Decision fatigue

I just read an article on Slate on a few tips to combat decision fatigue. I am notoriously bad at making decisions promptly. I’m almost always comfortable to happy with the decision that I’ve made. But the article was particularly timely. I, of course, already knew about this phenomenon; but I feel that this perfectly described my distrupted life and current work habits.

Without realizing it, I have mitigated some of this. I cook on weekends so I don’t have to think about breakfast or lunch. I have a wardrobe that I bought all in one season, so it coordinates and I don’t have to spend a lot of time on that. I have worked out a number or routes to get me to and from work so that I’m comfortable but not bored or locked int something that the weather is going to confound (this is Chicago after all). So the remaining areas that I need to clean up is my workflow regarding all the competing interests at work and the non-stop demands of family and extended family.

Most of these could use the benefit of having a triage process. So many of the little things get pushed to the side or lumped into a pile until they demand attention. I still struggle with needing a desk at home, but the living room rehab is completely done. I have a yearly calendar that helps with the long term and recurrent events. So eventually, I will get that together.

Similarly with work. I’m learning to triage email (inbox kept to less than 15 today!), I’m trying to balance between long term goals or projects and immediate needs.Part of the difficulty is not knowing where the balance lies with my particular position. Each college needs are different and my work won’t look the same as anyone elses. I feel that by keeping the emails to a minimum I create a little breathing room. I guess that’s the whole point of avoiding decision fatigue.

So now I will go home and decide what to do with the rest of the day. I’m tired already, so the choices will be difficult.