The Executive’s Guide to Limiting Decision Fatigue

It's the work, but it's also more than just the work.

Have you ever noticed you’re tired at the end of the day even though you didn’t do any physical work? Perhaps you haven’t done any of the knowledge work, either — yet you’re taxed.

If you’re like most owner-executives, it’s likely the fatigue you feel is decision fatigue.

Decision fatigue does more than tax you though. It also makes you irritable and frustrated and can be a contributing factor to generally poorer decision-making.

There are typically three main reasons you might be suffering from decision fatigue:

1. You've confused being the chief decision-maker with being the only decision-maker. If you have more than one person on your team, you shouldn't be the only one making decisions. Start by building the delegation habit.

2. An unclear vision, strategy, and purpose make it so you have to make a ton of micro-decisions every day. A solid vision and strategy necessarily excludes a lot of options, with the upshot being you don't have to spend all day making decisions — you've already made the most important ones. A good strategy and leadership help you sleep better at night and limit decision fatigue during the day.

3. You haven't trained and empowered your team. If you don't make time, room, and priority for the training and integration of teammates, you'll always have a performance gap.

From there what can you do?

Delegate decision-making. Get clear on our vision, strategy, and purpose. Train and provide an effective work environment for your team.

These are three simple areas to invest in that both limit decision fatigue and set the conditions for successful business growth. And while something being simple isn't the same as it being easy, ask yourself whether you'd rather be fatigued by the effort of solving the problem — or fatigued because the problem remains unsolved. (Tweet this.)

It's your decision. What will you choose?