Make fewer decisions this New Year!
In the past, people had fewer choices in various aspects of life, be it food, toys, furniture, music, tools, or relationships. Today, we are inundated with countless options, raising the question of how good having more choices truly is. Have you ever felt that the abundance of options has led to an overwhelming number of decisions to make? Let’s take a moment to explore how many decisions we make and the impact it has on our lives and explore if we can tackle it better this new year.
Choices and decisions
Consider how many decisions you make each day; from the moment you wake up to when you fall asleep. Do I snooze the alarm for five more minutes? What do I eat? Drink? Wear? Do I wear shoes or sandals? Do I match my shoes or try a contrasting look? Cab or drive?… and that’s just the first couple of hours in the morning. And remember, our mind is not just engaged in the present but is also making decisions for the future. Laundry tomorrow? Where to party this weekend? The continuous mental effort required to make choices throughout the day can overwhelm the brain, leading to cognitive exhaustion, burnout, and stress.
Women, particularly those with families, often bear a heavy burden. Juggling work, family, and personal responsibilities, women become adept decision-makers out of necessity. And what about the children? We often feel children today are disorganized or lack attention. Look at their room and compare the number of items you owned at their age. While it might seem that having more is better, but they add to the burden of decisions children must navigate compared to the freedom you enjoyed when you were a child.
The psychological toll
One less-recognized fact about our lives in this century is the multitude of choices we have, resulting in a constant need for decision-making. A phenomenon known as decision overload or decision fatigue. The abundance of choices can create a traffic jam in our brains, leading to a chaotic mental space. Psychologist Barry Schwartz warns that more choices may not necessarily be better, as they can result in decision paralysis —the more options, the harder it becomes to choose.
Yes, it is essential to have choices, but does having multiple choices make life any easier? Can we confidently choose the best option? While choices are essential, the psychological toll of multiple options becomes apparent. Research indicates that the human brain has a limited capacity for decision-making. Navigating through numerous choices depletes cognitive resources, affecting the quality of decisions and increasing stress and anxiety, affecting overall health and well-being and even resulting in early aging.
Simplify life this new year
To combat decision fatigue, simplifying life becomes crucial. Meditation and mindfulness practices might enhance resilience; however, you still need to reduce the number of decisions you have to make to maintain your mental well-being. Here are some strategies to simplify life:
- Cut down on non-essentials: Streamline cooking, reduce household items, limit social media use, and minimize the number of regularly used apps.
- Establish routines: Set routines for different aspects of life, adding structure and allowing the brain to focus on more important matters. Morning routines can help you arrive fresh at work.
- Share work and delegate: Share responsibilities to distribute the decision-making load where you can, especially if you are managing multiple roles in your personal and professional life.
- Prioritize decision-making: Actively choose decisions that need to be made and allocate your mental energy to them. Labelling choices that do not have any influence on your day as trivial matters can help save a lot of time and energy.
- Set patterns of decision-making: Create an adaptable decision-making process to streamline choices. For instance, before you pull up the grocery app, decide what you want to order and filter out only products that meet your necessity.
In a world filled with endless choices, simplifying decisions is a necessity for maintaining mental well-being. As we usher in the new year, let’s resolve to declutter our minds, reduce decision fatigue, and embrace a simpler, healthier way of life. A clearer mind leads to better decisions and, ultimately, a happier life.