When was the last time you made a decision?
You might be racking your brains to think about the last time you decided on a big purchase or a holiday
But actually, your last decision was probably a few minutes ago.
You decided to open your emails
And then you decided to read this one
We all make thousands of tiny decisions each day
And each decision takes a little (or a lot) of your energy
Deciding what to wear
What to have for breakfast
Which shoes
Which coat
Which route to work
Which seat on the bus or train
All of these tiny decisions are using up our energy
And low energy is never going to make us feel good!
Have you ever noticed how when you see a photo of Steve Jobs, he’s always wearing the same jeans and black top?
This man was probably one of the richest people in the world – but he always wore the same outfit.
That definitely wasn’t because he couldn’t afford a few different coloured t shirts!
It was because he understood that making a decision about what to wear each morning uses up some of our mental reserve
And he wanted to keep his energy for thinking up new i-things!
Now, I’m absolutely not suggesting that you should replace your entire wardrobe with several identical outfits – that would be boring!
But could you find ways to eliminate choices like this from your day?
Perhaps a set of outfits that go together, and you just pick the next one from your wardrobe each morning, rather than making a decision?
Even laying out an outfit or preparing breakfast the night before can help – because then you’re using decision energy from the previous day!
Food decisions can take up a lot of mental resources; one way around this is to set up a regular weekly shop with an online supermarket, where it automatically puts the same things into your basket each week.
Then all you need to do is edit what’s already there.
Look for ways to make something a regular habit rather than a decision – this will free up some of your mental load.
And when we have more mental energy, we feel brighter
There’s more mental sunshine in our day!
Where can you eliminate choice today?