April 7, 2025 • 21 mins
Ever been asked "What's for dinner?" after a long day and felt your brain completely shut down? That's decision fatigue – the mental exhaustion that comes from making countless choices throughout your day. And for helping professionals making upwards of 40,000 decisions daily, it's a recipe for burnout.
In this revealing episode, I pull back the curtain on my own painful experience with decision fatigue during a career transition. I share the embarrassing rollercoaster of changing my mind repeatedly about leaving my day job for private practice, all because decision fatigue had hijacked my ability to think clearly. This very human struggle taught me valuable lessons about when and how to make important decisions – lessons I'm now passing on to you.
The solution isn't complicated, but it requires intention. We explore practical strategies like decision scheduling (tackling big choices early in the day), creating routines that eliminate unnecessary decisions, and setting firm time limits on your decision-making process. I'll guide you through specific techniques to preserve your mental energy for what truly matters, including the surprising power of advance planning for seemingly trivial choices like meals and outfits.
Your brain has a limited capacity for making decisions each day. Learning to work with this limitation rather than fighting against it is key to preventing burnout, reducing stress, and creating space for joy. Whether you're a therapist, healthcare worker, teacher, or anyone navigating our choice-filled world, these strategies will help you reclaim your mental energy and make decisions with confidence. Let's transform decision fatigue from your daily nemesis into an occasional visitor who knows when it's time to leave.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey y'all, I'm Dr Julie Merriman and welcome to
SoulJoy.
So today is about anothersomewhat unsexy topic of
decision fatigue.
Yeah, we're still focusing onyour solar energy in an effort
to help you get that balance.
Being able to make decisionswith confidence is a necessary
(00:23):
component of holistic,sustainable wealth.
Self-care also means wellness.
All right, I just keep wantingto play that song.
I think that's the second timeI've done that.
Anyway, welcome, hey you, gladyou are here.
I appreciate you taking sometime to hang out with me for
(00:45):
just a hot minute.
I think today's topic is prettyoh, it's pretty important.
It is so important.
I wrote about it in my book InPursuit of Soul Joy, so I'll
mention that a few times as wego.
But but, let's see, I haven'ttalked to y'all since last week.
So Kelly and I my beloved we'vedecided to have a fun
(01:08):
celebration for our 30th weddinganniversary in June.
And y'all, it blows my littlemind that it's been 30 years.
I guess if you marry the rightone, you know it just flies by
so fast.
I just remember yesterdaywalking out of the church and
the pastor's wife stopping usand saying I want you to
remember how you feel, rightthis moment, when y'all get
(01:31):
upset with each other.
Just stop and think about howyou feel right this moment.
Such sage advice.
But we've decided we're goingto get the gang back together.
We're going to suit up Yep, thewedding dress still fits after
30 years.
I'm very, very pleased aboutthat.
And the gang is going to getback together.
(01:52):
And that's just the weddingparty.
We had a very small wedding.
Our two boys stood up with usand a few of Kelly's buddies and
one of my girlfriends read thepoem Mama wrote.
But anyway, we're going to getthe wedding party back together.
The original preacher is stillalive, which is a blessing, and
he's going to do just a realquick vow renewal.
(02:13):
We're going to take some pics.
Sarah Seaton, my photographer,shout out to Sarah, she is going
to come and do that for us.
And then we're going to comeback out to the ranch and do
just a real casual barbecue andthe next day we're going to
leave for a second honeymoon,which is actually kind of fun,
(02:36):
although, I'll tell y'all,actually every day is like a
honeymoon with this man.
I love him so much.
We really got lucky.
In fact, I think I need to do apodcast sometime on soulmates,
because I truly believe he is mysoulmate.
I mean, when I met him, I feltlike I already knew him.
That's a whole thing foranother day, but anyway, we're
(02:56):
really excited about this littlecelebration, so I wanted to
share that with y'all.
So, okay, professional helpers,this podcast is dedicated to
preventing and overcoming theoccupational hazards of the
career we chose, specificallyburnout, compassion, fatigue and
vicarious trauma.
(03:16):
But do know, this podcast isfor everyone.
If you happen to not be in thehelping profession, please join
us, because I tell you you'regoing to get some stuff that
will help you.
