Comments on: Overcome Decision Fatigue by Automating and Systematizing

By: Susan Judy

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 19:58:54 +0000

I loved your new blog about decision fatigue. I am just finishing an audiobook by Joseph Ferrari entitled “Still Procrastinating?” He has a chapter about what he calls DPs- Decision Procrastinators. That is the chapter that I definitely fit into and you might enjoy reading it. He says two things that interested me: one is that decision procrastinators commonly come from families where the mother is indecisive and the father is cold and demanding. It is a type of coping mechanism. Number two: there are people who he calls indecisive and people who he calls decisive (not all are procrastinators.) He believes the indecisives need to increase their decision making muscles by making a lot of small easy decisions. Then they get less tired making decisions as the day goes on. Apparently people who are decisive love making decisions 24-7! Hard to imagine!

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By: Alyson Stanfield

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 15:46:33 +0000

In reply to Patricia C Vener.

I think we need to pay attention to the decisions we enjoy making (clothing and jewelry for you) and those that exhaust us (appliances for me!).

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By: Alyson Stanfield

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 15:44:42 +0000

In reply to Jan Yatsko.

Jan: Thank you for sharing that story. Fascinating!

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By: Alyson Stanfield

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 15:43:30 +0000

In reply to Christine Aaron.

I think it’s a good one!

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By: Christine Aaron

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 23:36:14 +0000

The particular focus each month and the weekly challenges have been really helpful in keeping me on track, especially in these tumultuous times. As a result I have discovered and used new apps, experiemnted with taking a selfie, and discovered other ways to heighten my social media presence. may I just say though, the image up top was my first attemot and I got better results by the end of the week!

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By: Jan Yatsko

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 20:54:07 +0000

A couple of years ago, I read the book “Original Wisdom” and a passage in that book has always stuck with me. There is an indigenous group of people in Malaysia who live in a very remote area and are extremely poor. At one point a psychologist who lived in Indonesia and spoke their language accompanied doctors who wanted to test the children. The test consisted of multiple choice questions. After the children were instructed how to perform the test, they did not proceed taking the test. It was discovered that the people in this village did not know how to make decisions of this type because there were never any choices to make.
I have lived outside of the US for 21 years. I believe North America is the only place where there are countless choices with regard to food, clothing, products, etc. Where I live, I might have to chose between 2 or 3 products. Sure makes life simpler.

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By: Patricia C Vener

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 16:37:52 +0000

This is an excellent set of musings. Decision making can be difficult but it helps to have starting parameters whenever possible. It helps to have a firm grasp of the desired results.

Now that I’m not caring for my Mother, (of blessed memory), I find decision making to be a lot less exhausting! Or maybe, a lot less often exhausting. I am also more often able to stop and put off a decision when I know I’m not up to the task.

As for encapsulating my wardrobe, this is one reason I love my saris and sarongs. Weight is not an issue and all I need to do to change the style is change the drape. And just have the tops I need to go with. That said, I really love clothing, jewelry, and footwear choices! the same thing over and over and over again (aside from studio wear) is just so uninteresting and uninspiring.

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By: Alyson Stanfield

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 23:32:42 +0000

In reply to Deborah Wolford.

That’s a great system, Deborah.

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By: Deborah Wolford

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 22:20:04 +0000

Decisions, decisions. Too many choices, too much information overload. In fact, often too much sensory overload. I spend about fifteen minutes early in the morning while it is quiet, to make my list of things to do, including making decisions. I leave some flex time for those things that pop up, to try to ease the pressure. There are fewer distractions then. Once done, it frees me to do what needs to be done.

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By: jennifer ressmann

Sat, 17 Sep 2016 04:31:24 +0000

What a great read! You’re so funny Alyson! I actually thought this might be a guest post – you seem like one of the most decisive people I know.

Planet Money did a story on making decisions – if I remember correctly – flipping a coin worked just as well as anything else.

My problem is having so many priorities that needed to be done yesterday. Sometimes I write each one on a separate piece of paper, fold them, toss ’em in a bowl and then pick one out. It’s very freeing – allowing you to forget the rest and just focus on what you picked. Kinda fun.
Thanks for your great blog!

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