10: Mental Burnout in Midlife- Understanding and Overcoming Decision Fatigue

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Feeling mentally exhausted by the countless choices you face each day? You're not alone. Decision fatigue – that mental burnout that happens when we've made too many choices – is silently draining our energy and affecting our ability to think clearly, especially during the midlife juggling act.

When you're managing aging parents, supporting adult children, handling work projects, and dealing with your own health changes, those hundreds of little decisions add up quickly. By lunchtime, your mental reserves are depleted, leaving you vulnerable to impulse purchases, unhealthy food choices, or simply shutting down altogether. This isn't a failure of willpower – it's your brain's natural response to decision overload.

The world's most successful people have recognized this cognitive drain and created strategic solutions. Barack Obama wore only gray or blue suits every day, stating "I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing because I have too many other decisions to make." Steve Jobs had his black turtleneck uniform, and Serena Williams ate the same pre-match meals – not out of quirky habit, but as deliberate mental energy conservation.

You deserve the same mental clarity. This episode unpacks five practical strategies to combat decision fatigue: automating routine choices, creating daily rituals, limiting options, making important decisions early in the day when your brain is freshest, and reducing digital overwhelm. The challenge? Choose just one area of your life this week where you can simplify decisions – whether it's rotating three work outfits, prepping breakfast the night before, or giving yourself permission to say "no" more often.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, beautiful friend , it's Marni Martin.
I hope you guys had a greatweekend and that you did
something that lit up your heartand fed your soul.
I'm so glad to welcome you backto the podcast, where we have
real talk, real tools and realsupport as we navigate this wild
, beautiful and oftenoverwhelming stage of life

(00:21):
together.
I don't know about you guys,but this time of year throws me
off a little bit, because it'slike we're not in winter anymore
and we're not really in spring,and so we're kind of in this
seasonal purgatory, and so I am.
You know, you get that springfever itch and you want to clean
out cupboards and you want todo all kinds of things, but it

(00:43):
just sort of it's too early fora lot of it.
So luckily, the weather didcooperate and I did get out to
do some gardening and I cleanedoff the deck and got the windows
cleaned and gave the house anice deep clean.
So that felt really, reallygood.
So what I wanted to talk abouttoday is something that actually
hit me like a ton of bricksthis week, and it's called

(01:05):
decision fatigue.
I have a lot on my plate rightnow and I was really just
struggling, trying to make senseof it all, and what ended up
happening was I just shut downand completely, you know, just
stopped because I didn't havethe capacity to make any more
decisions.
So I did a little researchabout it and before we dive into

(01:28):
what it is and how we can beatit, I wanted to start with just
a little heart to heart.
If you're anything like me,your brain is holding a lot
right now, and maybe you'rejuggling calls from your aging
parents while you're trying tosupport your adult kids as they
make their way in the world.
Maybe you're in the middle of abig work project and maybe your

(01:50):
dog needs a vet visit, thefridge is empty and, oh yeah,
you're dealing with brain fog,hot flashes and all those fun
hormone shifts that no onereally quite prepared you for.
It's no wonder we're exhausted.
For goodness sakes, we'remaking a hundred little
decisions before we even sitdown with our first cup of

(02:10):
coffee and that constant mentaljuggling act.
It's not just stressful, it'sdepleting, and that's what we're
going to dive into today.
So stick around, grab yourselfa cup of coffee and let's get
into it.
Welcome to this episode of Lifeis Delicious.
I'm your host, marni Martin, amulti-passionate entrepreneur, a

(02:30):
best-selling author, avoiceover artist and a hot
midlife mama.
Literally, I created the Lifeis Delicious podcast with one
simple mission in mind to helpstrong, beautiful midlife women
just like you reclaim your powerand turn up the volume on your
inner voice so that you canwrite your own unique recipe for
a next chapter life that feedsyour soul.

(02:53):
I'm so glad you're here.
It's an honor to get to spend alittle time with you each week
and if this is your first timehere, welcome to the Life is
Delicious family.
Before we get started, I wantedto let you know about my new
book.
Happy is Not an Accident.
It's a guided journal that Icreated with awesome, inspiring
prompts, exercises and deep,thought-provoking questions to

(03:16):
help you gain massive clarity onwhat lights you up, what weighs
you down and who you want tobecome as you rewrite your own
recipe for a next chapter lifethat feeds your soul.
You can get your copy atlifeisdeliciousca forward slash
bookshelf.
That's lifeisdeliciouscaforward slash bookshelf.

(03:38):
Okay, so what I found out thisweek is that decision fatigue is
like mental burnout.
That happens when you've justlike made too many choices
throughout the day, big or small, and, let's be honest, when
you're managing life at bothends of the generational
spectrum.
Those decisions just feelendless what to cook for dinner,

(04:01):
how to support your mom withoutsounding like you're parenting
her, when to check in on yourdaughter who's just started her
first job, or whether youremember to refill your own
thyroid meds Again.
You know like that's a lot ofstuff.
And when your brain isconstantly in overdrive, your
ability to make clear, calm,rational decisions well, it

(04:22):
starts to slip.
You might find yourself zoningout in front of the TV doing
some impulse shopping online orgrabbing whatever food is
closest, not because you don'tcare, but because you just don't
have the bandwidth to care atthe moment, and I know that's
100% true for me.
But here's the thing it's notabout working harder or being

(04:43):
more organized.
It's actually aboutunderstanding that your mental
energy is like a resource andprotecting it is like gold.
So how do we do that?
So I went to town doing a littlebit of homework just to see how
I could actually implement thisinto my own life, because I

(05:04):
know for sure that by the time Igot to the end of the weekend,
I had to have like a bit of atalk with myself and say you
know what something's got togive here.
You've got to find a bettersolution, and I think for me, a
lot of it is distraction basedand maybe not having the proper
routines in place that I need.

