What’s for dinner?
I spoke with a former colleague recently and we were reminiscing about a conference we attended for an entire week towards the end of our careers.
The kind of corporate boondoggle where you receive a massive three ring binder full of power point slides and boring topics that had nothing to do with operations. Sitting in a cramped auditorium, we balanced the binders on one knee, a notepad on the other, and listened to speaker after speaker regurgitate the material, word for word, slide by slide.
Brutal in most circumstances.
But I seem to remember not minding it too much. Maybe because I knew my time was drawing to a close and if I was somehow able to fit that binder in my carry-on luggage, it would end up collecting dust in some corner of my office.
But as I thought about that week, I realized it was something else.
I didn’t have to make any decisions.
Not the big kind at least.
What time to set the alarm clock, what suit to wear, bagels or pancakes for breakfast, and whether to walk or take an Uber. That’s about it.
Everything else was set by someone else. The schedule, the location, break times, speakers, and all logistics.
One of my more-than-capable leaders was running the show in my absence. He wouldn’t call unless the world was on fire and certainly didn’t need me looking over his shoulder.
This was wonderful.
I thought I enjoyed that week because the material was light and the pressure was off, but that wasn’t it. What I enjoyed was something I didn’t have a name for at the time.
Decision fatigue.
Some studies estimate that people make as many as 35,000 decisions each day. Many of those probably don’t even register in our awareness but suffice it to say that each decision burns physical and mental energy.
The smaller decisions burn a little. But imagine how much energy is consumed by those massive, super complex decisions that leaders make every day. You know the kind when you’re trying to figure out how to send a message that resonates with 15 (or 500) different people. The kind that involves multiple departments and other leaders under tight deadlines. The kind inherently full of stress.
And where, you ask, does that energy come from to make those decisions?
From whatever you’ve stored up.
Think about this.
Your decision-making capacity isn’t infinite. It functions like a bucket that gets drained with every choice, big or small, and only fills when you intentionally recharge it. Things like:
· A quiet night after work
· A restful night’s sleep
· A good workout
· Stress-reducing strategies
· Healthy diet
· Time to recharge (reading, journaling, walking, etc)
· Automated habits and processes that limit decision-making
Does that sound like a typical day in your life as a leader?
I didn’t think so.
If those rhythms aren’t present in your life, even occasionally, your bucket won’t be nearly as full.
You start the next day low. The next day even lower. Then you’re in a deficit.
You literally lack the stamina, willpower, energy, and awareness to fully engage and make sound decisions, simply because your bucket is empty.
Decision fatigue doesn’t just make you tired. It makes you a less effective version of the leader you want to be.
Which brings me to the question I asked in the very beginning.
Have you ever had a tough day at work or home and were asked by your kids or spouse, “what’s for dinner?” and been completely paralyzed trying to come up with an answer?
How could that simple question be SO daunting?
It doesn’t have to be.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could put some systems in place that would reduce the drain and give you the energy you need to make the tough decisions as a leader?
If you’ve been carrying more than you realize and you’re feeling the weight of it in surprising places — even at the dinner table — you’re not alone. Decision fatigue is real, and manageable. If you'd like to get a handle on it and build systems that restore your capacity, click below and we’ll talk through it together.
Dan
Founder, Leader First Coaching