Decision Fatigue. 6 Ways to Deal With It

“How are you?”

“[Sighs] Exhausted.”

“Me too.”

Across corporate America, this conversation is being repeated millions of times a day this week. It’s not any old tiredness that’s sapping the energy of employees and executives alike: It’s decision fatigue, a particular kind of mental exhaustion.

In the course of an ordinary day, people face a significant number of decisions, says Kendra Marion, vice president for global assessment services at Korn Ferry. In times of turmoil, each decision will also require multiple follow-up decisions, often quite quickly. “It can feel like the number of decisions can increase exponentially,” she says. This is compounded even further when conditions suddenly reverse, and people need to choose, reconsider, and then choose again.

Decision fatigue can’t just be slept off. Rather, it tends to build, and can lead to suboptimal choices, procrastination, and other forms of avoidance, says business psychologist James Bywater, senior client partner at Korn Ferry. Pushing through it is not the answer. “Managing decision fatigue is crucial for leaders to maintain their effectiveness and mental clarity,” says Bywater. Here are some ways to mitigate decision fatigue:

Know when decision fatigue strikes.

Decision fatigue is trickier to identify than overwhelm or burnout. You might find yourself impatient, avoidant, irritable, indecisive, or tempted to make a rash or bold choice (“Screw it, I pick option B”). “Self-monitor and realize when you’re reaching your saturation point,” says Bywater.

Go with defaults.

There’s a reason that some executives eat or wear more or less the same thing every day: It lowers cognitive load. Specifically, it helps establish default choices and heuristics for lower-stakes choices, says Bywater, both in work and home life—which might include maintaining a set grocery list, automating bill pay, and other, similar chores.

Sleep on it.

Research suggests that decision-making acuity—for everyone from doctors to judges—wanes in the afternoon, even in the best of circumstances. Your best bet is to save rough choices until the morning, when mental energy is highest, says Bywater.

Delegate.

“Spread some decision-making across your team,” says Marion. That way, you won’t carry the burden of every decision, and you’ll provide learning and leadership opportunities for others.

Avoid decision-heavy days.

It’s best to avoid making important decisions after you’ve already dealt with a pile of other decisions. Research shows that decision fatigue can negatively impact your judgment in the short term.

Let it go.

Ruminating goes hand-in-hand with decision fatigue—and just drains you further. Tell yourself that you've made the best decision you could with the information available, and move on. “It’s key to stop revisiting decisions,” says Marion. 

Learn more about Korn Ferry’s career-development capabilities from Korn Ferry Advance. 

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