Decision fatigue is real. When we have to make decisions about what we have to do all day long, we waste brain power, energy, and time—our most precious resources!
Wasting precious resources? I’m pretty sure nobody wants that.
I’ve read that certain successful people ‘automate’ daily activities, so that they can free up that extra psychic energy, so I’ve been experimenting with it, too.
An additional benefit, says James Clear in his book, Atomic Habits, is that you’ll have more things working in your favor so that you can deal with life’s bigger challenges.
So, if you could put some things on auto-pilot just to have a little extra space, would you?
Here’s how you can use a few simple habits to hit the cruise button on parts of your day:
1. Eat the same thing every day for lunch.
I’m not the only one who does this. Apparently, Steve Jobs used to eat carrots all day, every day. To me, that’s pretty weird. Also not very healthy.
But I make the same thing for lunch every day for work—a salad, a piece of fruit, and some nuts and dark chocolate.
It’s never boring. Why? Because while the menu is always the same, the ingredients vary.
For example, today’s salad isn’t going to look like tomorrow’s salad: one day, my salad will have escarole, beans, goat cheese, sunflower seeds, radishes, and croutons; the next day, my salad might be a chicken caesar salad.
And because the fruit is seasonal, it’s perfectly ripe, and varies week to week.
I always have the dark chocolate, though. Usually with almonds. It’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.
NOT boring, amirite?
2. Choose a uniform.
Again, Steve Jobs. His black turtleneck and blue jeans. He never had to decide what to wear.
I, too, have limited the choices in my closet. But not to two pieces. My tiny closet holds only things I love and want to wear and pretty much everything matches. I get to buy new (to me) things when items need replacing.
This might be a capsule wardrobe.
Am I a minimalist? I don’t know.
But getting dressed is waaay easier for me this way. And, it instantly gives me more bandwidth when I’m not looking through my closet for more than 3 minutes.
3. Reduce friction in your day-to-day.
I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t make your life harder than it has to be—don’t waste your brain power on ‘willpower’! For example:
- I try to eat healthy. It’s hard for me to resist snacks, though, so I don’t have a ‘treats drawer’ in my house. And I don’t buy sweets or processed snack foods because I know that I’ll end up eating them. Or that I’ll end up arguing with my daughter about them.
- I was constantly distracted by Facebook, so I removed the app from my phone.
- My kid has trouble getting dressed in the morning, so now we choose an outfit the night before.
4. Say ‘no’ more often.
If you’re overwhelmed daily by people asking you for things, it’s time to set some boundaries. These types of requests divert your attention and energy.
If your kid is begging to try a third sport, say no. If you’re tired, but your coworkers are begging you to have drinks after work with them, say no. If you’re invited to a meeting that is irrelevant, just politely decline.
Say it with me: ‘No. No no no no no.’
5. Schedule your day.
This is a big one for me.
Trying to remember what you’re supposed to be doing can suck up a lot of brain power.
For me, I feel my psychic energy fizzle if I don’t write things down the night before a busy day or week.
So I use a bullet journal. I love it. I get to sit down at the beginning of the week and dump all of my to-dos on paper. I take it everywhere and add tasks and ideas to it the instant they come up.
If I didn’t write them down in my notebook, they’d be lost forever or crumpled on scrap papers, forgotten at the bottom of my bag. Or I’d waste my time tearing apart the house looking for them.
Make some edits
Quick and easy wins! Go for it.
- Reduce friction somewhere in your life this week: delete an app, or say no to a meeting.
- Try a journal/notebook. Map out your thoughts the night before a busy day.
- Say ‘no’. Non. Nein. Nyet.
Happy editing!
Erica
