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What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting

by - September 12, 2026

 Some research suggests that people make around 35,000 decisions every single day. While these results are debated, it's easy to feel exhausted by the constant decisions we have to make. Today, we're going to dive into the topic of how to reduce decision fatigue and why everyday choices can feel exhausting.

What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting

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In 2000, a famous marketing study was conducted about jam by Sheena Iyengar and Mark R. Lepper. I first heard about this study in one of my marketing classes and thought it was fascinating.

Researchers set up a tasting booth and sold jam to customers in a grocery store. At one point they offered 6 flavors, and at another time, they offered 24 flavors. Customers were allowed to sample as much jam as they wanted.

In which scenario do you think people were more likely to make a purchase?

The study found that when offered 6 choices, people made a purchase 31% of the time. When offered 24 choices, people only made a purchase 3% of the time.

When offered more choices, it's harder to decide what you want! This can lead to choice overload, which can contribute to decision fatigue when you have to make decisions constantly.

I'll share how to reduce decision fatigue through practical methods, but first of all, what is decision fatigue?



What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting

Decision fatigue is the mental overload that can come from making frequent decisions throughout the day.

Decision fatigue can lead to procrastinating, avoiding making decisions, making impulse decisions, and spending a longer amount of time than necessary in the research phase.

Just as your body becomes more tired throughout the day, your brain does too.

It's that feeling you have when you've just finished a hard test. Every time you fill in a circle on a bubble sheet or write down an answer, you are making a decision, and it's tiring.

Now, let's get into how to reduce decision fatigue in your life!



How to Reduce Decision Fatigue


1. Make Decisions Before You Actually Need To

You know that feeling you get when you are super hungry at the end of a long day at work? You don't have any food already cooked, and now you have to decide what's for dinner!

The first way to reduce decision fatigue is to make decisions before you actually need to by doing some planning in advance when you are feeling refreshed.

This will help cut down on the number of impulse decisions you make.

A couple examples of this are:

  • Meal planning/prep
  • Prioritizing what you need to do at the start of the day
  • Making a list of what you need before you go shopping
  • Picking out outfits in advance
  • Exercising first thing in the morning

When you make decisions in advance, it's often easier because you'll probably have more time and won't feel pressured by external factors. At night, I have time to pick out an outfit, but in the morning, if I take too long, I'll be running late.

What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting


2. Purposefully Limit the Number of Options You Have

Steve Jobs is famously known for wearing a black/grey turtleneck top and jeans as his near daily uniform.

While he may not have been trying to reduce decision fatigue, wearing the same thing every day does remove the question of deciding what to wear.

As I mentioned earlier with the jam study, the fewer options you have, the easier it is to make a choice. Many people chose not to purchase jam when they had a large variety of options.

This might explain why I sometimes feel like it's harder for me to decide what to wear for the day, even though I have a capsule wardrobe. My closet has been getting larger over the years!

By purposefully limiting the number of options you have, it'll be easier for you to make a decision.


3. Build Systems So You Don't Have to Make as Many Decisions

If you've read even a couple of my posts, you'll probably have realized by now that I'm a big believer in systems.

I love creating systems that make my life easier whether it's a routine, a habit, or just criteria I follow to make my life run a little smoother.


When you have a morning, night, or weekend routine, you don't have to decide what to do next.

Even if during these routines you have to make decisions, it'll be easier because your day will already have structure.

I follow a running training plan, so I don't have to decide which type of run to do. I follow workout videos on YouTube, so I don't have to decide what exercises to do.

One way to build systems is by creating default choices. I eat the same breakfast almost every day. I have a grocery list that I use to shop with every week.

You can build systems throughout your life, so you don't have to make as many decisions. When you become bored of those systems, you can simply switch them up!


4. Make Similar Decisions at the Same Time

When you make similar decisions at the same time, you don't have to keep coming back to that task to think about it again.

