Every night lying in bed a series of decisions are made. We decide whether or not to scroll mindlessly through social media, read the news, watch tv, read a book, or perhaps just close our eyes, but seriously who can do that! We go through a mental checklist of the next day’s events, to-do’s, and then this ultimately leads to the countless decisions that need to be made about not only the next day’s events (will I wake up early to go to the gym? Spoiler alert; nope) but future purchases, vacations, and life events. Exactly two hours later, exhaustion has officially hit.
Every Monday afternoon, I take my dog for a two mile walk and listen to Craig Groshel’s latest sermon. Several weeks ago, he began a series on decision fatigue. Being the kind of person that has a hard time taking someone’s “word” for it, I began to research and read on this phenomenon. One quick google search and you will find countless articles on decision fatigue. According to a Psychology Today article written in 2018, the average person makes 35,000 decisions a day equaling two every second. Therefore, you have made countless decisions as you were reading this blog. You made a decision to continue reading, if you know who Craig Groshell is you have probably made a decision on whether or not you agree, a decision to google him later, to google decision fatigue, or even the elements around you have helped you to make a decision on the noises you hear, the temperature of your surroundings, and possibly the comfort of your underwear.
As you are starting to wonder if you might also be affected by decision fatigue, we should probably address what it is. Washington Post in a 2021 article, stated it is a “state of mental overload that can impede our ability to make additional decisions” and this often results in not making a decision at all. I certainly feel overwhelmed by the number of decisions I have to make in a day! Sure some are simple and basic, but others feel near impossible. Take for example, my son is going into high school next year. This is an exciting time for sure and as a homeschool mom I am excited for the vast array of options for him to be successful. With options comes decisions. Picture me standing in front of a beautiful buffet. Each section is calling for me to come place it on my plate. Let’s just say I do not do well at buffets. My hands start to get sweaty and my stomach churns. I want to make good decisions and my husband keeps telling me I am choosing the ones that will fill me too fast (bread) or the inexpensive items (not meat and fish). Unlike my buffet decisions, the high school decisions could ultimately affect college options. So much pressure as there are so many opportunities for me to fail my son’s possibilities!
This overwhelming burden of decision making is leading me to overcomplicate the options, avoid the additional research to be done, and ultimately indecision.
I wish I could tell you this is the only thing I have done this with lately. Nope, there is a conference I am attending in just a few days and instead of listening to all the FB videos on the page about the different break out sessions I waited until just a few days ago to look more closely. Funny enough, it was a 3:30 in the morning, I can’t fall back to sleep session, that made me realize I have procrastinated long enough! The next morning I powered through a one-sheet, made some connections, and picked my break out sessions by reading the blurbs. I still have a long list of to-do’s but time is rarely my friend when you homeschool three very busy kids.
Now I know you have seen The Notebook meme with the two arguing over what to eat for dinner. Let’s face it ladies, we have problems when it comes to meals. Often our true colors shine when faced with the decision of what to eat, especially when the hunger pangs have already hit. The Snickers commercials during the Super Bowl were for the husbands to laugh at the reality of their wives and the wives to say, “me too!” This is why years ago I created a great meal planning system. I do not make meal decisions on the fly, they always turn into a breakfast for dinner kind of night.
If in 2018 the average person was making 35,000 decisions a day, what do you think a person makes today? I can only imagine. Not only are we faced with distractions (Jessica stop texting me, you know I am trying to write this!), social media notifications, emails, but Covid. Every time my throat feels scratchy or a kid coughs I lose my marbles. Is it Covid? Should we stay home? We are plagued with the decision to mask our kids, send our kids to school, go on the vacation we have rescheduled for two years in a row, meet with friends and family for gatherings, decide to vaccinate, and countless other ongoing decisions. The problem with the additional decisions is the uncertainty of results, misinformation, and no clear guidance! It is no wonder, we have decision fatigue!
Perhaps Covid brain fog isn’t actually from Covid, but from the domino of decisions that had to be made surrounding it.
Are you exhausted?
I don’t want to leave you hanging here with a new diagnosis and no remedy for your fatigue. You can certainly read a handful or articles all telling you to plan better, get sleep, exercise, and eat well. I am sure all these are fine, but I want to remind you
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Feels too simple doesn’t it? Give it a try. Hand it over to Him. Ask Him to guide you, opening the doors that need to be opened and closing the ones that need to be closed. Ask Him to give you peace and wisdom. Then you stop procrastinating and do what you can do, leaving the rest to Him.