Okay, so do you ever experiencedecision fatigue?
As a clinician, research tellsus that we're making close to
(03:37):
40,000 decisions a day.
Now that's on a busy day whenyou're seeing several clients in
a day.
But y'all that hurts my brainto even think about that, to
even say that.
That's a lot of thinking anddecision making, and it's not
just do I want chocolate icecream or vanilla ice cream.
These are pretty heavydecisions we're making and it
(04:00):
leads to being completely wornout at the end of the day.
We've got to learn techniquesto prevent decision fatigue, and
I've got you.
I go deep into this in my bookand I've created an activity for
(04:22):
you later in this podcast.
So stay tuned all the way tothe end later in this podcast.
So stay tuned all the way tothe end.
I learned on my journey, wayback when, when burnout just
made me toasty fried, I learnedthat decision making was kicking
my ever-loving ass.
I was not approaching it withclarity and confidence.
(04:45):
I just didn't have the toolsand I don't know.
I mean, I think about it as I'mspeaking and I just finished
rewriting the curriculum for theprogram I teach in the
counseling program.
We don't spend much time onhelping our helpers know sound
decision-making techniques.
But again, I've got you.
(05:07):
I'm going to talk to you aboutthis in the podcast and I'd go
deep into in my book.
But so what was happening?
When I took the tumble intoburnout?
My solar plexus chakra wascompletely out of whack and this
caused me to live my life fullof doubting myself and even
(05:29):
questioning my goals.
Y'all I can remember I was sowishy-washy about decisions.
I mean I would suffer physicalpain.
I can still feel, even as I saythat, my solar plexus
tightening up.
I mean, it was not a fun timeand I'm sharing this because I
don't want y'all to go throughthis.
There is hope.
(05:50):
I can remember a specific timedecision fatigue caused me some
just great chagrin, just a lotof trouble.
This was back when I wanted toleave my day job and I wanted to
go full time in my privatepractice.
I was full of doubt and fearand if fear is something you're
(06:15):
dealing with, I invite you to goback to season two, episode
three, for more about fear.
That podcast is all about that,but for me, at this time I was
really doubting myself.
Fear that podcast is all aboutthat, but for me, at this time I
was really doubting myself.
It was scary to leave apaycheck that I knew what it was
going to be every time it hitand to go into some unknown.
I think there's some normalcyto that, but I really took it.
(06:36):
I took it to the next level,man, I was allowing myself to
freak myself out and it waskicking my ever-loving earths
and it prevented me from makinga confident decision.
And as I'll go through in theactivity I'm going to take you
through in just a few moments.
But you know we need to makehard decisions early in the day
(07:02):
make it, write it down, leave italone, and I was not doing that
.
So what I did, do I finally gotwell.
The other thing, y'all, Iwasn't using a solid
decision-making model, and Igive you a solid model in my
book In Pursuit of Soul Joy.
And you know that's not rocketscience, y'all can look those up
(07:24):
as well, but you needdecision-making models.
Now I do teach this to mystudents who are learning to be
clinicians, and even theAmerican Counseling Association
tells us, clinicians, we need tobe using decision-making models
when we have some ethicaldilemmas we're dealing with.
Well, y'all, we need to applyit to our own life as well.
Just, you know, those are goodtools for us to use.
(07:48):
But I was not practicing with asolid decision-making model back
when I took the tumble intoburnout.
But I did finally get my nerveup to ask the manager of the
practice where I was practicingin the evenings, just very
part-time.
I asked if I could join thepractice full-time and Carl was
(08:09):
lovely and he said yes and weworked out the details.
And this only led to me to sinkinto really hateful self-talk
and overthinking and thisabsolutely grabbed a hold of my
soul where I thought I'd made a.
Really, I'm going to do this,I've had the talk, I feel good.
(08:34):
I spiraled into fear anddoubting and this great doubt
overtook me.
I allowed decision fatigue.
See, I was in a place ofdecision fatigue when I kicked
into all this overthinking.
I allowed it to get into theway and after all the gain I had
(08:55):
made by getting the courage upto talk to Carl the manager, I
called him back.
I'm embarrassed to say this.