If there are decisions that you have to make on a daily basis, would it be possible to make them on a weekly or monthly basis instead?

Most likely you do all of your laundry at once, instead of piece by piece. Likewise, you probably don't only buy enough food for just one meal when you go to the grocery store.

You can apply this reasoning to some other areas of your life too!

While I'm at college, I do the majority of my cooking on the weekends. When I sit down to do my planning, I write down my to-do list for the next two weeks, so I don't have to write down a new to-do list every day.


Batching similar tasks helps me save both time and mental energy!

What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting


5. Make Your Hardest Decisions in the Morning + Take Breaks

One study found that at the beginning of the day, judges would grant parole 65% of the time. That number gradually dropped to 0% by the end of the session.

After a break (possibly lunch!), that number would go right back up to 65%.

While the reasons for these results are debated, this study highlights the idea that mental fatigue can affect decision-making.

When you are tired, it's a lot harder to make decisions, so it can be easier to make the same decision every time. Taking frequent breaks will allow you to bring your most refreshed mind to tasks.

You can take breaks by prioritizing restful sleep, exercising, and doing hobbies to let your mind rest.

You may find it helpful to make all of your hardest decisions in the morning after you've had a good night's rest. This is why I try to write before lunch. I do my best thinking in the morning.


6. Know When to Stop Researching

I love researching new things I want to try probably a little too much, but at some point, you just have to start!

When I first started bullet journaling, I tried to read every article I could find on the subject so I could make my first bullet journal perfect.

This may be a spoiler, but my first bullet journal was definitely not perfect. My hand lettering and style have improved so much since then!

The only thing all this research did was stop me from starting.

Now, I'm working on building a personal knowledge system. I read one book, watched a couple YouTube videos, and read a few articles.

I started building my personal knowledge system a couple of weeks ago, and it's not perfect, but I'm learning as I'm building it.

This is easier said than done, but it's often a good idea to start before you feel ready because you learn the most from doing.


7. Accept "Good Enough" for Less Important Decisions

Most of the decisions we make on a daily basis won't drastically change our lives, even though sometimes they take up a disproportionate amount of time to what the actual task is.

Should it really take 15 minutes to decide what you want to eat for dinner?

On occasion, I've found myself struggling to decide what I feel like eating, what I should wear, and whether I should read this book or that book first.

In reality, none of these decisions will have a major impact on my life because often with small decisions both options are equally good.

I'd recommend spending more energy on high-impact areas like your career, relationships, health, hobbies, and your mental wellbeing.

When you decide what your priorities in life are, you'll be able to spend more of your mental energy on the big decisions!

Sometimes it can be nice to spend extra time on trivial decisions such as deciding what type of ice cream you want but just remember that these decisions aren't the most important ones!

What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting



Final Notes on What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting

If you've been wondering how to reduce decision fatigue, hopefully this post gave you some ideas!

Some decision fatigue is unavoidable.

Today, more than ever, we are surrounded by countless options through constant connectivity to information on the internet and feedback about our choices through social media.

There will always be days where you don't get enough sleep or have to make hard decisions, but you can reduce the amount of decision fatigue you do experience in the day-to-day, so you have more energy to devote to the harder things.

Here's a recap on how to reduce decision fatigue.

  1. Make decisions before you actually need to
  2. Purposefully limit the number of options you have
  3. Build systems so you don't have to make as many decisions
  4. Make similar decisions at the same time
  5. Make your hardest decisions in the morning and take breaks
  6. Know when to stop researching
  7. Accept "good enough" for less important decisions

If you enjoyed this post about how to reduce decision fatigue, you may also like reading these posts too!

I hope you learned something about how to reduce decision fatigue! Have a great week!

If you enjoyed reading this post about how to reduce decision fatigue, take a few seconds to save or share it! Thanks! :)

What is Decision Fatigue? Ways to Make Everyday Choices Feel Less Exhausting
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