Happy 2018 – Day 130 – Avoid decision-fatigue by forming good habits

I recently read that billionaire entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg wears the same outfit every day, so as to avoid wasting time making the decision of what to wear each day.

The philosophy behind this is that we actually have a finite amount of decisions that we can make each day, rather than an endless pool:

So it’s advisable to save our decision-making energy for the ones that really matter. 

Personally, I find the idea of wearing the same outfit each day just abhorrent! But I do choose my outfits the night before, to save time the next day. Just as when I’m organised, I’ll prep good, wholesome food so that I don’t have to decide what I’m having for lunch, or struggle over choosing a healthy or unhealthy (and probably delicious) option.

If you do believe that we only have a certain amount of decisions we can make each day, then surely it’s better that we don’t waste them on trivial matters and daily routines. Think about it. Are you tiring yourself out by making choices about what to wear, eat and drink; struggling over the question of whether to exercise in the morning, later or not at all; asking yourself if you’re okay to have a drink mid-week or whether you need to wait until the weekend; wondering if you could procrastinate for an hour more, or just get on with that work you’ve been putting off.

Wouldn’t you rather that your energy was preserved for really important decisions, like whether to take a job or not; if you should leave a partner, or stay with them; whether you should go or break at the roundabout?

The answer to this is to form good habits and rules so that these daily routines and trivial matters don’t need questioning.

They become automatic and therefore require no effort.

I always start the day with hot lemon and water. 

I always exercise first thing. 

I prep meals on Sunday and Wednesday. 

I meditate for ten minutes each morning. 

I go to yoga on a Tuesday night. 

I don’t reply to work messages after 8pm.

I am only allowed an hour of procrastination after I’ve done 2 hours of work. 

I always start with the job I want to do least, first. 

Of course, there’ll be slips. We have to allow for mistakes, life circumstances and spontaneous behaviour.

But having these habits in place means that you don’t have to battle over every little thing each day.

Save yourself instead for the questions that really count.