The Die Is Cast: Decision Fatigue and Ego Depletion by Misty Evans

This one or that one?

Apple or M&M’s? Red sweater or green dress? Save money for a trip to beach or blow it on new shoes?

 There are days when I stare at the clothes in my closet and can’t decide what to wear. Days I can’t decide what to make for dinner. Days when I can’t even decide whether to use a pen or a pencil to write a note.

No, I’m not depressed. I have what’s called “decision fatigue”. I didn’t know what was causing this seeming decision-making paralysis until I came across that term.  I looked it up and what do you know? It’s a common ailment in our society, affecting everyone.

What exactly is decision fatigue? According to an article in the New York Times:

“Decision fatigue is the newest discovery involving a phenomenon called ego depletion, a term coined by the social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister in homage to a Freudian hypothesis.”

Experiments done by Dr. Baumeister and others have shown that each of us has a finite well of willpower and mental energy for exercising self-control. That stored energy is usually used up early in the day by the decisions we make. The well is also affected by our glucose levels, sleep patterns and whether we believe we have infinite willpower instead of a limited amount.

Studies have shown that judges are more lenient with sentences they dole out in the morning. Dieters who resist temptation successful early in the day are more susceptible to giving in or binging in the late afternoon and evening. Shoppers who’ve made dozens of wise choices in the supermarket aisle suddenly break down in the checkout lane and impulse buy.

Morning or night, if you’ve made a lot of decisions in a short amount of time, especially about big stuff (for instance, buying an expensive flatscreen TV), you’re more likely to lose your self-control with smaller things (like purchasing an extended warranty for said flatscreen). If your glucose levels are low, you haven’t had a break from a task in hours, or you haven’t had enough sleep, flexing the willpower muscle may be too much for you.

In the Times article, this analysis was particularly thought-provoking when it comes to our world’s leaders, who are making hundreds of critical decisions every day:

“Any decision, whether it’s what pants to buy or whether to start a war, can be broken down into what psychologists call the Rubicon model of action phases, in honor of the river that separated Italy from the Roman province of Gaul. When Caesar reached it in 49 B.C., on his way home after conquering the Gauls, he knew that a general returning to Rome was forbidden to take his legions across the river with him, lest it be considered an invasion of Rome. Waiting on the Gaul side of the river, he was in the “predecisional phase” as he contemplated the risks and benefits of starting a civil war. Then he stopped calculating and crossed the Rubicon, reaching the “postdecisional phase,” which Caesar defined much more felicitously: ‘The die is cast.’”

Did Caesar suffer from decision fatigue? Who knows, but it’s a possibility. You can read the NY Times article here.

So how do we fight decision fatigue and ego depletion? Most of the sources I researched suggested there are simple ways to combat this type of psychological fatigue.

The first is by maintaining your glucose levels. Sugar, as we know, can perk us up and then drop us like a ten-ton wrecking ball. If your glucose level gets too low or takes a sudden dive, your mental health and decision making skills suffer like your body does.

Rest breaks are important. Get up from the computer and move around. Drink some water. Do a few stretches. Your physical body needs a break and the decision-making part of your brain does too.

Don’t make major decisions late in the day. You’re drained, have already made hundreds of choices and avoided temptation all day long. Have a healthy dinner, take a walk, pet your cat or play a game with your kids. Fun, along with diet and rest from decision making, goes a long way in relieving decision fatigue. Fun, like exercise, refills your well. You’ll make better decisions and have an easier time with them after you’ve had a break.

Flex your willpower. Whether your store of willpower is infinite or not, studies show the more you use your willpower muscle, the stronger it becomes. When a tough choice arises, tell yourself you have plenty of willpower. If you can’t put off making a decision until you’re reenergized, do your best to believe in your willpower and make the best decision you can.

Thank you for making the decision to read this blog post. I hope it helps you continue to make good decisions for the rest of the day!