I called him back and I toldhim never mind, I had been
mistaken, I was just going tostay at my day job.
And then I tumbled into greatregret and remorse.
(09:16):
I mean, it just stormed my soul.
I could feel it from head totoe.
My solar plexus was just almostnauseous.
I was so restless anddisappointed in myself because I
had faced this fear, took thesteps to do what I knew I wanted
to do and then backtracked andit caused me to suffer.
(09:36):
Does any of this, can y'allrelate to any of this?
Any decision maybe you've triedto make?
Well, finally, feeling like afool, I had to do something.
So I contacted the manager,carl.
I contacted him again and Itold him I was wrong.
I did want to go full time intoprivate practice with them and
(10:00):
he was precious and showed meall kinds of grace and welcomed
me with open arms, and the nextday I stayed with my decision.
I gave my notice at my day joband I didn't look back.
I did not look back Now.
I went through some turmoil toget there.
I got quite a roller coasterthat I created for myself.
(10:20):
But, y'all, two months later Iwas making far more money at my
private practice and I was farhappier than I'd been at my day
job.
But the moral to this story isthat I allowed decision fatigue
to create chaos in my life.
See y'all, lots of decisionswear us out.
(10:42):
We're making lots of decisionsall day long, and it wears us
out.
I can remember, coming home, myadorable, loving husband would
say where do you want to go toeat?
And I'd be like when do youwant to go to eat?
And I'd be like I don't know.
Man, I've made so manydecisions.
You choose.
(11:03):
That happens when one makesdecisions all day long.
It takes a lot of braincalories to weigh the decision
and make the calls.
You need to respect this.
I mean, it's just a fact, y'all.
You've got to respect it.
Big decisions need to be madeearly in the day, by the time
you get home after a long day ofwork that includes lots of
(11:29):
decisions.
You just don't have thebandwidth to wrestle with big
ones.
You need to also, as Imentioned, adopt a sound
decision-making model, and thisis going to help you prevent
some of this decision fatigue aswell.
But I've got you.
I've got lots of strategies foryou here in a minute.
But first I want you to acceptthat decision fatigue is real
(11:54):
there's no shame or judgmentaround this and accept and
embrace your human with alimited amount of energy.
So just pat yourself on theface and say man, we're doing
the best, we can Cut myself someslack, right, okay?
So before I go into theactivity, I just want to remind
(12:17):
you to subscribe to my emaillist to get the weekly podcast,
which includes I go in and Imake you a really nice PDF of
this activity I'm about to goover, and then I email the
podcast episode and the activityto you each week.
On my website you can just signup for the newsletter.
I've got a really slickseven-day self-care challenge
(12:38):
that I invite you to check out.
I've gotten a lot of goodfeedback on that and that's just
an assign.
Okay.
So a quick drink of water.
The activity for today I callit combat decision fatigue.
And y'all, to combat decisionfatigue, you've got to
prioritize sleep, createroutines, limit choices,
(13:02):
delegate tasks and makeimportant decisions early in the
day.
I think that's chapter five inmy book Strategies I'm going to
share here.
They are Number one's chapterfive in my book Strategies I'm
going to share here.
They are Number one prioritizesleep and self-care.
Okay, so good enough, sleepright.
Studies show that sleepdeprivation significantly,
(13:24):
significantly impairsdecision-making abilities.
So you want to aim for seven tonine hours of quality sleep
each night.
That's sleep hygiene.
If you're having troubles, talkwith your doc.
Sometimes I will utilizemelatonin, which is a naturally
(13:45):
produced by our body, a naturalherb.
That kind of helps me out.
I'm not a doctor.
Talk to your doctor about thatstuff.
You want to practice holistic,holistic, sustainable self-care,
read in pursuit of soul joy andcontinue to listen to this
podcast and meanwhile engage inactivities that help you relax
(14:07):
and reduce stress, such asexercise, meditation, walking
around in nature and especiallywith your shoes off.
Summer's just around the corner.
And you want to eat a healthydiet with proper nutrition.
It's essential for maintainingthose energy levels that you
(14:29):
need for positive cognitivefunction energy levels that you
need for positive cognitivefunction, and you want to.
