologists who study decision making say two behaviors can be very helpful. First, using batching to group related tasks together. For example, if you spend a few minutes each morning considering what to have for breakfast, simplify it by having the same thing each day. Or if you need variety, consider preparing meals for the week in one sitting so as to free up your brain the rest of the week. This can extend to what you wear, which route you take to work or even setting up a consistent meeting schedule.
Second, if you delegate tasks effectively, you can free some room in your head for more high level strategizing and problem solving. Look, as a leader you are certainly the leader of the pack and at top of the food chain, but that doesn’t mean you are the only one that can hunt right? Focus on the organizational decisions that you alone can make and pass along what you can to the good people you had the good sense to hire.
Most of us appreciate the choices life has afforded us and yet, there can be too much of a good thing. As a leader, the list of decisions you are asked to make can easily grow out of control. Consider where your mental energy is being spent and how you can “tighten your belt” and put your focus where your business needs it most.
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