Decision fatigue is the deterioration of a person’s ability to make good decisions after a long period. Or explained another way—it’s that stressful feeling you get when you’ve had to make too many choices in the run of a day. If you’ve ever felt it, you know what we’re talking about, and you’re not alone.
According to a 2021 survey, 32% of adults struggled to make basic decisions due to pandemic-related stress (WFH certainly falls under the “pandemic-related” umbrella). But has working from home really compromised our ability to make good choices? Let’s talk a bit more about how we get decision fatigue in the first place to find out.
Working from home is making us work harder. It’s true, we’re more productive, but at what cost? Think about it: not being interrupted by serendipitous conversations with coworkers, not taking a walk for a coffee, not standing up from our desks to walk to meetings. We’re getting more done in less time, often because we’re not taking breaks.
At home it’s easy to forget to take breaks because those typical sources of disruption don’t exist. People are forgetting to take breaks and walk away and studies show they’re working longer hours to boot.
In short, that’s how we get decision fatigue. Staying too focused for too long, with not enough time for breaks.
When we make too many choices in the run of a day, our brain gets worn out, and eventually starts to look for shortcuts. This can lead to us making spur-of-the-moment decisions purely so we can move on from the stress of having to choose.
While sometimes having to make a rapid decision is necessary or even beneficial (e.g. trusting your gut), in the case of decision fatigue, our brain is too tired to give us the time we need to weigh out our options correctly. As a result, we can end up making a choice that we later regret.
TLDR; after a certain point, our decision making mechanism (i.e. the brain) gets overloaded and is no longer effective, and overloaded brains make poor choices.
One way to stave off decision fatigue is to simply give our brains a break. Breaks help rejuvenate us to the point where we can think clearly about the information that’s being presented to us in a decision making scenario.
Rather than jumping from task to task or distracting ourselves with something that only further wearies our brain, taking a good break can help us recharge for another focused work session and prepare our faculties to make measured decisions.
Studies show that people naturally lose focus after about 90 minutes of working, which helps explain why we feel decision fatigue setting in after an extended work period. Try to take note of how you feel every 90 minutes at work and see if you think that number makes sense. If you feel like you’re no longer “on” after an hour and a half of working, then you’ve probably reached a logical point to stop and rest.
Remembering to actually take breaks when you're focused can be tough, but you can use different cues to help remind you. For example, if you set up somewhere you can see outside, how far the sun has moved or how much light is coming through your window can serve as a natural reminder of how much time has passed.
Another helpful reminder is your calendar. Most of the meetings you have scheduled throughout the day already have reminders attached to them. Next time you see one of these flash across your screen, use the opportunity to get up and take a quick break before your next meeting starts.
Brightspot also reminds you to take breaks with the Brightspot Break Scheduling tool. Once you tell Brightspot when you’re working, we’ll tell you when to stop—to stretch, to stand, or just chill out. Download the Brightspot App and complete the Focusing with the Break Scheduler plan to unlock your very own Break Scheduling tool for free today!
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Decision fatigue is the deterioration of a person’s ability to make good decisions after a long period. Or explained another way—it’s that stressful feeling you get when you’ve had to make too many choices in the run of a day. If you’ve ever felt it, you know what we’re talking about, and you’re not alone.
According to a 2021 survey, 32% of adults struggled to make basic decisions due to pandemic-related stress (WFH certainly falls under the “pandemic-related” umbrella). But has working from home really compromised our ability to make good choices? Let’s talk a bit more about how we get decision fatigue in the first place to find out.
Working from home is making us work harder. It’s true, we’re more productive, but at what cost? Think about it: not being interrupted by serendipitous conversations with coworkers, not taking a walk for a coffee, not standing up from our desks to walk to meetings. We’re getting more done in less time, often because we’re not taking breaks.
At home it’s easy to forget to take breaks because those typical sources of disruption don’t exist. People are forgetting to take breaks and walk away and studies show they’re working longer hours to boot.
In short, that’s how we get decision fatigue. Staying too focused for too long, with not enough time for breaks.
When we make too many choices in the run of a day, our brain gets worn out, and eventually starts to look for shortcuts. This can lead to us making spur-of-the-moment decisions purely so we can move on from the stress of having to choose.
While sometimes having to make a rapid decision is necessary or even beneficial (e.g. trusting your gut), in the case of decision fatigue, our brain is too tired to give us the time we need to weigh out our options correctly. As a result, we can end up making a choice that we later regret.
TLDR; after a certain point, our decision making mechanism (i.e. the brain) gets overloaded and is no longer effective, and overloaded brains make poor choices.
One way to stave off decision fatigue is to simply give our brains a break. Breaks help rejuvenate us to the point where we can think clearly about the information that’s being presented to us in a decision making scenario.
Rather than jumping from task to task or distracting ourselves with something that only further wearies our brain, taking a good break can help us recharge for another focused work session and prepare our faculties to make measured decisions.
Studies show that people naturally lose focus after about 90 minutes of working, which helps explain why we feel decision fatigue setting in after an extended work period. Try to take note of how you feel every 90 minutes at work and see if you think that number makes sense. If you feel like you’re no longer “on” after an hour and a half of working, then you’ve probably reached a logical point to stop and rest.
Remembering to actually take breaks when you're focused can be tough, but you can use different cues to help remind you. For example, if you set up somewhere you can see outside, how far the sun has moved or how much light is coming through your window can serve as a natural reminder of how much time has passed.
Another helpful reminder is your calendar. Most of the meetings you have scheduled throughout the day already have reminders attached to them. Next time you see one of these flash across your screen, use the opportunity to get up and take a quick break before your next meeting starts.
Brightspot also reminds you to take breaks with the Brightspot Break Scheduling tool. Once you tell Brightspot when you’re working, we’ll tell you when to stop—to stretch, to stand, or just chill out. Download the Brightspot App and complete the Focusing with the Break Scheduler plan to unlock your very own Break Scheduling tool for free today!