You know.
You want to limit alcohol, youwant to practice everything in
moderation.
So, anyway, try to be as cleanas you can.
(14:56):
The next thing you want to do issimplify your life and reduce
choices.
So this means you can createroutines right, establish daily
routines for tasks like gettingready, eating meals, going to
bed, to reduce the need forconstant decision making.
It's nine o'clock, I don'tthink about it.
Time to go to bed All day.
Sunday.
I meal prep All week.
I've got the menu, I knowexactly what I'm going to make.
I mean it.
Just it simplifies life.
(15:18):
You want to limit choices.
When faced with too manyoptions, this can overwhelm us,
so you want to narrow yourchoices to a manageable number.
You want to delegate tasks.
Sometimes that takes some skillto learn to delegate, because
so many, so often we think if wedon't do it, it won't get done
(15:41):
right and sugar.
That's not true.
Getting done is the battle, soit doesn't have to be done just
like you want it to Release anddelegate If possible.
Delegate tasks to others toreduce your workload and the
number of decisions you have tomake and then and I think this
(16:02):
is really sage make decisions inadvance.
I do this well.
Now that I work more from home Idon't do it as much, but when I
worked at the university inperson, I would plan my weekly
outfits.
I'd get them all on Sunday.
I'd spend time to plan myoutfit for each day of the week,
make getting ready in themornings very peaceful.
(16:25):
I'd meal prep on Sundays, as Imentioned a moment ago.
It makes meals much easier.
And activities that you'regoing to do for the week have
those planned out.
Like I know, I'm going to ridemy Peloton bike on Monday, I'm
going to do Pilates on Tuesday,I'm going to lift weights on
(16:46):
Wednesday and then I'm going tocycle back through that schedule
throughout the week.
I've already made thosedecisions, so I don't have to
battle myself in the morning.
I don't exercise, I don't getout of bed.
It's already done.
It's bike day.
Get up, go out to the garage,exercise.
So making those decisions inadvance really makes your life
(17:10):
easier.
Okay, and here's what I wasmessing up when I around the
story I just shared with you youwant to make important
decisions early.
I was thinking about it afterwork and my brain was fried by
that time.
So you want to make importantdecisions early.
Do the most important thingsfirst.
(17:32):
Tackle the most demanding tasksearly in the day, when you have
more mental energy, and maybethat means you have to rearrange
your calendar a bit, but I tellyou that's going to be your
best friend.
Make those decisions early.
You want to set time limits fordecisions.
(17:52):
If you find yourself strugglingto make a decision, set a time
limit.
Make a decision based on theavailable information.
Be done with it.
Write it down, put it in ink,done with it.
Don't overthink decisions.
See, that's what I did, and I'mso thankful for Carl all these
(18:12):
years later that he never shavedme, never blinked his eyes,
just held grace and space for meand welcomed me in.
I'm in, I'm out, I'm in.
He was so kind.
But don't overthink decisions.
Once you've made a decision,move on.
Do not dwell on it and I knowthat's easier said than done,
(18:34):
but you've got to build thatneural pathway Practice,
practice, practice.
And then fourth this is the lastarea you need to take breaks
and recharge.
Take regular breaks, step awayfrom your work or tasks to give
your brain a chance to rest andrecharge.
Go, sit outside, look at theclouds, put on a piano, a
(18:58):
meditation I like piano,whatever kind of meditation you
like and close your eyes andunplug for five minutes.
This, your brain needs thisreset.
You can also it's almost it'san acupuncture place to rub your
earlobes as you're doing that,resting.
It's amazing how that energizesyou.
But take those regular breaks.
(19:20):
Engage in activities you enjoy.
You know and I've said this alot and maybe I say it more in
the book and I haven't said somuch on the podcast but our goal
is not to remove things fromour life.
Our goal is to add things ofjoy into our life, so that we
have created a life that isyummy and one that we have
(19:42):
fallen in love with.
So you want to engage inactivities you enjoy.
Make time for those activities.
They're going to help you findjoy and they're going to help
you relax and that's going tohelp you reduce stress and
improve your mood.
And, finally, practicemindfulness.
Engage in mindfulness exercisesto help you stay present and
(20:06):
reduce mental clutter.
