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Thursday, October 06, 2011

Thursday Thought: Decision Fatigue


I learned about the term "decision fatigue" last week at a conference, and thought I'd share a link with you in case you wanted to learn more about it. I think there's something to it. Too many choices can fry your brain. That's not the technical description for what happens, but I think it fits.

Seth Godin referenced it in a recent post:


What
to do next
:

This is the most important decision in your
career (or even your day).
It didn't used to be. What next used to be a
question answered by your boss or your clients.
With so many opportunities
and so many constraints, successfully picking what to do next is your moment of
highest leverage. It deserves more time and attention than most people give it.
If you're not willing to face the abyss of choice, you will almost certainly
not spend enough time dancing with opportunity.

Deciding what to do next is just one decision we make in the course of a day. When you really think about it, the number of decisions we make each day is pretty staggering. I heard a story from a missionary once who returned to the states after time in a third world country. She went to the grocery store and was literally frozen by the number of choices she had in front of her. And yet, we make decisions from the vast numbers of products every time we enter a store without even giving it much thought.

How about you? Do you think you have decision fatigue?
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5 comments:

Pam said...

What an article! Interesting information. I think I do suffer from decision fatigue at times. Thanks for sharing, Marybeth. I'm going to pass this along : )

Sweet Blessings,
Pam

Carol said...

Decision fatique - what an apt description. My girlfriend and I look at each other with mock horror and exclaim "Don't make me decide anything else!" I didn't follow the post by Seth Godin though.

Heather said...

Marybeth, I suffer from decision fatigue all the time! I am an administrator by day and a wife by night...Sometimes I feel like if I make one more decision I'm going to explode! Thank you for the encouragement! Great post!

Vonnie said...

I am pretty sure I have this,probably more than anyone!Making decisions or just thinking my tasks out,makes me very tired!!Since my head injury accident in 07

Anonymous said...

Yes!! how do i know if the guy im dating is the right guy ? agh i used to not love him but ive grown to love him. he is a christian which confused me a little because i thought we were equally yoked because he is a christian , however because of his job he doesnt have time to go to many things of God and i love to go to prayer homes and bible studies and stuff and i always yearned for a husband who would go with me... this is a hard decision..!!