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?