Oh, my Atlanta, that feels sogood to have that mental clutter
shut down.
So there's lots and lots ofmeditations that you can find on
YouTube.
Maybe you have an app.
There's all kinds of apps Ilike to play like I know I'm
(20:32):
working on my solar chakra.
I go to YouTube and find afrequency that talks to my solar
plexus chakra and I play thatwhile I'm working and I find
that helps me reduce stress andreduce that mental clutter as
well.
So there's lots of techniques,but that's it for today.
I thank you for joining metoday.
Subscribe to my podcastwherever you listen to podcasts,
(20:55):
leave a review to help me reachmore people and until next time
, take care of you.
Hey y'all, I'm Dr Julie Merriman and welcome to
SoulJoy.
So today is about anothersomewhat unsexy topic of
decision fatigue.
Yeah, we're still focusing onyour solar energy in an effort
to help you get that balance.
Being able to make decisionswith confidence is a necessary
(00:23):
component of holistic,sustainable wealth.
Self-care also means wellness.
All right, I just keep wantingto play that song.
I think that's the second timeI've done that.
Anyway, welcome, hey you, gladyou are here.
I appreciate you taking sometime to hang out with me for
(00:45):
just a hot minute.
I think today's topic is prettyoh, it's pretty important.
It is so important.
I wrote about it in my book InPursuit of Soul Joy, so I'll
mention that a few times as wego.
But but, let's see, I haven'ttalked to y'all since last week.
So Kelly and I my beloved we'vedecided to have a fun
(01:08):
celebration for our 30th weddinganniversary in June.
And y'all, it blows my littlemind that it's been 30 years.
I guess if you marry the rightone, you know it just flies by
so fast.
I just remember yesterdaywalking out of the church and
the pastor's wife stopping usand saying I want you to
remember how you feel, rightthis moment, when y'all get
(01:31):
upset with each other.
Just stop and think about howyou feel right this moment.
Such sage advice.
But we've decided we're goingto get the gang back together.
We're going to suit up Yep, thewedding dress still fits after
30 years.
I'm very, very pleased aboutthat.
And the gang is going to getback together.
(01:52):
And that's just the weddingparty.
We had a very small wedding.
Our two boys stood up with usand a few of Kelly's buddies and
one of my girlfriends read thepoem Mama wrote.
But anyway, we're going to getthe wedding party back together.
The original preacher is stillalive, which is a blessing, and
he's going to do just a realquick vow renewal.
(02:13):
We're going to take some pics.
Sarah Seaton, my photographer,shout out to Sarah, she is going
to come and do that for us.
And then we're going to comeback out to the ranch and do
just a real casual barbecue andthe next day we're going to
leave for a second honeymoon,which is actually kind of fun,
(02:36):
although, I'll tell y'all,actually every day is like a
honeymoon with this man.
I love him so much.
We really got lucky.
In fact, I think I need to do apodcast sometime on soulmates,
because I truly believe he is mysoulmate.
I mean, when I met him, I feltlike I already knew him.
That's a whole thing foranother day, but anyway, we're
(02:56):
really excited about this littlecelebration, so I wanted to
share that with y'all.
So, okay, professional helpers,this podcast is dedicated to
preventing and overcoming theoccupational hazards of the
career we chose, specificallyburnout, compassion, fatigue and
vicarious trauma.
(03:16):
But do know, this podcast isfor everyone.
If you happen to not be in thehelping profession, please join
us, because I tell you you'regoing to get some stuff that
will help you.
Okay, so do you ever experiencedecision fatigue?
As a clinician, research tellsus that we're making close to
(03:37):
40,000 decisions a day.
Now that's on a busy day whenyou're seeing several clients in
a day.
But y'all that hurts my brainto even think about that, to
even say that.
That's a lot of thinking anddecision making, and it's not
just do I want chocolate icecream or vanilla ice cream.
These are pretty heavydecisions we're making and it
(04:00):
leads to being completely wornout at the end of the day.
We've got to learn techniquesto prevent decision fatigue, and
I've got you.
I go deep into this in my bookand I've created an activity for
(04:22):
you later in this podcast.
