Is it just me or does it seem like everything in our lives and businesses just gets more and more complicated?
Picking our Internet provider, figuring out the latest social media platform, or navigating the endless opt-ins, food choices, etc. means we’re constantly bombarded with choices and decisions to make.
All of these things not only use up our time, but they use up our mental energy. When we use up too much mental energy making decisions we deplete our mental resources causing us to either make poor decisions or to avoid making decisions all together.
This might explain why we know what we SHOULD do, we might even know exactly HOW to do it, but we still don’t. For example, many people know that they should exercise, and they even know how to exercise. Then why do they find it so challenging to actually do it?
Decision fatigue is likely the hidden culprit.
Let’s dive in to learn how to overcome it so you can move from operating as the “manager” of your life and business to operating as the CEO.

MINDSET

So many of us high-performers have the mindset that we have to control ALL THE THINGS. Trust me, this is an issue I’ve dealt with (and continue to deal with) in life and business.
The problem is, that in doing that we tend to make ALL THE DECISIONS. We also tend to get all the fatigue from it.
Think about it… Do you make most of the decisions for your family? All of the decisions in your business?
On any given day, how many things are you deciding, controlling, and managing??
This is often because we think that we HAVE to control all the things, that others will mess it up, or that only WE know how to make the best decisions.
However, I’ve found that being open to give others in my life + biz (like my husband, my OBM, etc.) more freedom to make decisions has helped me to make BETTER and more EFFECTIVE decisions when I’m making them.
Rather than trying to control all the things and not controlling them very well, I’m able to make more effective decisions when I am making them if I’m minimizing my decision fatigue.
Check-in with your mindset around this… Are you forcing yourself to make #allthedecisions? Where in your life could you let go of the reins a little and create a new story?

STRATEGY

In one study cited in this article about decision fatigue, they noted, “[People] were pretty good at avoiding sleep, sex and the urge to spend money, but not so good at resisting the lure of television or the Web or the general temptation to relax instead of work.”
These temptations are especially real for entrepreneurs working from home, and whose business exists on the web (and Facebook!).
Therefore, to create a strategy and store up the willpower to do what you know you SHOULD be doing some of the best tips are to create useful habits, minimize your decisions when possible, recognize when you’re depleted, and eat regularly throughout the day.
I know that for me, creating positive habits and turning over unnecessary decisions (like where are we going for dinner this weekend) really helps me avoid decision fatigue. High performers like Mark Zuckerberg (and Steve Jobs) wear and eat the same thing every day to avoid decision fatigue.
So my question to you is… what strategy do you need to create in your business or life to support you in overcoming decision fatigue? Where is this a challenge right now?

EXECUTION

One of the key ways to overcome decision fatigue and move from operating as the “manager” of your life and business to operating as the CEO is to create habits.
For example, we all know we SHOULD be visible everyday but when we fall out of the habit it is SO much harder to get back on! So we need to create and keep the habit in place so we’re not in stop/start mode all the time.
The question then becomes what are the key habits you can create to make doing what you should be doing a habit, rather than having to use a ton of mental energy to force yourself to do it??
Also, remember that research shows that habits take at least 21 days to form.
Meaning you will find yourself in decision (mental) fatigue for those 21 days, so minimizing other decisions is crucial to implementing a new habit… and not trying to implement 10 new habits all at once!
You can get my tracker that I use to form new habits here (no opt-in required).
What are the key habits you have or need to create for your life and business so you can execute more effectively?
My top three are daily exercise (i.e. time spent outdoors), daily writing (journaling, articles, posts, etc.), and daily mindset work/meditation.
If you want to read more about this topic, check out my article on The Huffington Post about the 5 ways to minimize the negative effects of decision fatigue in your business.