(05:24):
Here's what I found.
There's some really greatstrategies that we can implement
.
They're not really difficult,but it's it's like a practice
right.
It's something we have to doconsciously and regularly for it
to actually make an impact.
Here are five real lifestrategies that you can use
right away.
So number one automate yourroutine decisions, and that is a

(05:47):
really big one, likesimplifying your wardrobe
planning dinners for the weekahead, maybe doing your major
cook on Sunday, or using grocerydelivery so you don't have to
actually go to the store andthose meal kits that you can get
delivered to the house actuallytake a lot off your shopping
plate.
And also trying to figure outwhat to cook for dinner and what

(06:10):
to add and if you have theright ingredients, all those
things.
So those little tiny thingsthat we do.
Well, they actually add up totaking a lot off our brain.
To have to think about.
Creating daily rituals is numbertwo, and that means having
systems in place that supportyour mental health, and I am

(06:31):
terrible at systems.
I am a kind of fly by the seatof your pants kind of gal, so
that one's a bit of a challengefor me, but I'm working on it.
So having breakfast time at thesame time, eating the same kind
of foods, making sure that youhave your Sunday planning

(06:53):
sessions and proper sleephygiene, where you can actually
get into bed a little bitearlier and make sure that you
have taken care of all the stuffthat matters before you go to
sleep.
Maybe offload your brain and doa little bit of a brain dump so
that you can rest more easilythat could be a good one.
And using technology to ouradvantage Turning your
notifications off while you'reworking and time blocking is

(07:14):
huge.
I know for me like I'm all overthe place sometimes and I'm
trying to do nine things at once, and that just wreaks havoc
with my performance and myproduction.
So that's another one that Ithink is really important, and I
know for sure for me I am infront of a screen way more than
I should be most of the time.

(07:36):
So I'm going to try andimplement a thing called
Screenless Sunday.
I want to have a little bit ofa screen detox day, because I
definitely feel some days like Ihave a bit of a technology
hangover in the morning.
So that's one thing I'mdefinitely going to work on and
I'll keep you posted as to howthat goes.

(07:57):
So another thing is if you havetoo many choices to make.
Number three is limiting youroptions.
So if you've got nine things,you can choose from your options
.
So if you've got nine thingsyou can choose from, pick three
solid choices and just go fromthere.
The fewer the options, thefaster and the better decision
you probably will make.
And here's one that I foundinteresting.
Number four is make importantdecisions early in the day,

(08:21):
which kind of makes sensebecause we're sharper in the
morning and we have a lot morebrain power.
So tackle the big stuff whenyour brain is freshest, usually
in the morning, and we have alot more brain power.
So tackle the big stuff whenyour brain is freshest, usually
in the morning.
And then number five is reducedigital overload.
That's what we were justtalking about turning off
non-essential notifications,creating screen-free zones where

(08:41):
you maybe read a book or dosomething else, because there's
so many things I love to do,like creating an art project or
going for a bike ride, or maybeit's just writing a letter to a
friend or sending a card tosomebody that I love, like all
of those things that don'tinvolve a computer or a phone,
and I think it makes adifference.

(09:02):
I even notice that I have astiff neck sometimes because I I
know that we are looking downat our phones for a good chunk
of our day, and our computers,so I'm really working on the
ergonomics of my desk to try andmake that better for my body.
What I found kind offascinating is that there's some
pretty big names out there whohave mastered the art of
reducing the decision fatigueand it's on purpose, by the way.

(09:25):
Fatigue and it's on purpose, bythe way.
Barack Obama as president Obamawore the same suit colors gray
or blue every day.
He said I don't want to makedecisions about what I'm eating
or wearing because I have toomany other decisions to make.
Sound familiar.
Steve Jobs the black turtleneckjeans, sneakers every single

(09:47):
day Not a fashion statement, buta way to save his brain power
for innovation.
Mark Zuckerberg same idea Fewerchoices in the morning meant
more energy to make the bigcalls at Facebook.
And Serena Williams Before bigmatches.
Serena would eat the same mealsand follow specific routines to

(10:08):
avoid unnecessarydecision-making.
She's saving her brain forperformance, not breakfast.
These people aren't just quirky, they're smart, and by
automating the small stuff, theycan focus on what really
matters.
So here's a little challenge foryou for the week Choose just
one area of your life where youcan reduce decisions.

(10:29):
Maybe it's rotating threeoutfits for your work week.
Maybe it's prepping yourbreakfast the night before, and
that could be like overnightoats.
Or it could be making quiche sothat you just have to slice it
and heat it up.
Maybe it's just giving yourselfpermission to say no more often
.
Whatever it is that you decideto do, do it with love and do it

(10:53):
for your own mental space, yourpeace of mind and your ability
to keep showing up as the strong, centered, beautifully complex
woman that you are.
You're doing better than youthink, and I know for me I
needed this little reminder andI know that there's no accidents
.
Sometimes, when we go throughsomething that's really
challenging, often it's becausewe are due and ready for a

(11:15):
breakthrough.
You are carrying so much andyou deserve space to rest your
mind, so make sure you take timefor that this week and, until
next time, take care of you.
I hope you loved today's episode.
I hope it inspired you ormotivated you in some way to
keep going and create your verybest life.
If you did, would you stop andtake five minutes to leave me a

(11:38):
review on Apple Podcasts?
It's the best way for me toknow that you're enjoying the
show and it helps otherlisteners find us as well.
And if you haven't already,make sure you subscribe wherever
you get your podcasts so thatwhen new episodes drop they'll
be queued up and ready for you.

(11:58):
I'll be back next week and Ihope you'll join me right here
on Life is Delicious.