So stay tuned all the way tothe end later in this podcast.
So stay tuned all the way tothe end.
I learned on my journey, wayback when, when burnout just
made me toasty fried, I learnedthat decision making was kicking
my ever-loving ass.
I was not approaching it withclarity and confidence.
(04:45):
I just didn't have the toolsand I don't know.
I mean, I think about it as I'mspeaking and I just finished
rewriting the curriculum for theprogram I teach in the
counseling program.
We don't spend much time onhelping our helpers know sound
decision-making techniques.
But again, I've got you.
(05:07):
I'm going to talk to you aboutthis in the podcast and I'd go
deep into in my book.
But so what was happening?
When I took the tumble intoburnout?
My solar plexus chakra wascompletely out of whack and this
caused me to live my life fullof doubting myself and even
(05:29):
questioning my goals.
Y'all I can remember I was sowishy-washy about decisions.
I mean I would suffer physicalpain.
I can still feel, even as I saythat, my solar plexus
tightening up.
I mean, it was not a fun timeand I'm sharing this because I
don't want y'all to go throughthis.
There is hope.
(05:50):
I can remember a specific timedecision fatigue caused me some
just great chagrin, just a lotof trouble.
This was back when I wanted toleave my day job and I wanted to
go full time in my privatepractice.
I was full of doubt and fearand if fear is something you're
(06:15):
dealing with, I invite you to goback to season two, episode
three, for more about fear.
That podcast is all about that,but for me, at this time I was
really doubting myself.
Fear that podcast is all aboutthat, but for me, at this time I
was really doubting myself.
It was scary to leave apaycheck that I knew what it was
going to be every time it hitand to go into some unknown.
I think there's some normalcyto that, but I really took it.
(06:36):
I took it to the next level,man, I was allowing myself to
freak myself out and it waskicking my ever-loving earths
and it prevented me from makinga confident decision.
And as I'll go through in theactivity I'm going to take you
through in just a few moments.
But you know we need to makehard decisions early in the day
(07:02):
make it, write it down, leave italone, and I was not doing that
.
So what I did, do I finally gotwell.
The other thing, y'all, Iwasn't using a solid
decision-making model, and Igive you a solid model in my
book In Pursuit of Soul Joy.
And you know that's not rocketscience, y'all can look those up
(07:24):
as well, but you needdecision-making models.
Now I do teach this to mystudents who are learning to be
clinicians, and even theAmerican Counseling Association
tells us, clinicians, we need tobe using decision-making models
when we have some ethicaldilemmas we're dealing with.
Well, y'all, we need to applyit to our own life as well.
Just, you know, those are goodtools for us to use.
(07:48):
But I was not practicing with asolid decision-making model back
when I took the tumble intoburnout.
But I did finally get my nerveup to ask the manager of the
practice where I was practicingin the evenings, just very
part-time.
I asked if I could join thepractice full-time and Carl was
(08:09):
lovely and he said yes and weworked out the details.
And this only led to me to sinkinto really hateful self-talk
and overthinking and thisabsolutely grabbed a hold of my
soul where I thought I'd made a.
Really, I'm going to do this,I've had the talk, I feel good.
(08:34):
I spiraled into fear anddoubting and this great doubt
overtook me.
I allowed decision fatigue.
See, I was in a place ofdecision fatigue when I kicked
into all this overthinking.
I allowed it to get into theway and after all the gain I had
(08:55):
made by getting the courage upto talk to Carl the manager, I
called him back.
I'm embarrassed to say this.
I called him back and I toldhim never mind, I had been
mistaken, I was just going tostay at my day job.
And then I tumbled into greatregret and remorse.
(09:16):
I mean, it just stormed my soul.
I could feel it from head totoe.
My solar plexus was just almostnauseous.
I was so restless anddisappointed in myself because I
had faced this fear, took thesteps to do what I knew I wanted
to do and then backtracked andit caused me to suffer.
(09:36):
Does any of this, can y'allrelate to any of this?
Any decision maybe you've triedto make?
Well, finally, feeling like afool, I had to do something.
So I contacted the manager,carl.
I contacted him again and Itold him I was wrong.
