It’s estimated that the average adult makes about 35,000 conscious decisions per day.
35,000…
This can be exhausting and lead to what is called decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is the idea that after making many decisions, your ability to make more and more decisions over the course of a day becomes worse. The more decisions you have to make, the more fatigue you develop and the more difficult it can become.
In this video, I want to discuss why having a few routines is so vital to your productivity.
Whenever I work with leaders, one of the things I often hear them complain about is the fact that they have no time to think. Every day, they’re like “go, go, go!”. They’re always in a rush to do things and leave themselves no room for their thinking time.
What I’ve noticed is that this happens because of one of two reasons:
● They don’t set a time for thinking and protecting it, or
● They schedule their thinking time in their diary, only to end up so exhausted that they never do it.
And it’s hardly surprising.
Why?
Think about how most leaders start their day.
When they arrive at work, they start checking their emails, and with each email, they have to make a decision – whether about the email itself (such as to save or to delete that email) or the content of the email. So, if they have 100 emails, they need to make at least 100 decisions.
And this is just the start of the day. They still have to go to many meetings throughout the day. During those meetings, they have to make decisions. Throughout the day, these leaders are constantly making decisions and this is something that happens every single day.
No wonder they’re suffering from what is called “decision fatigue.”
To reduce decision fatigue, what I do is implement a few routines during the day:
● For my morning routine, I do a quick meditation and then go on a quick walk. When I get back from my walk, I read to learn something new.
● When I check my emails, I follow a certain routine.
● During the afternoon, I exercise at the same time every day. I go to a gym where a different program is organized every day. I don’t have to think, I just do.
● I end my day with my evening routine: teeth, grateful journal and read.
Now, why do I do all these routines?
Simple.
Because I don’t have to make any decisions about them – I just execute those routines.
When I know exactly what I need to do and when to do it, I conserve my energy because there’s no decision-making involved. Instead, I just do those things.
This means when I have time to think or need to work on something that requires my focus, I’m still full of energy.
Since decision fatigue hasn’t set in, I can be more productive throughout the day.
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip.
Think about a few routines you can do each day. What are two or three simple routines you can implement during the day that will help you make less decisions?
Remember, routines prevent decision fatigue.
I hope you have a lovely day.
A bientôt,
Cyril