I did want to go full time intoprivate practice with them and
(10:00):
he was precious and showed meall kinds of grace and welcomed
me with open arms, and the nextday I stayed with my decision.
I gave my notice at my day joband I didn't look back.
I did not look back Now.
I went through some turmoil toget there.
I got quite a roller coasterthat I created for myself.
(10:20):
But, y'all, two months later Iwas making far more money at my
private practice and I was farhappier than I'd been at my day
job.
But the moral to this story isthat I allowed decision fatigue
to create chaos in my life.
See y'all, lots of decisionswear us out.
(10:42):
We're making lots of decisionsall day long, and it wears us
out.
I can remember, coming home, myadorable, loving husband would
say where do you want to go toeat?
And I'd be like when do youwant to go to eat?
And I'd be like I don't know.
Man, I've made so manydecisions.
You choose.
(11:03):
That happens when one makesdecisions all day long.
It takes a lot of braincalories to weigh the decision
and make the calls.
You need to respect this.
I mean, it's just a fact, y'all.
You've got to respect it.
Big decisions need to be madeearly in the day, by the time
you get home after a long day ofwork that includes lots of
(11:29):
decisions.
You just don't have thebandwidth to wrestle with big
ones.
You need to also, as Imentioned, adopt a sound
decision-making model, and thisis going to help you prevent
some of this decision fatigue aswell.
But I've got you.
I've got lots of strategies foryou here in a minute.
But first I want you to acceptthat decision fatigue is real
(11:54):
there's no shame or judgmentaround this and accept and
embrace your human with alimited amount of energy.
So just pat yourself on theface and say man, we're doing
the best, we can Cut myself someslack, right, okay?
So before I go into theactivity, I just want to remind
(12:17):
you to subscribe to my emaillist to get the weekly podcast,
which includes I go in and Imake you a really nice PDF of
this activity I'm about to goover, and then I email the
podcast episode and the activityto you each week.
On my website you can just signup for the newsletter.
I've got a really slickseven-day self-care challenge
(12:38):
that I invite you to check out.
I've gotten a lot of goodfeedback on that and that's just
an assign.
Okay.
So a quick drink of water.
The activity for today I callit combat decision fatigue.
And y'all, to combat decisionfatigue, you've got to
prioritize sleep, createroutines, limit choices,
(13:02):
delegate tasks and makeimportant decisions early in the
day.
I think that's chapter five inmy book Strategies I'm going to
share here.
They are Number one's chapterfive in my book Strategies I'm
going to share here.
They are Number one prioritizesleep and self-care.
Okay, so good enough, sleepright.
Studies show that sleepdeprivation significantly,
(13:24):
significantly impairsdecision-making abilities.
So you want to aim for seven tonine hours of quality sleep
each night.
That's sleep hygiene.
If you're having troubles, talkwith your doc.
Sometimes I will utilizemelatonin, which is a naturally
(13:45):
produced by our body, a naturalherb.
That kind of helps me out.
I'm not a doctor.
Talk to your doctor about thatstuff.
You want to practice holistic,holistic, sustainable self-care,
read in pursuit of soul joy andcontinue to listen to this
podcast and meanwhile engage inactivities that help you relax
(14:07):
and reduce stress, such asexercise, meditation, walking
around in nature and especiallywith your shoes off.
Summer's just around the corner.
And you want to eat a healthydiet with proper nutrition.
It's essential for maintainingthose energy levels that you
(14:29):
need for positive cognitivefunction energy levels that you
need for positive cognitivefunction, and you want to.
You know.
You want to limit alcohol, youwant to practice everything in
moderation.
So, anyway, try to be as cleanas you can.
(14:56):
The next thing you want to do issimplify your life and reduce
choices.
So this means you can createroutines right, establish daily
routines for tasks like gettingready, eating meals, going to
bed, to reduce the need forconstant decision making.
It's nine o'clock, I don'tthink about it.
Time to go to bed All day.
Sunday.
I meal prep All week.
I've got the menu, I knowexactly what I'm going to make.
I mean it.
Just it simplifies life.
(15:18):
You want to limit choices.
When faced with too manyoptions, this can overwhelm us,
so you want to narrow yourchoices to a manageable number.
You want to delegate tasks.
Sometimes that takes some skillto learn to delegate, because
so many, so often we think if wedon't do it, it won't get done
(15:41):
right and sugar.
That's not true.
Getting done is the battle, soit doesn't have to be done just
like you want it to Release anddelegate If possible.
Delegate tasks to others toreduce your workload and the
number of decisions you have tomake and then and I think this
(16:02):
is really sage make decisions inadvance.
I do this well.
Now that I work more from home Idon't do it as much, but when I
worked at the university inperson, I would plan my weekly
outfits.
I'd get them all on Sunday.
I'd spend time to plan myoutfit for each day of the week,
make getting ready in themornings very peaceful.
(16:25):
I'd meal prep on Sundays, as Imentioned a moment ago.
It makes meals much easier.
And activities that you'regoing to do for the week have
those planned out.
Like I know, I'm going to ridemy Peloton bike on Monday, I'm
going to do Pilates on Tuesday,I'm going to lift weights on
(16:46):
Wednesday and then I'm going tocycle back through that schedule
throughout the week.
I've already made thosedecisions, so I don't have to
battle myself in the morning.
I don't exercise, I don't getout of bed.
It's already done.
It's bike day.
Get up, go out to the garage,exercise.
So making those decisions inadvance really makes your life
(17:10):
easier.
Okay, and here's what I wasmessing up when I around the
story I just shared with you youwant to make important
decisions early.
I was thinking about it afterwork and my brain was fried by
that time.
So you want to make importantdecisions early.
Do the most important thingsfirst.
(17:32):
Tackle the most demanding tasksearly in the day, when you have
more mental energy, and maybethat means you have to rearrange
your calendar a bit, but I tellyou that's going to be your
best friend.
Make those decisions early.
You want to set time limits fordecisions.
(17:52):
If you find yourself strugglingto make a decision, set a time
limit.
Make a decision based on theavailable information.
Be done with it.
Write it down, put it in ink,done with it.
Don't overthink decisions.
See, that's what I did, and I'mso thankful for Carl all these
(18:12):
years later that he never shavedme, never blinked his eyes,
just held grace and space for meand welcomed me in.
I'm in, I'm out, I'm in.
He was so kind.
But don't overthink decisions.
Once you've made a decision,move on.
Do not dwell on it and I knowthat's easier said than done,
(18:34):
but you've got to build thatneural pathway Practice,
practice, practice.
And then fourth this is the lastarea you need to take breaks
and recharge.
Take regular breaks, step awayfrom your work or tasks to give
your brain a chance to rest andrecharge.
Go, sit outside, look at theclouds, put on a piano, a
(18:58):
meditation I like piano,whatever kind of meditation you
like and close your eyes andunplug for five minutes.
This, your brain needs thisreset.
You can also it's almost it'san acupuncture place to rub your
earlobes as you're doing that,resting.
It's amazing how that energizesyou.
But take those regular breaks.
(19:20):
Engage in activities you enjoy.
You know and I've said this alot and maybe I say it more in
the book and I haven't said somuch on the podcast but our goal
is not to remove things fromour life.
Our goal is to add things ofjoy into our life, so that we
have created a life that isyummy and one that we have
(19:42):
fallen in love with.
So you want to engage inactivities you enjoy.
Make time for those activities.
They're going to help you findjoy and they're going to help
you relax and that's going tohelp you reduce stress and
improve your mood.
And, finally, practicemindfulness.
Engage in mindfulness exercisesto help you stay present and
(20:06):
reduce mental clutter.
Oh, my Atlanta, that feels sogood to have that mental clutter
shut down.
So there's lots and lots ofmeditations that you can find on
YouTube.
Maybe you have an app.
There's all kinds of apps Ilike to play like I know I'm
(20:32):
working on my solar chakra.
I go to YouTube and find afrequency that talks to my solar
plexus chakra and I play thatwhile I'm working and I find
that helps me reduce stress andreduce that mental clutter as
well.
So there's lots of techniques,but that's it for today.
I thank you for joining metoday.
Subscribe to my podcastwherever you listen to podcasts,
(20:55):
leave a review to help me reachmore people and until next time
, take care of you.
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